Why Is Cybersecurity Important? All You Need To Know

Why is cybersecurity important? With an increasing number of users, devices and programs in the modern enterprise, combined with the increased deluge of data — much of which is sensitive or confidential — the importance of cybersecurity continues to grow. The growing volume and sophistication of cyber attackers and attack techniques compound the problem even further.

A strong cybersecurity strategy can provide a good security posture against malicious attacks designed to access, alter, delete, destroy or extort an organization’s or user’s systems and sensitive data. Cybersecurity is also instrumental in preventing attacks that aim to disable or disrupt a system’s or device’s operations.

Understanding Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a set of processes, tools and frameworks to protect networks, devices, programs and data from cyberattacks. Cybercriminals launch such attacks to gain unauthorized access to IT systems, interrupt business operations, modify, manipulate or steal data, engage in corporate espionage, or extort money from victims.

Cisco Systems, the tech conglomerate specializing in networking, the cloud, and security, defines cybersecurity as “…the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.”

Cybersecurity is a discipline that covers how to defend devices and services from electronic attacks by nefarious actors such as hackers, spammers, and cybercriminals. While some components of cyber security are designed to strike first, most of today’s professionals focus more on determining the best way to defend all assets, from computers and smartphones to networks and databases, from attacks.

Cybersecurity has been used as a catch-all term in the media to describe the process of protection against every form of cybercrime, from identity theft to international digital weapons. These labels are valid, but they fail to capture the true nature of cyber security for those without a computer science degree or experience in the digital industry.

Types of Cyber Threats

Cybercrime is defined as any unauthorized activity involving a computer, device, or network. There are three generally recognized classifications of cybercrime: computer-assisted crimes, crimes where the computer itself is a target, and crimes where the computer is incidental to the crime rather than directly related.

Here is a list of common cyber threats:

Cyberterrorism. This threat is a politically-based attack on computers and information technology to cause harm and create widespread social disruption.
Trojans. Like the legendary Trojan Horse of mythology, this attack tricks users into thinking they’re opening a harmless file. Instead, once the trojan is in place, it attacks the system, typically establishing a backdoor that allows access to cyber criminals.
Malware. This threat encompasses ransomware, spyware, viruses, and worms. It can install harmful software, block access to your computer resources, disrupt the system, or covertly transmit information from your data storage.
SQL injection. A Structured Query Language attack inserts malicious code into a SQL-using server.
Botnets. This especially hideous attack involves large-scale cyberattacks conducted by remotely controlled malware-infected devices. Think of it as a string of computers under the control of one coordinating cybercriminal. What’s worse, compromised computers become part of the botnet system.

Other types of cyber threats include:

Adware. This threat is a form of malware. It’s often called advertisement-supported software. The adware virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) installed without your permission and automatically generates unwanted online advertisements.
Man-in-the-middle attack. MITM attacks involve hackers inserting themselves into a two-person online transaction. Once in, the hackers can filter and steal desired data. MITM attacks often happen on unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.
Phishing. Hackers use false communications, especially e-mail, to fool the recipient into opening it and following instructions that typically ask for personal information. Some phishing attacks also install malware.
Denial of Service. DoS is a cyber attack that floods a network or computer with an overwhelming amount of “handshake” processes, effectively overloading the system and making it incapable of responding to user requests.

As data breaches, hacking, and cybercrime reach new heights, companies increasingly rely on cybersecurity experts to identify potential threats and protect valuable data. So it makes sense that the cybersecurity market is expected to grow from $217 billion in 2021 to $345 billion by 2026.

This posts a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.7% from 2021 to 2026.

Elements of cybersecurity

Cybersecurity encompasses technologies, processes, and methods to defend computer systems, data, and networks from attacks. To best understand how cybersecurity works, we must divide it into a series of subdomains:

Application Security

Application security covers the implementation of different defenses in an organization’s software and services against a diverse range of threats. This sub-domain requires cyber security experts to write secure code, design secure application architectures, implement robust data input validation, and more.

This minimizes the chance of unauthorized access or modification of application resources.

Cloud Security

Cloud security relates to creating secure cloud architectures and applications for companies that use cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google, Azure, Rackspace, etc.

Identity Management and Data Security

This subdomain covers activities, frameworks, and processes that enable authorization and authentication of legitimate individuals to an organization’s information systems. These measures involve implementing powerful information storage mechanisms that secure the data, whether in transition or residing on a server or computer.

In addition, this sub-domain makes greater use of authentication protocols, whether two-factor or multi-factor.

