What is Cybersecurity? Understanding the Essentials

As organizations and individuals become more reliant on technology, the risks that come with cyber threats continue to grow.

Cybersecurity assessment refers to using policies, technologies, and practices to reduce or prevent cyber-attacks and their impact. Its fundamental objective is safeguarding data, people, devices, financial assets, computer systems, and applications from cyber threats.

Cyber threats can include malware, phishing, data theft, and ransomware. With the increase in cyber threats, various cybersecurity solutions are urgently required to mitigate cyber risk in corporate and other sectors. Let’s discuss different types of cybersecurity, the scale of cyber threats, and how to overcome their impact.

7 Fundamental Pillars of Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a broad field covering several disciplines. There are seven main pillars:

1. Network Security

Most cyber-attacks happen over the network. Network security solutions identify and help to block these kinds of attacks. Some solutions include the following data and access controls:

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

• IAM (Identity Access Management)

• NAC (Network Access Control)

• NGFW (Next-Generation Firewall)

All these controls ensure safe web use policies. Some advanced and multiple-layer network threat prevention technologies may comprise

• IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)

• NGAV (Next-Gen Antivirus)

• Sandboxing

• CDR (Content Disarm and Reconstruction)

2. Cloud Security

The second important pillar of cybersecurity is cloud security. Organizations are increasingly using cloud computing, so safeguarding the cloud is a top-notch priority. Some cloud security strategies include controls, policies, and cyber security solutions that will ensure the safety of cloud deployment against cyber-attacks. V supplementary third-party solutions are sometimes essential to safeguard against targeted attacks and data breaches in a cloud environment.

3. Endpoint Security

Micro-segments around data are needed to help in the zero-trust security model. One way to enhance endpoint security is through the mobile workforce.

Organizations can use endpoint security to safeguard end-user devices such as laptops and desktops with advanced threat prevention techniques, such as anti-ransomware and anti-phishing. Some technologies, such as endpoint response and response (EDR) solutions, can also be helpful.

4. Mobile Security

Mobile devices such as smartphones have easy access to corporate data, which exposes businesses to threats such as instant messaging, zero-day, phishing, and malicious app attacks. Choosing mobile security helps prevent these attacks and secures all devices and operating systems from rooting. 

5. IoT Security

Increased use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices may boost productivity. However, it also exposes companies to cyber threats. Threat actors make a way to corporate networks acting as cyber threats.

IoT security is becoming popular because it safeguards these devices with auto-segmentation, which helps to control network activities and classify connected devices. All these techniques prevent exploiting IoT devices that may be vulnerable to attacks. 

6. Application Security

Some web application security flaws that have surfaced over the years are broken authentication, injection, cross-site scripting, and misconfiguration. Application security prevents these attacks and bot attacks and stops malicious communication between APIs and applications.

7. Zero Trust

As the traditional security model mainly focuses on different perimeters, building walls will be an asset to protect the organization. Various issues may arise, such as insider threats and the dissolution of networks in which all perimeters exist.   

There is an urgent need for a new security strategy owing to the increase in cloud adoption and remote working. Zero trust is a great security approach, which is an amalgamation of monitoring, micro-segmentation, and enforcement of controls based on cybersecurity assessments.

The scale of Cyber threats: An Eye Opener

As the cyber threat continues to grow rapidly, a plethora of data breaches occur every year. In 2019 alone, the number of data breaches was 7.9 billion.

Medical services, public entities, and retailers are the sectors that experienced the most data breaches. Some other sectors where cybercriminals were prominent were due to the collection of data for medical and financial purposes. The scale of cyber threats is rising, and the annual expenditure on cybersecurity solutions and assessments is increasing. In 2023, the average spending on cybersecurity, global security, and risk management was nearly $188.3 billion, expected to rise by 14% in 2024, according to a Gartner report.

Generally, the threats countered by cyber-security are three-fold:

1. Cybercrime, which incorporates single individuals or groups who target systems for financial gain or cause disruption.

2. Cyber-attacks are committed to motivating information gathering, which is politically motivated.

3. Cyber terrorism, which is committed to undermine electronic systems, causing fear and panic.

Some standard methods for threatening cybersecurity are malware, SQL injection, phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and denial-of-service attacks.

Important Cyber Safety Tips

Businesses and individuals must secure themselves against cyber threats. They can achieve this by following specific cyber safety tips:

• Updating software and operating systems, which can be beneficial from current security threats

• Use antivirus software that may detect and safeguard your data from threats

• Always use strong passwords that are not easily guessable

• Do not open emails sent from unknown sender as they may infect it with malware

• One of the most common ways to spread malware is when you click on links in emails. Avoid clicking on them.

• Do not use unsecured networks, which may cause man-in-the-middle attacks

Over to You!

Building a modern cybersecurity infrastructure and utilizing advanced solutions will help protect against cyber threats. This will require a trusted security provider with expertise and experience safeguarding all your company’s valuable assets from cyber threats. Security providers may enhance your cybersecurity by providing security for your network, IoT, cloud, application, endpoint, and mobile.