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Introduction |
Introduction
(DG: Note, Far Too Mych Hyperbole)
Cyber Security is a topic that is rarely out of the news, from allegations of state sponsored interference in the democratic process, data breaches revealing personal data, and high profile "hacks" of mobile apps, millions of people are potentially effected daily.
Cyber Security is focused on protecting computer systems, their components and the data stored on them from attack, unauthorised access or damage.
Unlike physical security, If we wish to protect an asset we could build a big wall around it, and have security guards protecting the entry points. Cyber security tends to be more nebulous, the nature of the threats is constantly evolving, and our strategies for protection need to change to deal with these threats.
Having effective Cyber Security reduces the risk of threats to people and organisations, either reducing the change that a system will be compromised, or the impact of an attack if (or when) the worst happens.
Why is it important
The cost of Cyber crime is increasing with new threats discovered daily, while businesses are a more obvious target, individuals are still at risk. Action fraud had 332,570 incidents worth £706 Million, reported in the 6 months between October 2017 and March 2018.
For organisations, privacy laws can lead to significant fines for organisations, GDPR, has a maximum fine of ~£17 Million, or 4% of annual turnover.
Finally, was the world becomes more "connected", with the rise of web enabled "smart" devices, the number of ways we can be attacked is growing. While previously we only needed to worry about our desktop computer being compromised, now even our fridge, or TV can be a target.
The Three Pillars of Cyber Security
Effective cyber security is based on Three elements,
People Human error is still the leading cause of data breaches. Educating users on the dangers they face online is an important factor in cyber security. Computer users should be aware of threats such as Phishing, The dangers of weak or shard passwords, and how cyber attacks happen.
Processes in a business, some processes can be counter productive to good security. Simple things like a poor password policy can increase the threat (as people are more likely to reuse, or write passwords down). Additionally, at a higher level, strategies to identify, mitigate and respond to cyber threats are vital.
Technology is another important factor. Ensuring that your software and hardware is resilient to attack. This can include using software such as Antivirus or Firewalls, to protect against attack, and ensuring that software is secure and up to date.
Summary
In summary, cyber security is the process of protecting our computer based assets against attack. Good cyber security is not only dependent on getting the latest hardware, but also on the people using the system understanding the threats and taking steps to avoid exposure.
In the next set of topics we will focus on the specific aspects of cyber security.
Links
http://www.infoguardsecurity.com/the-three-pillars-of-cybersecurity/