As one who uses the Internet, you must be keen to safeguard your personal data and assets from cyber crime. From being a corporate threat, data breach and theft has become a concern for the society and government as well.
How to protect your data from theft? How do you defend your company assets and data from being misused by malicious actors? By learning all about Cyber Security practices and technologies, of course!
Register for an Introduction to Cyber Security, the course that gives you an overview of Cyber Security and teaches you the various techniques and tools employed to protect networks, data, systems and devices. Whether for boosting your personal knowledge or helping you in your chosen career, a course in Cyber Security enhances your knowledge base in IT security related aspects.
What is Cyber Security
Cyber Security is the practice of defending internet-connected systems and electronic systems such as computers, servers, networks, devices, programs and data from malicious attacks. It is the application of technologies, tools, techniques, controls and best practices to protect the systems, devices and networks from cyber attacks.
Cyber Security consists of two keywords, ‘cyber’ and ‘security’. ‘Cyber’ refers to the set of technology, systems and programs. ‘Security’ is related to the protection and defence practices used to safeguard the IT assets and applications from digital threats whether internal or external. That’s why it is also know as information technology security or IT security.
Cyber Security typically leverages hardware, software and recommended practices to protect the hardware from damage and the software and data from being stolen or compromised. Cyber Security thus offers protection to your IT assets and data sent through the devices and network.
Why is Cyber Security important
We live in a digital era of 24/7 global connectivity through various devices. Or everyday lives, work, entertainment and social activity are governed by the internet and conducted on networks, computer and mobile devices. While critical infrastructure such as banking and finance, healthcare, e-government facilities and manufacturing are networked as core operations, other activities like e-commerce, cab services and social media depend upon applications and secure networks for transactions.
Data transferred over the network and conducted on systems and devices include intellectual property information personally identifiable information of users, financial and business data and other important data that are sensitive and accorded high security. If these data were to be compromised in any way by malicious actors, the exposure or theft of information can have serious negative impacts on the existence of organisations that rely upon customer trust and brand loyalty. External parties with evil intentions can use the stolen data for extortion, financial gain political or other social purposes. Business rivals can use cyber criminals to steal data or even cause damage to the reputation for their own selfish gains or business edge.
At the other end of the spectrum is the user or consumer, who stands to lose intellectual property, monetary and other assets, or safety, if these sensitive personal data is sold on dark web as has recently become the practice of cyber criminals. Consumers can be exposed to blackmail or vandalism based on the stolen information.
Cyber attacks are increasing globally and have thus become an international concern, not just for monetary, business and economic concerns but also the functioning of infrastructure that is today networked on the Internet. Furthermore, organisations and utility companies that deal with critical infrastructure related to the well-being of its citizens, national security or financial records have become vulnerable, and are keen to protect sensitive information and infrastructure. Over the last two years, we have witnessed several such incidents all over the world, where power stations have been breached throwing vast areas into total darkness and chaos. Imagine if cyber attacks were to focus on utilities like water! This could endanger the whole economy and throw lives into danger.
Therefore, it is crucial to have a robust Cyber Security strategy in place, to protect sensitive data, systems, infra and personal information from security breaches and malicious cyber attacks.
Cyber Security Technologies
The area of Cyber Security is much like a Tom and Jerry show, where as soon as Jerry counters a type of malicious attack Tom comes up with another evil strategy to attack. Information security warrior are like the mouse Jerry where they keep devising strategies to secure networks and systems from data breach and cyber attacks and cyber criminals develop a fresh method of cyber breach and attack.
In this scenario, Cyber Security experts have developed a set of tools and techniques that they leverage to secure the systems, devices and network they guard 24/7. Increasingly they are turning to disruptive technologies to add to their cyber defence efforts.
Here is a list of Cyber Security technologies used by infosec vanguards:
Embedded Hardware Authentication
Pins, usernames and password are inadequate for foolproof protection of hardware. A new method is to embed authentication into the hardware itself to verify user identity. These authentication chips are powerful protections and deploy multiple levels of authentication simultaneously, for near fail-safe protection.
Context-aware Behavioral Analytics
Once password is compromised, anyone who has breached can engage in malicious behaviour. This may trigger alerts in the system where protection measures are adopted. But what about frequent red flags? How to differentiate between a harmless or bona fide entry into the system from that by an attacker?
Random security alerts do not always indicate a cyber attack. And with the use of behavioral analytics, such warnings can be monitored for identification of suspicious transactions and behavior. This technology is based on the logic that unusual behavior is suspicious, like sudden frequent file movements, transaction with a first-time party or a large transaction with a third party. These activities do not conform to past behavioral patterns, and cannot always be flagged as risk. However, context-aware analytics like bioprinting (the rate at which an employee can type), mobile location tracking or phone printing that acoustically analyzes spoof calls, identifies patterns on a system or network to detect potential and real threats. For instance, an unusual increase in data transmission from a device could represent a Cyber Security threat. It compares a behavior with similar activities or individuals to indicate that something is happening that should not be occurring.
AI and Deep Learning
AI technologies like machine learning and deep learning are used to focus on anomalous behaviour since to behavioural analytics. Malicious behavior is differentiated from legitimate behavior with respect to security. Machine learning is used to interpret between good and bad software and decrease the time for advanced threat detection. Deep learning analyzes data such as logs and real-time communications to detect suspicious activities.
Security assertion mark-up language (SAML) and the Cloud
Issues like the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) culture can embed encryption with SAML and intrusion detection technologies for network traffic management. This way the information in the cloud is shut in. The SAML alert system alerts logins, authentication state, identifiers, and other information exchange between the identity and service provider.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology is based on the identification between two transaction parties and peer-to-peer network fundamentals. Members in a blockchain verify the authenticity of the data added establishing a robust verification system, considered a near-foolproof network for hackers.
Virtual Dispersive Networking (VDN)
Man-in-the-middle (MiM) attacks are cracking traditional encryption and targeting nodes. Messages are altered or inserted into a communication channel and encrypted data can be broken by parallel processing power. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are often unable to protect messages as they traverse intermediary pathways.
The solution is to split the message and encrypt these parts to re-route them over servers, computers and mobile phones, using differing protocols. Since the data travels in dynamic paths, hackers are unable to find the parts as they sift through data centers, networks, the cloud or Internet.You can check the sources at the https://proxy-rarbg.org/
