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Cybersecurity is critical because it safeguards all types of data against theft and damage. Sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and government and industry information systems are all included. Your organisation cannot defend itself against data breach campaigns without a cybersecurity programme, making it an easy target for cybercriminals.
The use of cloud services, such as Amazon Web Services, to store sensitive data and personal information is increasing both inherent and residual risk. Because of widespread poor cloud service configuration and increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals, the risk that your organisation will suffer from a successful cyber attack or data breach is increasing.
Business leaders can no longer rely solely on off-the-shelf cybersecurity solutions such as antivirus software and firewalls because cybercriminals are becoming smarter and their tactics are becoming more resilient to traditional cyber defences. To stay safe, it’s critical to cover all aspects of cybersecurity.
Cyber attacks can originate at any level of your organisation. Workplaces must provide cybersecurity awareness training to employees to educate them on common cyber threats such as social engineering scams, phishing, ransomware attacks (such as WannaCry), and other malware designed to steal intellectual property or personal data.
Because of the increasing number of data breaches, cybersecurity is no longer limited to highly regulated industries such as healthcare. Even small businesses are vulnerable to irreversible reputational damage as a result of a data breach.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the state or process of defending and recovering computer systems, networks, devices, and programmes from cyber attacks of any kind. As attackers use new methods powered by social engineering and artificial intelligence (AI) to circumvent traditional data security controls, cyber attacks are becoming a more sophisticated and evolving threat to your sensitive data.
The world is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, and this reliance will continue as we introduce the next generation of new technology, which will have access to our connected devices via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
To protect customer data while embracing new technology, intelligent cloud security solutions should be implemented alongside strong password policies such as multi-factor authentication to mitigate unauthorised access. You can find the best cybersecurity companies in Malaysia from Teh Talk.
The Importance of Cybersecurity
The importance of cybersecurity is growing. Fundamentally, our society is more technologically dependent than ever before, and this trend shows no signs of abating. Data leaks that could lead to identity theft are now being publicised on social media accounts. Social security numbers, credit card information, and bank account information are now stored in cloud storage services such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Every day, whether you are an individual, a small business, or a large multinational corporation, you rely on computer systems. When we combine this with the rise of cloud services, inadequate cloud service security, smartphones, and the Internet of Things (IoT), we have a plethora of potential security vulnerabilities that did not exist a few decades ago. Even though the skill sets are becoming more similar, we must understand the distinction between cybersecurity and information security.
Governments all over the world are paying closer attention to cybercrime. GDPR is an excellent example. It has exacerbated the reputational damage caused by data breaches by requiring all organisations operating in the EU to:
- Inform people about data breaches.
- Designate a data protection officer.
- Require user permission to process data.
- To ensure privacy, anonymize data.
Why The Rate Of Cybersecurity Is Increasing?
Theft of information is the most expensive and fastest-growing type of cybercrime. This is primarily due to the increased exposure of identity information to the web via cloud services.
However, it is not the only target. Power grids and other infrastructure can be disrupted or destroyed if industrial controls are disrupted or destroyed. Identity theft isn’t the only goal of cyber attacks; they can also aim to undermine data integrity (destroy or change data) in order to instil distrust in an organisation or government.
Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, shifting their targets, how they affect organisations, and how they attack various security systems. Social engineering is still the most common type of cyber attack, with ransomware, phishing, and spyware being the most common entry points. Third-party and fourth-party vendors who process your data and have poor cybersecurity practices are another common attack vector, emphasising the importance of vendor risk management and third-party risk management.
According to Accenture and the Ponemon Institute’s Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study, the average cost of cybercrime for an organisation has increased by $1.4 million in the last year to $13.0 million, and the average number of data breaches has increased by 11% to 145. Management of information risk has never been more important.
Financial information such as credit card numbers or bank account details, protected health information (PHI), personally identifiable information (PII), trade secrets, intellectual property, and other targets of industrial espionage can all be compromised by data breaches. Unintentional information disclosure, data leak, cloud leak, information leakage, or a data spill are other terms for data breaches.
Other factors that are driving the rise of cybercrime are:
- The Internet’s distributed nature
- Because cybercriminals can attack targets outside their jurisdiction, policing is extremely difficult.
- Increasing the profitability and ease of doing business on the dark web
- Mobile device proliferation and the Internet of Things
How To Protect You and Your Organisation Against Cybercrime?
- Educate your staff
- Human error was responsible for 90% of data breaches in 2019. However, there is a silver lining to this troubling statistic. The majority of data breach incidents could be avoided if employees were taught how to identify and respond to cyber threats. Such educational programmes could also increase the value of all cybersecurity solution investments by preventing employees from unknowingly circumventing costly security controls to facilitate cybercrime.
- Protect your sensitive data
- Invest in tools that limit information loss, monitor third-party and fourth-party vendor risk, and scan for data exposure and leaked credentials on a regular basis. If left unattended, data leaks can assist cybercriminals in gaining access to internal networks and breaching sensitive resources. It is critical to implement a data leak detection solution that can also monitor leaks throughout the third-party network.
- Almost 60% of data breaches are caused by compromised third-party providers; therefore, by preventing vendor data leaks, the majority of data breach incidents can be avoided.