What is Cyber Security?

The Internet was launched in 1996 for the public. With its immediate popularity, we have seen an exploding growth in its usage. It has changed the way we live, and humans have become more and more dependent on it. Therefore, with the rise in the Internet user base and new features, cybercrime became increasingly popular. The nature of the crime shifted from only damaging computers physically to introducing viruses in public networks.

Studies estimated that a striking financial loss of around $160 million happens every year due to cybercrime. That's a significant number.

In this article, we will dig deep into the practice of cybersecurity.

Let us first know what a Cyber-Attack is?

Cyberattack

A cyberattack is when somebody attempts to disable computers, steal confidential data, or use a breached computer system to launch other cyber attacks. The individuals who perform a cyberattack are called cybercriminals. A typical cyber-attack result is a data breach, which exposes personal data and additional sensitive information.

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Types of cyber attacks

A cyber attack can be an active or a passive threat.

Active cyber attack

This type of attack alters a system or affects its operation.

Passive cyber attack

This type of attack gains access to a system or uses its information. However, it does not affect the system resources.

Types of active cyber attacks

Email spoofing: It is a type of attack which creates emails with a forged sender address. Phishing attacks and spam emails mislead the recipient about the sender of the email.

Phishing: This attack gathers sensitive information like credit card details, bank account numbers, or other important financial information from a fake site.

Denial-of-service-attacks (DoS): This attack removes the authentic user’s access to information systems, devices, and networks.

Brute force attacks: Individuals gain unauthorized access to sensitive data by cracking usernames and passwords in this widespread cyber attack.

Types of passive cyber attacks

Backdoor: In this attack, someone bypasses standard encryption in a computer system, products, and other authentic devices.

Computer surveillance: In this type of attack, an individual monitors computer activity, and stored data. 

Network surveillance: In this attack, somebody monitors the activity, and data passed over computer networks.

Port scanning: Individuals use this method to identify open ports and services on an available network host.

Now that we have understood what a cyber attack is and its types let's know cybersecurity.

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What is cybersecurity?

In simple words, cybersecurity is a practice that protects systems, networks, hardware, and sensitive data from malicious cyber attacks. It is also commonly referred to as information technology (IT) security.

Almost every industry nowadays is adopting cybersecurity practices to protect their organization and customers. Since it applies to many contexts in the digital sphere, let's look at cybersecurity types.

Types of cybersecurity

Let’s look into the main categories of cybersecurity: 

Application security

Application security is an essential security measure for businesses. It manages external threats in the application's development stage.

There are three types of application security:

• Antivirus programs

• Encryption programs and

• Firewalls

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Network security

Network security is concerned with the safety of the internal networks by protecting the infrastructure and guarding access to it.

Today, security experts are adopting machine learning to identify abnormal traffic and get threat alerts in real-time.

The common areas covered by network security are:

• New passwords

• Extra login information

• Antispyware software

Critical infrastructure security

Examples of critical infrastructure include:

• Shopping centers

• Hospitals

• Water purification

• Traffic lights

The safety of the above critical infrastructures is essential to society. Therefore, businesses should strive to understand the vulnerabilities in their infrastructure and adopt protective measures.

Cloud security

Cloud security is a security tool that protects and monitors the data in the cloud. It is software-based.

Although cloud security is similar to traditional data centers, it holds a higher advantage with cost and time effectiveness. Also, there is little risk of security breaches.

Importance of cybersecurity

We rely on technology more than ever. Hence, the importance of cybersecurity is continuously on the rise. Social media accounts are becoming more personal. Cloud storage devices like Google Drive now store sensitive financial information. 

The main point is that cybersecurity is crucial to almost any individual, small business, or large organization that regularly depend on computer systems.

Here are the top 5 reasons why cybersecurity is vital in the current digital atmosphere.

1. Cyber attacks impact everyone

A cyber attack can harm millions of individuals, organizations, and public services with a single attempt. For example, the SamSam ransomware attacked the city of Atlanta. It was so dangerous that the entire town was offline for five days.

