All You Need to Know About Cybersecurity

In the digital age, information is a very important factor for companies and for society. This is why it is important to know technological tools that facilitate this data protection and at the same time protect us from possible threats. And here's where the concept of cybersecurity comes in. What is it? Why is it important? What is it protecting us from? What are some best practices for cybersecurity? We'll answer these questions in this article. Read on.

Table of Content

1. What is Cybersecurity?

2. How Important is Cybersecurity?

3. The 3 Main Pillars of Cybersecurity

• Prevention
• Mitigation
• Recovery

4. Best Practices for Cybersecurity

• For Organizations
• For Individuals

5. Conclusion

What Is Cybersecurity?

When talking about cybersecurity, it is generally associated with cyber threats and cybercrime. However, it also has to do with good practices to implement to protect information and prevent or detect cyber attacks to which any organization or person is exposed. Thus, cybersecurity is the application of tools, technologies, policies, processes, controls and procedures focused on the protection of data, networks, devices, systems and applications, from possible virtual attacks.

Virtual attacks and threats to computer security come through harmful or malicious programs that are installed on a device or accessed through the cloud. Cyber ​​attacks are mainly based on data hijacking. Today, many types of cyber attacks can be faced. We cite a few of them.

1. Phishing
   This security attack involves impersonating a trusted third party (administrations, banks, suppliers, etc.) with the aim of obtaining personal data or bank identifiers. The cyber criminal sends mails which contain one or more booby-trapped attachments and prompts all recipients to enter their instructions on a malicious site.

2. Ransomware
   It is malicious computer software that infects computers and takes all personal data hostage. This usually happens via a phishing attack that spreads attachments that turn out to be trustworthy.

3. DDoS attacks
   This kind of attack makes an infrastructure or a server unavailable by transmitting countless requests until saturation. These attacks aim to divert attention and steal confidential information.

4. The Trojan Horse
   This is seemingly legitimate software that aims to introduce malicious functionality into computers and install it without users' permission.

How Important is Cybersecurity?

More than important, we can say that cybersecurity is essential for our era. With all the advancements and discoveries in technology, cybersecurity has become imperative to ensure information is protected. The reason for such a claim lies in the fact that cybersecurity measures and solutions protect all categories of data from theft and damage.

Confidential and personal data, government information, intellectual property and systems of various organizations. Without the existence of cybersecurity, it would be impossible to protect any of these assets.

Additionally, cybersecurity is important because:

• The volume and complexity of cyberattacks continues to increase
• The digital surface and the use of the internet will not stop growing
• The growing uptake of cloud services
• Cybercrime has become a business
• The impacts of cyberattacks on the economy are increasing

Apparently, to cope with the evolution of cyber attacks, security technologies must also be reinforced. Indeed, the perpetual updating of computer programs and the migration of companies to the Cloud have presented new vulnerabilities and security risks. This is why computer cybersecurity measures are on the rise.

The 3 Main Pillars of Cybersecurity

Prevention

No security measure or solution is infallible, but they all work with an initial objective: prevention . Preventing incidents, breaches and cyber attacks from happening is one of the main objectives of cybersecurity. It's a fact: prevention is the best cybersecurity defense.

Of course, that doesn't mean this is an easy goal. Prevention in cybersecurity is about adopting measures and a proactive stance, analysis and constant monitoring. When this does not happen, the second pillar comes into play: mitigation .

Mitigation

Mitigating means mitigating, reducing the impacts, consequences and results of an action. In cybersecurity, mitigation is the second pillar of measures, because, as we have already mentioned here, no measure, strategy or technology is infallible.

Risk mitigation focuses on reducing, as much as possible, the impacts of a cyber attack, breach or invasion. In this pillar, policies, measures and ways to resolve an incident are structured, also involving the third pillar: recovery.

Recovery

Recovery works out the solutions and ways to recover and reactivate a company's operations after a security incident. In this last pillar are the technologies to recover lost data (when possible), the strategies applied in a plan to respond to the incident, maintaining the continuity of the operations of a company.

Best Practices for Cybersecurity

For Organizations

A company's security is deployed in two main stages: identifying potential cybersecurity risks and protecting against them. The application of good preventive measures is strongly advised to intensify the cyber defenses of companies. We cite a few examples.

• Adopt reliable tools: to prevent cybercrime, any company must take measures, such as authentication by electronic signature, the storage of information online, the use of firewalls and flow filtering.
• Update software and applications: this makes it possible to correct flaws and vulnerabilities in computer applications and programs to ward off all security threats.
• Protect sensitive data: Some information is more at risk than others. It is then necessary to identify and secure them.
• Store confidential data: in the event that this information is stolen, altered or deleted, backing it up becomes essential. This minimizes the damage caused by a cyberattack.
• Strengthen access rights: it is mandatory to protect access to confidential information, both for customers and employees, by passwords that must be systematically changed and complex authentication systems.

In addition to these, companies can use the services of a cybersecurity expert, a person who has undergone appropriate training and who will be able to respond to the complexity of all network architectures.

For Individuals

As individuals, we must educate ourselves on cybersecurity best practices and take proactive steps to protect our own devices and information. This includes using strong and unique passwords, keeping our operating systems and applications up to date, avoiding clicking on suspicious links or opening attachments from unknown sources, and using security tools such as firewalls and antivirus software. Digital maturity is essential in this fight.

In addition, it is important to take a conscious approach to privacy. We should review and understand the privacy policies of the companies we engage with, limit the amount of personal information we share online, and use encryption tools and safe browsing.

Awareness is the key to tackling cybersecurity challenges. We must educate our family, friends and co-workers about cybersecurity risks and best practices. In doing so, we create a culture of safety that strengthens our society as a whole.

Conclusion

We are living in an increasingly connected world, it is critical to recognize the challenges that cybersecurity presents. However, we must not let these challenges stop us from enjoying the benefits and convenience that technology offers us. By taking a proactive, collaborative and mindful approach to cybersecurity, we can address these challenges and create a safer and more trusted digital environment for everyone. Remember, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Together, we can build a connected future with confidence and protection.