Why is Cybersecurity Important?

Cybersecurity is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, and other digital systems from virtual attacks. This is also known as information technology security.

If you want to learn more about this crucial aspect of protecting any business, keep reading this article.

What is Cybersecurity?

When talking about cybersecurity, it is often associated with cyber threats and cybercrime. However, it also involves the best practices that need to be implemented to protect information and prevent or detect cyberattacks to which any organization or individual is exposed. Security threats come through harmful or malicious programs that are installed on a device or access it via the cloud.

Thus, cybersecurity is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. It is also known as information technology security or electronic information security. The term is applied in various contexts, from business to mobile computing, and can be divided into different categories.

Common Categories

• Network Security: The practice of protecting a computer network from intruders, whether they are targeted attackers or opportunistic malware.
• Application Security: Focuses on keeping software and devices free of threats. An affected application could grant access to the data it is meant to protect. It begins in the design stage, long before the implementation of a program or device.
• Information Security: Protects the integrity and privacy of data, both in storage and in transit.
• Operational security includes the processes and decisions for managing and protecting data resources. The permissions that users must access a network and the procedures that determine how and where data can be stored or shared fall into this category.
• Disaster recovery and business continuity define how an organization responds to a cybersecurity incident or any other event that causes its operations to halt or data to be lost. Disaster recovery policies dictate how the organization restores its operations and information to the same operational capacity as before the event. Business continuity is the plan the organization resorts to when attempting to operate without certain resources.
• End-user training addresses the most unpredictable cybersecurity factor: people. If good security practices are not followed, anyone can inadvertently introduce a virus into an otherwise secure system. Teaching users to delete attachments from suspicious emails, not to connect unidentified USB drives, and other important lessons is crucial for the security of any organization.

What are the most common cyberattacks?

Cyberattacks are primarily based on data hijacking. Hospitals, small, and medium-sized enterprises have been the main victims in recent years. However, even large companies are not safe from cybercrime.

Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications giant, was a victim of attacks on its corporate network in 2017, forcing employees to shut down all computers at its headquarters in Madrid. This was a massive ransomware attack not only against Telefónica but also against several other organizations.

These are the three most common cyberattacks or cyber threats you should know to prevent your company from becoming a victim of one:

1. El ransomware

Ransomware, also known as ransom malware, is characterized by restricting access to a computer system and demanding a ransom to remove the block. This type of cyberattack can be fatal for a company because it involves massive data loss, in addition to economic damages.

WannaCry and Petya, two types of ransomware, operate in the same way: during the attack, the data on the infected computer is locked, whether it be documents, photos, or videos, and to decrypt them, the program typically demands payment of a sum of money, most often in bitcoins. If the ransom is not paid in time, the data is either deleted or permanently locked.

2. Denial of Service Attack or DDoS

With the digital transformation of banking services, financial risks have changed, and fraud or operational failures have increased, along with cybercrime. Among the most common and dangerous attacks is the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service), which involves causing a server to crash by overloading its bandwidth. These actions force a website to go offline.

In the case of the financial system, DDoS attacks are used to flood online services of banks and trading platforms with a large amount of traffic, causing the server to collapse and cease functioning.

3. Banking Trojans

Cybercriminals have pursued mobile phones long before the use of smartphones for banking transactions increased; now they are increasingly targeting these devices to carry out their misdeeds. The biggest threat to mobile devices is banking trojans, another form of malicious software that initially appears harmless but is very dangerous and targets banks.

Trojans can be installed on any device by visiting an infected website, downloading an email attachment, or even by installing an app. Once this virus is installed on a phone, it detects when online banking services are used and captures personal and banking information.

Why is Cybersecurity Important?

In today's connected world, everyone benefits from advanced cyber defense programs. On an individual level, a cybersecurity attack can result in everything from identity theft to extortion attempts and the loss of important data such as family photos.

Everyone relies on critical infrastructures, such as power plants, hospitals and financial services companies. Protecting these and other organizations is essential to the functioning of society.

All benefit from the work of cyber threat researchers who investigate new and emerging threats and cyber attack strategies.

Everyone benefits from the work of threat researchers who investigate new and emerging threats and strategies for cyberattacks. They reveal new vulnerabilities, educate the public about the importance of cybersecurity, and reinforce open-source tools. Their work makes the Internet safer for everyone.

Protect Your Company

Companies are constantly at risk of cyber threats; therefore, follow these tips to protect it:

1. Update your software and operating system: This means you will benefit from the latest security patches.
2. Use antivirus software: Security solutions like Kaspersky Total Security will detect and eliminate threats. Keep your software updated for the best level of protection.
3. Use secure passwords: Ensure that your passwords are not easy to guess.
4. Do not open email attachments from unknown senders: They may be infected with malware.
5. Do not click on links in emails from unknown senders or websites: This is a common way for malware to spread.
6. Avoid using unsecured Wi-Fi networks in public places: Unsecured networks leave you vulnerable to “man-in-the-middle” attacks.

Monitor and Update

Changes to the structure of the database and unauthorized attempts to access critical data can be warning signs that the network may be threatened. To prevent this, use tools that help you monitor databases and log unauthorized access attempts.

Therefore, the best way to ensure that company equipment operates well is to take inventory of all available hardware. Afterward, choose a plan to manage your equipment most effectively.

There are two ways to do this: train your employees to perform updates periodically or automate the process through a tool that updates the system automatically. The latter option will allow updates to be downloaded at once and then distributed throughout the company.

If you want more comprehensive protection and advice on defending your business, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our advisors are fully trained for this task.