What is Cyber Security?

Cybersecurity has never been simple and attacks are evolving as attackers become more inventive. So, why is it so important and what does it protect?

Cyber security protects the data and integrity of computing assets belonging to or connecting to an organisation’s network. Its purpose is to defend those assets against all threat actors throughout the entire life cycle of a cyber-attack.

Major areas covered in cybersecurity

There are core areas covered in cybersecurity. These core areas are:

  • Application Security
  • Information Security
  • Disaster Recovery
  • Network Security

Let’s take a closer look at each of the core areas of cyber security in more detail.

Application security

Application security encompasses measures or countermeasures that are taken to protect applications from threats that can come through flaws in the application design, development, deployment, upgrade or maintenance. Techniques used for application security are:

  • Input parameter validation, 
  • User/Role Authentication & Authorization, 
  • Session management, parameter manipulation & exception management, and 
  • Auditing and logging.

Information security

Information security protects information from unauthorized access to avoid identity theft and to protect privacy. Major techniques used to cover this are: 

  • Identification, authentication & authorization of the user, 
  • Cryptography.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery planning is a process that includes performing risk assessment, establishing priorities, developing recovery strategies in case of a disaster. Every business should invest the time to set up a concrete plan for disaster recovery. The aim is to resume normal business operations as quickly as possible after a disaster.

Network security

Network security includes activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network. Effective network security targets a variety of threats and stops them from entering or spreading on the network. Network security components include: 

  • Anti-virus and anti-spyware, 
  • Firewall, to block unauthorized access to your network, 
  • Intrusion prevention systems (IPS), to identify fast-spreading threats, such as zero-day or zero-hour attacks, and 
  • Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), to provide secure remote access.

Conclusion

Cyber security is here to stay. Without a robust and evolving cyber defence, a business stands to lose millions in revenue and profits. The money you spend to implement a cybersecurity system may prove to be the difference between success and the failure of business due to a cyberattack.

For more information contact Ryan Danvers of ABACON IT at 0726012858.