Therefore, cybersecurity becomes more relevant as the attacks can even happen on a global scale. Government organizations have more confidential information than ever, which increases the risk of data breaches.

2. Technology changes and advancements will increase cyberattacks

Modern technological advances have their challenges as they become more vulnerable. They automate the cyber attacks making it even harder to prevent them. They pose a global threat to organizations because they can be attempted on a massive scale.

3. Cybersecurity protects businesses and jobs

In recent years, harmful breaches have been causing millions of dollars worth of damages to multinational companies. They waste many resources on recovering the data, and many individuals lose their jobs due to this.

For example, somebody leaked over $540 million of Facebook users' information to Amazon's cloud computing service.

Cybersecurity practices can help prevent this. When businesses have adequate security measures, then the risk of the employees losing their jobs becomes minimal.

4. Individuals face many cybersecurity threats every day

Individuals can face many risks of a cyber attack as any multinational company or a country would. For example, identity theft is a massive concern because hackers steal an individual's personal information and then sell it for profit. The data can include sensitive financial details, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

While people with high net worth like celebrities are at more risk, every computer system user needs to understand ways to implement cybersecurity in their daily usage.

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Cybersecurity career prospects in India

India has one of the large computer user bases globally, yet, the number of cybersecurity professionals in India is less. But many companies are adopting it to protect their sensitive data and customer information as well.

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Top cybersecurity jobs in India

Network Security Engineer: The network security engineer holds a vital position in an organization. He manages the security systems and ensures their implementation. The primary responsibilities include identifying weaknesses, maintenance of firewalls and VPNs, improving automation, etc. The average salary of a network security engineer is 4 to 8 lakhs per year.

Security Architect: The security architect plans, researches, and designs the elements of the network and computer security. Furthermore, he also develops the company's policies and procedures. The average salary of a security architect is about 17 lakhs per annum.

Cyber Security Analyst: Cybersecurity analyst plans, implements, and upgrade security measures and controls. He also conducts tests for identifying vulnerabilities and security assessments. The average salary of a cybersecurity analyst is six lakhs per annum.

Cyber Security Manager: Cybersecurity managers maintain the security protocols of an organization. They are also responsible for increasing network and Internet security. The average salary of a cybersecurity manager is about 12 lakhs per year.

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Top skills you need to get a job in cybersecurity.

If you think you want a career in cybersecurity, then you're in the right place. We will now tell you the top skills that are in demand to get a job in cybersecurity. The field is increasing, and there is a need for qualified individuals.

Here is a list of the top cybersecurity skills: 

Problem-solving skills: Cybersecurity professionals need to find out-of-the-box ways to address the challenges they encounter in their day-to-day work.

Technical knowledge: As it is a technology-related field, being savvy with the digital environment is essential.

Knowledge of security for different platforms: Cybersecurity is not just focused on computers but also on various devices and platforms like mobile devices, wireless networks, etc. Professionals must keep up with the latest advances in the field.

Communication skills: You must be well-versed in cybersecurity strategies and policies to communicate technical information with other individuals at different levels.

Ethical hacking: Cybersecurity professionals must learn Ethical Hacking. It helps them understand the breaches and then create solutions to protect against the attacks.

What are the three primary goals of cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is all about protecting the information exchange of a business. It has three primary goals:

Availability: Systems, services, and information must be readily available to businesses and their clients when needed.

Integrity: The information generated and processed must be complete, uncorrupted, and trustworthy.

Confidentiality: Important data must be made accessible only to people or systems who are given permission.

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Wrapping up

The online world is developing by the second. The bigger the user base gets, the more security measures we need to take. Businesses are highly dependent on online networks and services. Therefore, the cybersecurity field needs to catch up with the latest demands.

So, what will the future look like for cybersecurity? We are moving towards significant advancements and new strategies to protect a large amount of sensitive data. There is still a lot more to look forward to - from reporting cybercrimes effectively and protecting the digital ecosystem from the start.