Why Cyber Security is the Need of the Hour?

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and a few minutes of cyber-incident to ruin it.” – Stephane Nappo

In the modern world, technological advancements are at their peak, increasing utilization and rapid acceleration of digital transformation coincides with the rise of cyber threats, several companies in the world have been combating cyber attacks due to which cybersecurity has become the top priority for IT firms and an essential measure for every digital platform

To understand the need for cybersecurity we need to understand what cybersecurity is!

WHAT IS CYBERSECURITY? 

The word cyber means anything digital and security means security or safety.

It is a technology that is designed to protect a system or network from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.

Therefore, cybersecurity is a sphere that deals with sanctioning countermeasures against thefts or damage to the hardware.

In other words, It secures the computer system from cyberattacks.

So, here a question arises is, 

WHAT ARE CYBERATTACKS? WHO ARE BEHIND THE CYBERATTACKS?

Cyberattacks are an attack on the computer networks to destroy, expose, purloin or to gain unauthorized access on the system for embezzlement of an asset for some unauthorized use.

It is an assault launched by cybercriminals using one or more computers against single or multiple computers or networks. A cyber attack can maliciously disable computers, steal data, or use a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks via hacking or by manipulating someone but hacking is considered the backbone of cybercrime. The main culprit of cyberattacks are the hackers 

In some areas hacking is legal. There are primarily three categories of hackers. 

The first one is BLACK HAT HACKERS : 

A black hat hacker is a hacker who violates computer security for their profit or malice. They are the traditional malicious intent hackers. These hackers hack the system illegally and do things that cause harm to the target system such as stealing information, misusing the information, and so on. These hackers are considered to be illegal. 

The second one is WHITE HAT HACKERS:

A white hat is an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security expert, who specializes in penetration testing and other testing methodologies that ensure the security of an organization’s information systems. These hackers do things legally, 

They take permission from the target system before hacking. This type of hacking is done for the amelioration of the system. These hackers are legal

It is a part of ethical hacking and also considered a better career option 

White hat Hackers are just opposite to black hat Hackers 

The third one is GRAY HAT HACKERS :

A grey hat is a computer hacker or computer security expert who may sometimes violate laws or typical ethical standards but does not have the malicious intent typical of a black hat hacker. It is a sort of combination of white and black hat Hackers. Based on their actions they considered legal or illegal.

These illegal hackers are the cybercriminals who use technology to commit malicious activities on digital systems or networks to steal sensitive company information or personal data and generate profit.

There are some common hacks that these hackers opt for malevolent and venomous practice. 

Some of them are:

1. Malware: it is software designed to cause harm to the system. A computer virus is the best-known malware. Malware is just short for “malicious software”.
2. Phishing: it steals the data through telephone, emails, messages. Here, hackers reveal information by manipulating the target. 
3. SQL injection: in an SQL attack an injection of SQL query is being injected via input data or a code injection technique is used to attack the data for stealing information.
4. Cross-site scripting: it is also known as XSS. It is a web security vulnerability that permits hackers to manipulate javascript code and embed something malevolent in that code. 
5. Denial of service: this attack makes the system inaccessible to its user. This attack is accomplished by flooding the target system with traffic or sending a lot of irrelevant information that triggers a crash. This attack takes place on a larger scale. 
6. Man in the middle: this attack is a cyberattack where the attacker secretly relays and possibly alters the communications between two parties who believe that they are directly communicating with each other. It is in the field of cryptography. 

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY

Increasing digital dependence also results in increasing cybercrime there are several risks associated including social engineering, which uses trusted personas to gain sensitive information on an individual; Phishing, which includes the theft of confidential information or money; that is increasing by leaps and bounds after the innovation was introduced, Sometimes it also becomes the matter of life and death. 

In the present world, cybercrime or cyberattacks are skyrocketing. Several large-scale cyberattacks have affected major companies such as Target, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Home Depot. Here are some lists related to cybercrime. 

List of some recent cyberattacks

1. Capital One breach
2. The Weather Channel ransomware
3. U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Perceptics
4. Citrix breach
5. Texas ransomware attacks
6. WannaCry
7. NotPetya
8. Ethereum
9. Equifax
10. Yahoo
11. GitHub

Biggest data breaches

1. Adobe 
2. Adult Friend Finder
3. Canva
4. Dubsmash
5. eBay
6. Equifax
7. Heartland Payment Systems 
8. LinkedIn
9. Marriott International
10. My Fitness Pal
11. MySpace
12. NetEase
13. Sina Weibo
14. Yahoo
15. Zynga

In 2017, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 1,783 ransomware complaints that cost victims over $2.3 million.

Here is a list of some of the major cyber-attacks that took place in 2021:

1.  Channel Nine.
2. Harris Federation.
3. CNA Financial.
4. Florida Water System.
5. Microsoft Exchange Mass Cyber Attack.
6. Airplane manufacturer Bombardier.
7. Computer Maker Acer.
8. University of the Highlands and Islands.
9. Accellion Supply Chain Attack
10. Sierra Wireless 

As we can see there are so many long lists that are evidence of the pressing need for strict cyber laws. This may result in increased concern about cybersecurity among the companies. As rightly said by Christopher Graham “The knock-on effect of a data breach can be devastating for a company. When customers start taking their business—and their money—elsewhere, that can be a real body blow.”  

Most of these issues can be circumvented by hiring a strong and devoted cybersecurity team. Companies need to ameliorate their security infrastructure to resist cyberattacks. This is the only way to safeguard the image or information of the company. Reputation for every company is paramount.

It is an essential measure for every company or organization. There are millions of users of the internet and millions of customers who deserve safety.

Many organizations have started investing in inspecting their system and data with increasing organizational complexity. 

A cyberattack can destroy the hard work of several years & demolish the whole career and hurt goodwill. Unauthorized access by cybercriminals may lead to a financial and reputational loss. These actions increase insecurities among workers and unstable customers. Even after having numerous issues still, we are having shortages of cybersecurity professionals.

They play a role of backbone or a support system for a company. The demand for cybersecurity professionals is too high and supply is so low aa we are facing a shortage. In the report, Indeed examined the demand for cybersecurity professionals across 10 countries. Israel, Ireland, the UK, the US, and Germany were the top five nations with the largest shortages but still, laws are obligatory.

High-time strict law against cybercrime is the need of the hour as it encompasses everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data, personally identifiable information, personal information, intellectual property requisite data, and government & industry information system from theft and damage attempted. Not only law, but awareness is also important so that more n more people plump for this profession and can cover the skyrocketing demand.