As the world evolves from pocket theft to data theft, the definition of security has been modified. From having chains in the pockets to stay protected from pickpocketing To having passwords and authentication in the system to stay protected from data stealing, security took a step ahead. Whether it is about having locks in the door or about having biometric authentication, security matters. Modes and methods of security keep growing advanced with the need for it.
Here in this article, we will be talking all about cyber security; its need and importance in today’s growing cyber world. What is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word cyber security? Is it about having passwords and pins in your phones and computers? Or is it about being concerned about being hacked? None of them are wrong but we will deep drive about security in this article.
Security, everyone’s favorite word which gives you the sense of being protected and secured. People today are concerned about their security in cyberspace. Cyberspace is the world of technology where billions of gadgets are connected to each other which drastically impacts the way we live, the way we work and the way we conduct business. As it is connected to each other, and billions of data and information are flowing here and there having various vulnerabilities prone to data theft. Being cyber smart is the most fundamental skill everyone should have now. Cyber security is all about protecting your digital assets from being misused, stolen and being destroyed. Every technology comes with the risk, and security measures are applied to mitigate the risk and to protect you from the major occurings. Being secured never comes with a full stop, as every day new vulnerabilities are identified, and there are chances that you are prone to be the victim of cyber crimes. Every asset needs security but security measures can vary depending on the sensitivity it holds within it. The Foundation of security typically involves various principles that develop effective security practices.
Confidentiality:
It is the principle which ensures that the information is only accessible to those individuals who have been authorized to access it. Confidentiality can be maintained by using techniques like encryption, access controls and data classification. It helps you be secure from third party interruption and involvement which reduces the risk of being destroyed.
Integrity:
It is the principle that ensures your data and information is accurate and unaltered by unauthorized parties. Integrity can be maintained using techniques like hash functions, digital signatures. Implementing integrity maintains originality and well beingness of the data.
Availability:
It is the principle ensuring that information is available to authorized users whenever needed. Availability can be maintained using techniques like redundancy, failover systems, and regular backups.
Authentication:
It is the process of verifying the identity of users. It makes sure that the person is the one who they claim to be. Authentication is maintained using techniques like passwords, biometrics, and multi-factor authentication(MFA).
Authorization:
It is the process of determining what a user/system is permitted to access and what actions they are allowed to perform. Authorization is maintained using techniques like Role-based access controls (RBAC), Access control lists(ACLs).
Non-Repudiation:
It is the principle ensuring that a party cannot deny the authenticity of their signature or the sending of a message. Digital signatures and audit trials are the techniques used to maintain non-repudiation.
Accountability:
It refers to the process of ensuring that actions can be traced back to the responsible parties. Techniques like logging, monitoring, and auditing are used to maintain accountability.
Risk Management:
Risk Management is the process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to security. Risk assessments, threat modeling, and vulnerability management are the techniques for risk management.
Security Policies and Procedures:
It is all about establishing rules and guidelines for maintaining security within an organization. Building security policies, procedures, and conducting training programs can help maintain strong security.
Physical Security:
It is all about protecting physical assets from threats and unauthorized access. Techniques like access controls, surveillance, can be used to ensure physical security.
Training and awareness:
It is an important aspect of security as it includes educating users and staff about security best practices and threats. Regular training sessions, awareness programs, and simulations can help organizations stay aware and secured from major internal threats and external threats.
Network Security:
It is the implementation measures to protect network infrastructures from unauthorized access and attacks. It includes firewalls, IDS (intrusion detection system), and secure network configurations.
System security:
This ensures that individuals systems and applications are secure from vulnerabilities and threats. This involves regular patching, secure coding practices, and system hardening.
Security is never fully achieved. There are always loopholes in your system. Rather it needs continuous monitoring to detect threats and mitigate the risks. It is easy to say be secure, protect yourself, but when it comes to implementing security measures, it is never enough. No system is totally secured. Same security measure does not apply for all. It depends from system to system. Some systems can be secured just by using passwords and Multi-factor Authentication(MFA) while some might need some extra protection using access-control policies.
