What is Cyber Security?: Everything you need to know

An area that has grown exponentially in recent years, cyber security involves protecting data and systems. Critical information can be stolen and used to damage specific individuals, enterprises or businesses.

This article will give you everything you need to know about what cyber security is, why it's important, and some threats to take note of so you can safeguard your data.

What is cyber security?

Cyber security is the process of protecting, detecting and responding to events that occur in cyberspace that may harm the interests of organisations, individuals or countries.

Cyber security is a term that has been thrown around a lot in recent years, and has been used to describe everything from data and information security to network security and software security.

The word ‘cyber’ refers to anything related to computers and networks, while ‘security’ refers to the overall system. Cyber security covers the entire spectrum of activities performed in support of information systems throughout the IT environment.

The importance of cyber security

Cyber security is a rapidly growing field, and the number of companies employing professionals in the field has grown markedly.

As we live more and more of our lives online, the potential for cyber attacks has inevitably risen. The only way to prevent these attacks is to understand them.

Cyber attacks are constantly increasing in frequency, sophistication, and complexity. While there are still many unknowns regarding how effective these professionals will be at protecting your organisation, they can play an important part in preventing cyber attacks.

The rise of cyber crime has created a heightened awareness of cyber security among employees and companies. This has led to an increased focus on risk management and security practices at all levels of the organisation.

Types of cyber security threats

The world of cyber security is constantly changing, and it's important to stay on top of new threats and update your defences accordingly. Many types of cyber attacks can take place at any given time.

Here's a look at some of those threats and how they can affect you:

Social engineering: The art of influencing people into performing actions they would not normally perform. This includes phishing emails and websites that appear to be legitimate but are designed to gather sensitive information such as usernames, passwords or credit card details.

Denial of Service (DoS): A type of attack where a website or server is overwhelmed with traffic from multiple sources, so it cannot process requests from legitimate users. This can prevent customers from accessing your site and/or offering them poor service.

Viruses: Viruses infect computers by exploiting vulnerabilities in software applications that are downloaded from the internet or installed on a computer through other means. Once installed on a computer, viruses can perform various malicious functions such as stealing confidential data, disrupting business operations or providing unauthorised access to networks or systems.

Physical attacks: Physical attacks are when hackers make unauthorised modifications to your data or equipment. These include installing malicious software on your computer or using physical force or violence against another person or object.

Malware: Malware refers to any type of harmful software program that may be used by hackers to steal sensitive data from a compromised computer system or network. Some malware programs can have adverse effects on the user’s computer system, such as slowing its performance or causing it to crash altogether.

Conclusion

The reality is that cyber security is not just about protecting your business from external threats; it’s also about protecting your employees and customers.

If you have confidential information on your computer system, it could be used to launch an attack against your company. In addition, if someone were to hack into one of your systems, they could cause damage or even cause physical harm to others who work at your company or use its services.

You must keep up with the latest methods for protecting yourself and your data from hackers.

If you don’t have a cyber security plan in place, then your business could be at risk of experiencing serious financial loss or even complete data loss — which could potentially mean the end of your company.

A good cyber security plan is a comprehensive approach to managing the risks and vulnerabilities of your computer network. It includes all the steps necessary to protect your business from cyber attacks, with measures to mitigate the damage if an attack does occur.