Network Security

Network security covers hardware and software mechanisms that protect the network and infrastructure from disruptions, unauthorized access, and other abuses. Effective network security protects organizational assets against a wide range of threats from within or outside the organization.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning

Not all threats are human-based. The DR BC subdomain covers processes, alerts, monitoring, and plans designed to help organizations prepare for keeping their business-critical systems running during and after any sort of incident (massive power outages, fires, natural disasters). It also helps them resume and recover lost operations and systems in the incident’s aftermath.

Mobile Security

Mobile security is a big deal today as more people rely on mobile devices. This subdomain protects organizational and personal information stored on mobile devices like tablets, cell phones, and laptops from threats like unauthorized access, device loss or theft, malware, viruses, etc.

Mobile security also employs authentication and education to help amplify security.

User Education

Knowledge is power, and staff awareness of cyber threats is valuable in the cyber security puzzle. Giving business staff training on the fundamentals of computer security is critical in raising awareness about industry best practices, organizational procedures and policies, and monitoring, and reporting suspicious, malicious activities.

This subdomain covers cybersecurity-related classes, programs, and certifications.

Why is cybersecurity important?

Today’s cyber security industry is primarily focused on protecting devices and systems from attackers. While the bits and bytes behind these efforts can be hard to visualize, it’s much easier to consider the effects.

Without cybersecurity professionals working tirelessly, many websites would be nearly impossible to enjoy due to ever-present denial-of-service attack attempts. Sans solid cyber security defenses, it would be easy to destroy modern-day essentials like the power grids and water treatment facilities that keep the world running smoothly.

Simply put, cyber security is critically important because it helps to preserve the lifestyles we have come to know and enjoy.

Challenges facing cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is continually challenged by hackers, data loss, privacy, risk management and changing cybersecurity strategies. The number of cyberattacks is not expected to decrease soon. Moreover, increased entry points for attacks, such as with the arrival of the Internet of Things (IoT), and the growing attack surface increase the need to secure networks and devices.

Here are some of the major challenges facing cybersecurity:

Evolving threats

One of the most problematic elements of cybersecurity is the evolving nature of security risks. As new technologies emerge, and as technology is used in new or different ways, new attack avenues are developed. Keeping up with these frequent changes and advances in attacks, as well as updating practices to protect against them, can be challenging.

Issues include ensuring all elements of cybersecurity are continually updated to protect against potential vulnerabilities.

This can be especially difficult for smaller organizations without adequate staff or in-house resources.

Data deluge

Additionally, organizations can gather a lot of potential data on individuals who use one or more of their services. With more data being collected, the likelihood of a cyber criminal who wants to steal personally identifiable information (PII) is another concern.

For example, an organization that stores PII in the cloud may be subject to a ransomware attack. Organizations should do what they can to prevent a cloud breach.

Workforce shortage and skills gap

Another cybersecurity challenge is a shortage of qualified cybersecurity personnel. As the amount of data collected and used by businesses grows, the need for cybersecurity staff to analyze, manage, and respond to incidents also increases. (ISC)² estimated the workplace gap between needed cybersecurity jobs and security professionals at 3.4 million.

Cybersecurity awareness training

Cybersecurity programs should also address end-user education. Employees may accidentally bring threats and vulnerabilities into the workplace on their laptops or mobile devices. Likewise, they may act insecurely — for example, clicking links or downloading attachments from phishing emails.

Regular security awareness training will help employees do their part in keeping their company safe from cyber threats.

Supply chain attacks and third-party risks

Organizations can do their best to maintain security, but if the partners, suppliers and third-party vendors that access their networks don’t act securely, all that effort is for naught. Software- and hardware-based supply chain attacks are becoming increasingly difficult security challenges to contend with.

Organizations must address third-party risk in the supply chain and reduce software supply issues, for example by using software bills of materials.

Difference between cybersecurity & Information Security

Although the terms cybersecurity and information security (IS) are often used interchangeably, they’re not the same since they each address different kinds of security. The terms IT security and cybersecurity are also frequently confused.

IT security is the practice of protecting IT assets, such as endpoints, databases, servers, networks, and data from unauthorized access to prevent misuse or theft. It is an overarching process that is concerned with how enterprise data is handled on a day-to-day basis. These attacks may come from inside or outside an organization.

Information security refers to protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data by preventing unauthorized access, modification, manipulation, or destruction.

Cybersecurity is a “subset” of IT security. It deals with protecting assets from hacks or cyberattacks, i.e. threats originating from or via the Internet.

Why Is Cybersecurity Important? All You Need To Know

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Understanding Cybersecurity