Organizational security
Talking about security in any organization, it is very important to ensure that every employee is aware of their own job roles. Awareness within individuals is crucial as it plays a great role to be self-aware with impact on being self secure. When people are aware they feel more responsible towards their work and stay alert. Within an organization, there is a maximum chance that insider threats will be more dangerous. Insider threats refers to those threats which will be caused by the people/employees working inside the company. That’s either getting access into their co-workers’ workplace or having some negative feelings towards the co-worker. Training sessions should be given to the employees so that they can take the first step towards security. Being secure doesn’t only mean having a password in their laptops and computers, it is more than that. There are threats like phishing, malware attacks, social engineering which are very common in any workplace. So it is very important to be aware of these terms and stay alert.
Phishing:
Have you wondered how those innocent fishes enjoying in water get trapped by seeing the baits in the hook? They are tempted to see that food and come to eat the food and get caught by the fisherman. Like the same way, you can also get trapped with fake emails and text messages which seems so tempting but causes harm to you. You should know about phishing, how it can harm your work and what a phishing email looks like. Phishing emails/ sites are similar to the real/original ones but are different if we check them. They come with different color themes compared to the real ones. It has a lot of grammatical errors but are unnoticeable if not checked deeply. And if you once get trapped, there is a high chance that your credentials may be misused. For example, mostly people get trapped in the name of heavy discounts and offers which they can’t unsee. Once clicked on the link, then you might be at risk of being exploited. That’s why security awareness on phishing is very important.
Social engineering:
There is a limit for everything, Remember not to cross it. As we say, overeating is unhealthy, overscreening is not good, likewise oversharing is also dangerous in this era. When you share everything with other people, you might not notice when you flip and share some personal information about yourself. You might think that doesn’t matter at all but small things matter. There is a chance that the other person might misuse your personal information and can even blackmail you. In this digital era, we can’t trust anyone when it comes to data. If data can make you then the same data can even break you so stay alert with what you are sharing and with whom you are sharing. Social engineering is the technique where a person tries to get the information from another person through the conversation without letting the other person know that he/she is being trapped. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to people, rather it means to think before you speak and be aware of what you are speaking.
Organizations should be able to provide training and awareness sessions on the importance of security and how they can minimize the risk of being trapped. Within the workplace a clear hierarchy is to be made so that it will be easier to report, manage and recover if anything goes out of the track in the organization. A well structured policies and plans are to be prepared to face any issues that may arise. Implementing security protocols like SSL(Secure Socket Layers) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) will help you enable secure communication by encrypting data and verifying the identities of the communicating parties.
Self secure! You probably had heard about this, right? What do you answer when someone asks you : Are you self secure? Will your answer be like : Yes I have password in my phones and laptops or yes i have biometric based bank accounts or i have two factor authentication in my system. It’s not only limited to passwords and locks, rather security has a lot to take care of. To be self secure first you need to be self aware. Self aware is the state where individuals know them and their actions. Being self aware doesn’t only mean knowing oneself it also means to stay alert for what might happen next and how you would react to it. First you need to be aware about what you are sharing, where you are sharing and also be aware of what might happen if someone sniffed their data. As the digital era is always prone to vulnerabilities, security measures and methods are also evolving accordingly, so one can never be fully secured so they should always be aware about what might happen next. Continuous learning is very important in this evolving era as anything might occur anytime. Trusting your people is okay but don’t share everything about yourself and be alert when it comes to your digital data.
There are cases where we come to hear that many companies/organizations are being collapsed and are hit by ransomware attacks because they think that they are fully secured and implement the major security alerts but this is where they lack. Major cases are there where they lack continuous improvement and regular monitoring on their devices and systems. Nowadays various tools and mechanisms are available to protect you and your organizations from the root level like firewalls with IPS/IDS (Intrusion Prevention Devices/Intrusion Detection System) which will give you security from network level to end point level security. But there is always the chance that an attacker can find out the way to get into your system so that they can get access to it and tamper with it according to them. No matter how much you try there is always the chance that attackers are one step ahead of you so never stop working on the security as it never stops. Always keep track of where the data is flowing from your system and make sure that they are all in a secured channel.
As per Collins Dictionary, security is the state of being or feeling secured or the sense of safety or certainty. In an increasingly digital world, maintaining the foundation of security is important for protecting data and systems. Key security principles, like availability, confidentiality, and integrity, can be understood and put into practice to help people and organizations defend against a variety of threats. Security is a continuous process that calls for alertness, ongoing education, and flexibility in response to new threats. Our security procedures need to change along with technology to make sure we can withstand new threats. In the end, any organization’s ability to uphold trust, safeguard its resources, and guarantee its long-term success depends on its ability to establish a solid security foundation.
