Man’s need to send and receive information is as old as civilization itself. With the advent of twentieth century, especially in the latter half and toward the end, there has been a steep rise in this activity. The widespread use of internet, facilitated by ever improving technology, played a key role in this phenomenal rise in communication. But with every merit, there is a downside. Exchange of information over the cyber world is no exception.
As the traffic on information highway increased, so did the unscrupulous activity. Passing information without being intercepted or snooped became increasingly difficult. Soon a dark web weaved around this information — its sole aim being identity theft, credit card misuse, fraud and sale of contraband goods. Sometimes, crimes of serious nature like stalking, harassment, kidnapping or even assassination are committed using the cyber space.This turn of events brought the limelight onto the importance of cyber security.
Nowadays, making the exchange of information a safe and secure activity is one of the biggest challenges. With unprecedented rise in cyber-crimes, the task has become even more challenging.
CYBER CRIMES have become a reality of today. Whenever a computer and internet is used to commit any illegal activity, it is known as cyber-crime. This includes identity theft, bank and credit card fraud, or sale of contraband goods. The fact that over two-third of commercial activity is conducted online, together with all the related communications, it is too great an incentive for criminals to resist. That is why nations and governments have enforced technical measures to prevent misuse or theft of information. And to make these measures more effective, strict laws have also been imposed to ward off threats and make the space a safe and secure place for sharing information.
CYBER CRIMES have become a reality of today. Whenever a computer and internet is used to commit any illegal activity, it is known as cyber-crime. This includes identity theft, bank and credit card fraud, or sale of contraband goods. The fact that over two-third of commercial activity is conducted online, together with all the related communications, it is too great an incentive for criminals to resist. That is why nations and governments have enforced technical measures to prevent misuse or theft of information. And to make these measures more effective, strict laws have also been imposed to ward off threats and make the space a safe and secure place for sharing information.
Attacks are ubiquitous; sparing no operating system. Android, Mac, Tabletor Pad, they are all exposed to malware. Only good and dependable security apps can guard the system or device from damage or malfunctioning. So, as long as people continue to use computer devices for information sharing, they need to have proper security features for smooth and trouble-free performance.
TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
With the world entering the third decade of the new century, this is the right time to identify ten biggest challenges that will confront the IT industry in the coming years:
1. Ransomware has become the foremost challenge for cyber security experts in the last few years. It involves breaking into users’ data and preventing the access until a ransom amount is paid. While such attacks may cause a lot of trouble to individuals but the real havoc is for businesses who can’t access their own data to run their daily operations.
2. IoT devices include mobile phones, laptops, desktops, and a slew of smart security devices. The use of these devices is increasing at an unprecedented pace and with it the challenges are also on the rise.
3. Cloud services have become common place nowadays. They offer storage space to users for personal and professional purposes. Hacking cloud space to steal user data can mean a lot of mess causing great stress to security experts.
4. Phishing is stealing of personal user data such as login details or credit card numbers with the intention of illegal money transfers or online shopping. Hackers particularly prefer this type of cyber-crime because the victim may remain unaware when the fraud is being committed against him.
5. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency can mean a lot to businesses directly involved with this mode of transaction. Although attacks in this area are prevalent everywhere but not at a mass scale. The attacks that were noticed ranged from DDOS, Sybil and Eclipse.
6. Software, even the most reliable ones, inherently have weak spots. Such loopholes leave a gap for the hackers to make inroads and cause trouble where it hurts most.
7. Machine Learning and AI can be employed by hackers to exploit businesses by identifying valuable data sets and then using them to fulfill unlawful desires.
8. BYOD is an acronym for ‘Bring Your Own Device’. Organisations sometimes encourage use of personal devices by employees for reasons of economy or for keeping the workplace clutter-free. Having pirated software or unauthenticated apps on BYOD devices makes them prone to cyber-attacks.
9. Insider jobs can bring more harm than those who operate from a distance. Employees with malicious intent can damage the system of an organization. They can also wreak havoc with the reputation as well which may translate into heavy losses.
