Cybersecurity-Understanding the Evolving Landscape

Cybersecurity is a critical issue–many have said it’s our worst problem. The world is going digital, and the Internet of Things will be 10 billion connected devices by 2020. It’s a beautiful future, but a dark one. 

You hear about cybersecurity breaches every day, and the risk presents a real threat to society as we’ve come to know it. As such, we’re working now more than ever to better understand how these cyberattacks can best be avoided or combated.

One little-looked at fact: the number of cybersecurity experts and organizations has increased dramatically since its first use as a term in 1990. Afrohi Storama has some more information about cybersecurity, understanding the evolving landscape.

In 1990, there were just over 884 cybersecurity experts worldwide, but the numbers have soared since then. 

By 2012, that number was 18,000 experts worldwide ,that’s an increase of almost 26x! That’s a good thing , it means there are more experts to protect us than ever before. 

The U.S., for example, is leading the charge with 1,000 experts hired by the government alone in 2015. The growth of cybersecurity experts will not slow down anytime soon ,1 million experts around the world by 2019 is a much forecasted figure.

As a result, cybersecurity professionals are beginning to take a more prominent role in the public consciousness. The public has a newfound investment in the issue, and many companies have begun taking precautions for themselves and their employees. 

The reasons for this shift are hard to pinpoint, but it’s safe to say that the recent breaches of huge corporations such as Target and Home Depot have been a contributing factor. In both cases, hackers accessed the company’s systems by breaking into employee computers. 

While many companies have been investing in security measures around their systems for years, this exposure has sparked a new level of attention from both consumers and businesses alike.

Keeping your data and identity secure is difficult and complex these days, with hackers targeting everything from personal information to critical infrastructure. Which is why it’s become crucial for businesses to invest in cybersecurity strategies. They should make sure they have a solid, reliable strategy that can withstand any potential threats. In order to do this, companies should follow the recommendations below:

1.Evaluate risk.

The first step toward creating a successful cybersecurity plan is evaluating what risks might befall your company.

You’ll need to assess the different types of risk you might face ,things like insider threats or financial losses and figure out what your data could be exposed to by assessing which vulnerabilities exist within it. 

For instance, you might decide to focus on improving your network security and data encryption.

2.Create a cybersecurity strategy.

To create a cybersecurity strategy, you should start by evaluating threats and risks and then determine what kind of threats you think your company is likely to face (and which ones you aren’t likely to face). 

Then you can develop an appropriate response to each potential threat. 

For instance, if you think there’s a risk that someone with access to your building could steal sensitive information or sabotage technology, you might consider installing cameras or performing background checks on employees with access to sensitive information.

3.Develop training strategies for employees.

Next, you should figure out how to implement your new security measures. This doesn’t necessarily mean implementing an elaborate system of guards, surveillance systems and rotating passwords. 

Instead, you can focus on better educating employees on how to conduct themselves around data. You should focus on providing training that will help them stay safe while using computers, while also emphasizing the importance of privacy and security when it comes to activities like accessing personal information.

4.Make sure your systems work properly at all times.

Cybersecurity plans are only as good as their weakest link ,so make sure your systems are always up and running without any issues or interruptions. 

This means detecting any potential issues that might cause your systems to crash or fail, and resolving them as quickly as possible. It also means providing appropriate backup systems so you can return to business as usual if something does go wrong.

5.Regularly assess the effectiveness of your plan.

Finally, you should regularly evaluate whether or not your cybersecurity strategies are effective. You should regularly test your security measures to make sure they’re working properly and that none of the measures you’ve taken have created new vulnerabilities in your system. 

You should also track how well procedures are being followed, and hold employees accountable for their behavior if they aren’t following them.

If you want to keep your company safe from cyber criminals, you need a strong cybersecurity plan in place. By following the steps above, you can create a strong, well-thought out strategy that will keep your company information secure from hackers and malicious parties.