Cyber security is important because it encompasses everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI).
It protects personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems from theft and damage attempted by criminals and adversaries.
Cyber security risk is increasing, driven by global connectivity and usage of cloud services, like Amazon Web Services, to store sensitive data and personal information. Widespread poor configuration of cloud services paired with increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals means the risk that your organization suffers from a successful cyber attack or data breach is on the rise.
Gone are the days of simple firewalls and antivirus software being your sole security measures. Business leaders can no longer leave information security to cyber security professionals.
Cyber threats can come from any level of your organization. You must educate your staff about simple social engineering scams like phishing and more sophisticated cybersecurity attacks like ransomware attacks or other malware designed to steal intellectual property or personal data.
GDPR and other laws mean that cybersecurity is no longer something businesses of any size can ignore. Security incidents regularly affect businesses of all sizes and often make the front page causing irreversible reputational damage to the companies involved.
The Importance of Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity’s importance is on the rise. Fundamentally, our society is more technologically reliant than ever before and there is no sign that this trend will slow. Data leaks that could result in identity theft are now publicly posted on social media accounts. Sensitive information like social security numbers, credit card information and bank account details are now stored in cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive.
The fact of the matter is whether you are an individual, small business or large multinational, you rely on computer systems every day. Pair this with the rise in cloud services, poor cloud service security, smartphones and the Internet of Things (IoT) and we have a myriad of cybersecurity threats that didn’t exist a few decades ago. We need to understand the difference between cybersecurity and information security, even though the skillsets are becoming more similar.
Governments around the world are bringing more attention to cybercrimes. GDPR is a great example. It has increased the reputational damage of data breaches by forcing all organizations that operate in the EU to:
- Communicate data breaches
- Appoint a data-protection officer
- Require user consent to process information
- Anonymize data for privacy
