Cybercrimes are one of the fastest growing menaces these days. The annual losses from these activities are estimated to be more than $6 trillion by 2021. This figure stood at $3 trillion just six years ago. 2018 was a year that saw a surge in ransomware attacks around the world. Almost every major company in the world took a hit because of it. Besides this hacking is a common practice that plagues tech giants like Facebook too. Unfortunately, it is estimated that 38% of all companies are still unprepared to deal with a sophisticated attack of any kind.
The different kinds of attacks
Cybercrimes have evolved drastically over the past few years. In the olden days, they were limited to someone guessing your password and then physically trying to access an account. Today, however, this is not even the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few common types of cyberattacks:
- Phishing: As the name indicates, hackers use various ways to lay bait for unsuspecting victims. This can include creating fake pages and surveys that look legitimate and ask for private user information like credit card or a home address etc.
- Man-in-the-middle: Here, hackers use networks to intercept communications between individuals or companies. They insert themselves in the middle and trick one party into believing that they are the other. Through false impersonation, they can cause massive damages,
- Ransomware: Much like traditional kidnapping for ransom, these cybercrime activities use a bug to infect a system and encrypt files containing crucial information. These files are only released at the payment of a certain amount then.
Significance of Cybersecurity
Considering the growing rates of cybercrime, effective security measures have become imperative. Cybersecurity is the protection of a virtual space created by systems mainly over the internet. It is used for sharing for sensitive and other routine information between and within organizations. Hackers and spoofers etc. have gained the expertise to breach these networks and disable or destroy this data.
Companies rely heavily on digital networks these days and any compromise to their systems can cause significant losses in terms of finances, time and customers, etc. Also, if certain cyberspace falls prey to these malicious elements, others automatically become vulnerable to such attacks. Therefore, cybersecurity is crucial to maintaining the integrity of modern information systems.
Principles of Cybersecurity
The concept of Cybersecurity encompasses two fundamental objectives. The first is the protection of the confidentiality of the information from unauthorized sources. The next is the availability of this information for the real owners of it. Without these core principles, cybersecurity has no solid foundations. These goals give rise to the three main principles of cybersecurity. These are as follows:
Confidentiality: Every system, program and any other platform has some authorized users. These are the people who have the right to access, alter and analyze the information with which they are entrusted. All this data is the property of a company and they reserve the power to grant the keys to whomever they deem fit. Confidentiality, therefore, is the first principle of cybersecurity. It ensures that the information that individuals and organizations attach value to is kept under restricted access,
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Integrity: This principle lays always focus on the fact that information and its credibility have to be maintained. Data is only valuable if it is accurate and not tampered by any element with sinister intentions. When the integrity of sensitive information is compromised it is rendered useless for the main purpose it was meant to serve. The principle of integrity in cybersecurity applies to both stored information as well as communications in transit. The relevant measures must make sure that the appropriateness of information is always preserved,
Availability: Finally, in the principle of availability. Cybersecurity must make sure that the measures put in place to protect cyberspace don’t interfere with the ability of authorized users to access the information. Entry for unwanted personnel must be blocked effectively and there must be robust methods in place for company users to work with the data without hindrance. Moreover, the principle of availability also dictates that there should be secondary access for authorized members in case the traditional channels are not working.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity relies on the above-mentioned basic principles to enact a comprehensive structure for the protection of cyberspace. These three basic factors must be implemented properly to ensure that the network spaces remain secure from criminal activities. The approach for cybersecurity begins by emphasizing on creating a confidential space where the integrity of information is preserved, and it is still available to those who are the real users of this space. Once the relevant equipment is put in place based on these principles, the cyberspaces are guarded effectively.
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