st01_Introduction.md

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title:  Introduction
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# 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/