So, what is so important about Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is of very high importance because it protects all categories of data from theft and damage in the online realm. This includes sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems.
The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines cybersecurity as “the art of protecting networks, devices, and data from unlawful access or criminal use and the practice of guaranteeing confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.”
Companies and organizations in the United States, as well as multiple foreign governments, have been harmed by theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, and other highly valuable information by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) in the past. By establishing initial access, the APT exploits user and administrator credentials, enables lateral movement within the network, and locates high value assets to exfiltrate data. To reduce risk, network defense procedures should be implemented and comply with best practices.
The introduction of regulations such as HIPAA, CMMC, NIST, etc. are forcing many businesses to be more invested in cybersecurity than ever before. A common thread to each of these the requirements is the need for businesses to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data, regularly review controls, as well as being able to detect, investigate and report breaches. Moving forward, we can expect more government regulations to roll out as technology continues to advance.
Getting hacked isn’t just a direct threat to the confidential data companies. It can also ruin their relationships with customers, and even place them in significant legal jeopardy as a result.
Cybersecurity attacks are on the rise:
• As of 2021, there is a ransomware attack every 11 seconds, a significant increase from 39 seconds in 2019.
• 43% of cyber-attacks consist of targeting small businesses, and have had a 400 percent increase since the outbreak began
The Small Business Association (SBA) reports that small businesses make attractive targets due to their lack of security infrastructure. The SBA also reports that 88% of small business owners felt their business was vulnerable for an attack. This is because many of these businesses:
• Can’t afford professional IT solutions
• Lack overall cybersecurity knowledge
• Have limited time to devote to cybersecurity
• Don’t know where to begin
Having an overall awareness of the dangers of browsing the web, checking emails and interacting online in general are all part of developing cybersecurity awareness. Cybersecurity awareness can have several definitions to people all depending on their level of technical knowledge. Ensuring appropriate training is readily available to individuals in the workplace is a great way to motivate long lasting behavioral changes.
While cybersecurity awareness is the first step, employees and individuals must embrace and proactively use effective practices both professionally and personally in order to truly have effective cybersecurity practices, according to Forbes.
Contact CompuOne to discover the importance of cybersecurity.
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