What is Cyber Security? Why invest in it?
As technology evolves and the world goes online to offset the Pandemic crises, threats to online security are also evolving rapidly. Every day we are witness to ever more sophisticated threats. This is why it is so important to invest in cyber security.
To begin with, let us analyze what cyber security is:-
Cyber Security includes all those practices, processes and body of technologies that are aimed at protecting devices, networks, programs and data from attack and misuse by external malicious factors. Given the volume of data that is continuously transmitted, collected, processed and stored by different kinds of organizations, like Government, Military, Financial, Medical, Corporate and private small businesses, it includes sensitive information and sometimes private details of customers. This kind of data falling into the wrong hands can have disastrous consequences, hence the importance of Cyber Security! According to an article published in the Harvard Business Review, cybercrime can be compared to be the third largest economy in the world after the U.S. and China!
What are the different kinds of risk and security measures?
The “Cyber” or IT world has many elements, which makes the traditional “perimeter type” security approach redundant in the current scenario. The challenges involved in the process of cyber security include application security, network security, data security, identity management, end-point security, mobile security, cloud security, database and infrastructure security and disaster recovery too. Structuring security around only the crucial components or known threats is an inadequate approach. Continuous risk assessment and rapid response with a data focused approach to security is the need of the hour as per the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines.
A top-down approach to cyber security is recommended by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Businesses are also advised “to be prepared to respond to the inevitable cyber incident”.
The guidelines provided focus on three key areas:-
1) Identifying the most valuable information of the organization which requires protection
2) Identifying the possible risks and threats to that information and finally
3) Outlining and being aware of the damage that would occur if that information was wrongfully utilized by malicious factors.
Businesses are advised to follow up on the cyber risk assessment with a sound plan to counteract this risk and to build and implement an effective cyber security program. This can seem like an uphill task but it can be achieved by starting small, focusing on the most sensitive data first, and slowly scaling up as the need arises.
What are the different kinds of threats?
The ever-growing range of cyber threats from fast moving smash and grab attacks to novel and sophisticated attacks to targeted campaigns, combined with an increasingly distributed workforce have exposed businesses to multifaceted cyber challenges. Effective strategies to contain these must include creating a culture of security and continuous monitoring with an immediate and targeted response. Effective counter strategy must include a constant state of readiness, i.e., always expect a breach and be ready with a plan of action in the worst-case scenario. Finally scrutinizing your supply chain for vulnerabilities from outside vendors filtering into your business is also an essential practice.
What can we do to be more secure?
Fortunately for us, technological solutions for all such needs are built into the options we can choose, like SMOAD solutions for instance. Apart from offering comprehensive network and infrastructure solutions for diverse industries ranging from the Banking and Financial sector to Healthcare to Education to the Hospitality industry, SMOAD offers solutions and products focused on security as much as reliability. The routers come with inbuilt firewalling capabilities and offer central monitoring and control capabilities for added security when it is a question of remote working with dispersed workforces.
In conclusion, thorough risk assessment and having the right strategies in place with the right infrastructure and preparedness should be prioritized to ensure cyber security!