Introduction
You’ve heard the term “cybersecurity” a lot in the news, but do you really know what it means? It’s not just about hackers trying to steal your credit card information, though that certainly is part of it. In fact, there are many different types of attackers and attack vectors that can compromise your network security—and understanding them will help you defend against them!
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the protection of information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction. It includes ensuring that data is authentic and reliable for its intended use; protecting against accidental or malicious loss; and keeping it safe from unauthorized parties when it’s being transmitted.
Cybersecurity is a type of risk management that focuses on securing digital assets like your data or intellectual property (IP) by monitoring access points to your network and encrypting sensitive information in transit.
Cybersecurity practitioners need to be able to identify potential threats before they materialize so they can take preventative measures before something happens–for example: patching software vulnerabilities as soon as they’re discovered; updating antivirus signatures regularly; or monitoring networks for signs of suspicious activity like strange traffic patterns or unusual spikes in bandwidth usage over time
How is cyber-security different from physical security?
A comparison between physical and cyber security is useful because it helps you understand how the two differ. Physical security is about protecting people and property from harm. Cybersecurity is about protecting information from unauthorized access, modification or destruction.
Physical security is about keeping people out; cybersecurity is about keeping people in–and making sure they’re authorized when they do get in!
Physical security involves things like locks on doors, alarms on windows and doors (like those little stickers that make noise when someone breaks a window), guards at checkpoints with guns who check badges before letting anyone through, etcetera ad nauseum…all of which ultimately boils down to one thing: preventing unauthorized accesses/entries into an area where valuable assets are stored or processed by limiting them specifically based on some sort of criteria (e.g., identity). For example: “This door leads into an area where highly sensitive data could be accessed by unauthorized parties; therefore we will require everyone entering this space check their ID badge against our database before being granted entry.”
Why do we need network security in the first place?
Network security is crucial for protecting your data, your company’s reputation and bottom line, and even the customers that you serve.
It’s not just about preventing malicious cyber attacks from happening–it’s also about responding quickly when they do occur so that they can be mitigated as quickly as possible.
In the past few years alone there have been many high-profile examples of companies being targeted by cyber criminals who wanted access to sensitive information or wanted to make money by selling their data on the dark web. These attacks often result in millions of dollars worth of damage being done before anyone even realizes something has happened! The most important thing you can do is understand how these attacks work so that you can properly protect yourself against them in order to avoid this kind of damage altogether (or at least minimize it).
What are the most common network security threats right now?
- Phishing. Phishing is a form of social engineering where you try to trick people into giving up their sensitive information by impersonating a trustworthy entity, such as your bank or PayPal. A phishing email might look like it’s from PayPal and ask you to update your account details by clicking on a link in the body of the message. If you do so, your computer may become infected with malware that gives hackers access to all of your files.
- Viruses and malware. A virus is an executable file (a program) that infects other programs on your device when executed; for example, if you open an infected PDF file in Adobe Reader or Microsoft WordPad (or any other program), then those programs will also become infected with viruses if they aren’t already protected by antivirus software like Avast Free Antivirus .
Malware includes many different types of malicious software including viruses but also spyware , adware , ransomware , exploit kits , