Welcome to the world of cybersecurity! Cybersecurity is not only a technical art but also a philosophy of defense. It is a subject related to understanding threats and adhering to best practices. In this topic, you will go through key aspects of cybersecurity, from the basics to important strategies.
Your participation here is the first step to protecting the digital world. Get ready for an exciting and rewarding journey!
What is cybersecurity?
There are various definitions of cybersecurity and consonant terms, like computer security and information security. For the sake of simplicity, we will consider cybersecurity as a branch of IT that allows you to protect sensitive data from potential cyber threats.
Thus, the main goal of cybersecurity is to protect sensitive data stored and processed in computer systems from cyber threats. You can also think of cybersecurity as the process or state of protecting sensitive data.
It is important to understand that there is another area of expertise responsible for protecting the hard copy of sensitive data and protecting computers from theft. We won't look into these areas here.
Now that you know what cybersecurity is, let's take a look at how this area of the industry has evolved.
Overview of computer virus and cyber attacks development
In the early days of computing, viruses were relatively simple and they spread mainly through infected floppy disks. The first known computer virus, "Creeper", appeared in the early 1970s and displayed a message on infected machines. The first anti-virus program, "Reaper", was created as a response to "Creeper".
In the 1980s, personal computers became more popular and were often interconnected. So computer viruses also became more common. In 1988, the Morris worm was one of the first major cyberattacks. It spread over the Internet and caused widespread disruptions. This incident highlighted the need for improved cybersecurity measures.
In the 1990s, the advent of the World Wide Web and e-mail led to the rapid spread of viruses and worms. As an example, the Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses caused extensive damage to systems around the world.
As technology evolved, cybercriminals began to use more sophisticated methods. In the early 2000s, malware including Trojans, ransomware, and spyware began to appear. The infamous "Conficker" worm in 2008 infected millions of computers worldwide and demonstrated the potential scale of cyber threats. You can read more about cyberattacks in Stuxnet.
In recent years, cyberattacks have become more targeted and financially motivated. The chart below shows the average cost of a data breach measured in millions of US dollars.
You can read more about how the cost of a data breach can be measured in the article How to calculate the cost of a data breach – A Case Study.
Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and state-sponsored attacks aimed at stealing sensitive data and intellectual property are also becoming more prevalent. In addition to this, new technologies such as Internet of Things and artificial intelligence are creating new attack vectors and vulnerabilities. So we need to be on our guard.
The significance of cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is one of the most pressing areas of IT. There are several reasons for this:
Data privacy: The demand for data privacy has recently increased among users of digital products. There are laws in various countries that require keeping different categories of information confidential. Cybersecurity includes a number of techniques to ensure the confidentiality of information. If necessary, you can apply various protection techniques to sensitive data. Some common techniques are encryption, access control, and authentication. You will learn more about these techniques in later topics.
Critical infrastructure: IT technology is present everywhere in today's world, including banking, energy sector, transportation, healthcare, and other sectors. Successful cyberattacks on such systems cause enormous damage to society. The Colonial Pipeline attack shows just how important it is to safeguard critical infrastructure. Implementing cybersecurity techniques significantly reduces the risks to such systems, and can prevent cyberattacks from disrupting critical services and jeopardizing public safety.
Financial and reputational protection: The loss of critical data due to a cyberattack can result in significant financial losses and damage to a company's reputation. Thus, cybersecurity risks for companies are directly related to financial risks.
It is essential to mention that all the reasons are interrelated. We will discuss this in more detail later.
Conclusion
This was your first step in your introduction to cybersecurity. Cybersecurity as an industry holds great importance because of the ever-growing digitalization and integration of computer systems into various areas of peoples' lives, including critical infrastructure. Over the past 30 years, the sophistication of attackers' tactics and techniques has increased, making knowledge of cybersecurity techniques increasingly necessary.