10. Outdated Hardware is a cause of great concern for cyber security experts because the rate at which hardware is becoming obsolete is very high in comparison with other industries. Older hardware cannot maintain compatibility with constant upgrades and updates to new software.
Cyber-attacks are fast changing the way they look, becoming more intelligent and more adaptive to new conditions. Since they are here to stay, businesses and individuals would do well to adopt innovative security strategies to ward off any unexpected attack. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence can play a key role making businesses more prepared and ready to face an attack. And in an event of a security breach, proper strategies and plans have to be formulated to keep the space safe and secure.
SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGES go together in an increasingly connected world. Generally, people are easily attracted toward social networking sites to share personal information. To make matters even more complicated, businesses and organizations also find it convenient to conduct their activities through social media sites. This provides a perfect breeding ground for cyber criminals who use these spaces as a bait to hack and steal valuable data.
To counter these threats, individuals as well as organisations need to employ security features to remain safe from attacks. This is imperative because when businesses empower someone to disseminate commercially sensitive information, elements gaining access to the same information can use the data to spread false information. In a report on Global Risks, the rapid spread of false information in social media has been identified as an emerging risk of this information age.
TRENDS
Nowadays, trends are emerging in view of increase in cyber-attacks–fast altering the business environment. Individuals too, though at a much smaller scale, are becoming aware of the importance of cyber-security.
Few people know that an average breach makes a business poorer by $3.9m. An alarming fact is that almost 30% of businesses experience at least one intrusion in their systems in two years.
The loss of data aside, businesses at the receiving end of the cyber-attack, also face tarnished reputations, loss of customer confidence, and costs incurred on redressal. Almost 60% of organisations cannot recover from the fiasco and go out of business within a year of the breach. Here are the trends that mark the new approach to cyber-security.
1. In the initial years, the need for cybersecurity was not as pronounced as it is today. With the rise in hackers’ activities and frequent breaches, businesses began to acknowledge the wisdom of investment in cyber security. Now everyone agrees that cyber-security is a C-level concern because even a minor attack can affect smooth operations of a business and can harm financial interests besides damaging reputation and customer confidence.
2. The most common method of infiltrating an organisation’s system is social engineering. One careless click on a suspicious link can give an unhindered entry to unscrupulous elements. To curb this, organisations need to impart proper training to employees so that they are careful and vigilant against threats that can damage data and systems.
3. Knowledge and care are the key words while choosing vendors and software. Wherever workflows involve exchange of information, reputable vendors and trustworthy applications are chosen which translate into smooth operations and trouble free services.
4. Mobile Access options have become commonplace. BYOD (bring your own device) allows employees to access work related information from anywhere without endangering sensitive data at the organisation’s workplace.
5. Investments have been channeled to employ top IT professionals with specialized skills in cyber-security. Not only this but training programs on a regular basis provide support in having a strong and dependable cyber environment.
6. Secure File Transfer Protocols involving encryption protect sensitive information. PCI, DSS, HIPAA and GDPR regulate the file transfers. Commonly, for user identification, FTPS and SFTP options are employed. The former uses ID and password for user identification whereas SFTP uses two different methods –encrypted user ID and password or
SSH key.
CONCLUSION
Cyber-security is a vast and ever changing realm. As the world braces for highly complex interconnectivity for purposes ranging from social networking to business transactions. Criminals are on prowl to take advantage of the loopholes in technology. They are eager to hack, steal and make illicit money. Their modus operandi changes with each passing day and they acquire newer platforms to launch their attacks. Often the victims are caught unawares.
In present scenario, the importance of cyber security cannot be played down. Neither is it possible to avoid employing skilled and trained professionals whose scope of work would be dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure workplace. Even if hackers manage to infiltrate organisations, they should have a tough time in fulfilling their objectives.
Dealing with cyber-crimes is a tricky proposition. No strategy seems perfect because the attackers are constantly changing their methods. The best that can be done is to be on vigil and devise strategies that counter the latest attacks in an optimum way.
