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Cybersecurity: The Basics

Are you prepared to navigate the endless digital waters of the Internet world? Is your ship protected against the threats you may encounter along the way? Pirates, hackers, bugs, identity issues; these are just some of the waves you need to be prepared to face on your digital journey. And to make it easier, cybersecurity has come to the rescue. Here are the basics to help you understand what it’s all about and its importance.

Whether it is a company or a client, cybersecurity is one of the main concerns when talking about the digital environment. Protecting our information and the devices we keep connected to the Internet is a necessity nowadays, and to solve that need, cybersecurity exists.

Cybersecurity is what we call the measures put in place to do just that: protect your data, your hardware and your software.

Elements of cybersecurity

There are different elements that make up a cybersecurity program, and for it to be successful they must all work together. If you want to implement one of them in your company you must know its composition.

Let’s take a look at these components and some details:

Network Security

A set of protocols that use software and hardware to prevent and detect unauthorized access to a computer network and/or data, including its modification and misuse.

Data security

It is the practice of protecting data from unauthorized access, corruption or even cyber-attacks.

Operational safety

It is an analytical process that helps to identify sensitive or vulnerable information in order to protect it.

Cloud Security

It is a set of policies, technologies and controls used to protect data stored on a server (cloud).

Disaster recovery

The mission of this area is to ensure the recovery or continuation of a company’s vital functions and systems after a disaster or disruption.

Physical Security

It consists of protecting personnel and assets from physical damage. It includes hardware, software, equipment, networks, data and facilities.

End-user training

This is a very simple and low-cost way to ensure that all your previous efforts are not wasted. Having your employees understand and know what to do to ensure cybersecurity is essential to the success of the program.

 

Cyber threats are to the digital world what viruses are to the human body. They are constantly changing and evolving, and over time the measures we have taken become outdated, so the area of cybersecurity must evolve, change, progress and adapt as well.

 

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Types of cyber threats

There are many types of cyberthreats, and they come in the least expected forms. Let’s look at some types and some examples:

1. Malware

It is malicious software. It is the most common type of cyber threat. Created by a hacker to wreak havoc on any user’s computer.

Types of malware

Virus

These are self-replicating malicious codes or programs that attach themselves to a legitimate program or document and spread to alter the operation of the computer.

Trojans

These are malicious programs that trick you into loading and running them, masquerading as legitimate software.

Spyware

These, as the name suggests, are like spies, you don’t even know they are there, stealing your information, accessing your computer and sending the collected data somewhere else.

Ransomware

These are malicious programs that lock your system and threaten you to pay money to free it. They literally hijack your system.

Adware

This type of malware monitors your activity and sends you ads, such as pop-ups, based on that activity.

Botnets

These are several devices connected through the Internet that perform different malicious activities at the same time without the user’s knowledge.

2. Social engineering

This type of cyberattack is quite clever. Instead of using typical hacking techniques, it exploits human psychology and tricks users into breaking security protocols and gaining access to all kinds of data and structures.

3. Phishing

With this type of cyber threat, criminals craft emails or messages that appear to come from reputable and legitimate companies, with the goal of obtaining important personal information, such as credit card numbers, login credentials, etc.

4. Man in the middle

This is literally what the name implies. The cybercriminal intercepts messages between two parties who think they are talking to each other, in order to steal data. This can happen on an unsecured public WiFi network.

5. Denial of Service

This attack consists of disrupting a computer system or a website, making it unavailable to users and legitimate requests. How do they do it? By flooding the network with messages, connection requests and all kinds of traffic.

6. SQL Injection (Structured Query Language)

It is one of the most common web hacking techniques. It is a cyber attack specifically targeting any type of SQL database. It mainly targets data-driven applications. It consists of inserting a malicious SQL statement into an input field for execution.

7. Insider Threat

This is a threat from personnel, whether they are employees, contractors or customers; it may be intentional or unintentional. This is why end-user training is so important.

 

As we can see, there is a wide range of possibilities for cyberattacks. Unfortunately, there are no specifics or patterns of behavior for cybercriminals, the only thing that most cyberattacks have in common is that the target is usually a large company or a government.

Even if after reading all this you feel somewhat exposed, don’t worry; there are also a variety of ways to protect yourself and be prepared for any situation.

 

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Cybersecurity Services

We all know that technology is taking over our daily lives; we all use different types of devices to conduct our personal and professional affairs. They certainly make our lives easier, but this also means that more and more of our information is uploaded to servers or available online.

As a company we have a responsibility to our users and customers. With all this digital revolution and the automation of processes we have a lot of crucial information digitized and stored; all the more reason to be concerned and take measures to protect our data.

Fortunately, as the area of technology grows so does the area of cybersecurity. Let’s review some of the most common security services on the market today.

  • Firewall

  • Anti-malware

  • Anti-spyware

  • Antivirus Software

  • Cryptographic software

  • Identity Access Management

  • Data Loss Prevention

  • Intrusion detection and prevention systems

  • Vulnerability scanners

All of these services are quite affordable and help us cover almost all the bases; but when we talk about cybersecurity for a company there are many things to consider. It is advised that every company should have a security team within their IT department that can take immediate action and adapt security settings as needed.

 

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IT Security Professionals

To build an IT security team, you need to fill a number of different roles. You’re probably wondering what they are, and luckily we’re here to give you a sneak peek at the essential member of your IT superhero team.

Security Analyst

This person is responsible for analysing and identifying openings in the infrastructure, planning security measures and analysing the situation and possible solutions after an incident.

Security Engineer

This person is responsible for security monitoring, updating and improving security measures and security systems.

Security Administrator

This person is responsible for installing and managing all security systems.

Security Architect

This person designs, maintains and supports a security system.

Threat Hunters

These individuals analyze threat attempts and system vulnerabilities to improve security and neutralize threats early.

Head of security

This person is in charge of the entire security department, including physical and cyber security.

Chief Information Security Officer

This person is in charge of the implementation of the cybersecurity program and the operations of the IT security team.

Data Protection Officer

This person must ensure that the company’s protection policies comply with the data protection laws of the country in which our company operates. This person is also responsible for cybersecurity awareness and the company’s program, training and audits.

Testers

This position is quite complicated. Testers are essentially hackers who test your security system. This helps you find weak spots in your protection system so that you can quickly strengthen them before any criminals get in on the action. The tricky part of this position is that this person will know the vulnerabilities in your system and will have “permission to attack”.

 

Cybersecurity is definitely a priority today. It is important to broaden our horizons to explore the possibilities and be prepared for everything. If you are interested in learning more about the digital world and the aspects to take into account for your company, do not hesitate to come and visit us at https://www.tas-consultoria.com/en.

 

TAS Consulting, your reliable partner in Spain.

 

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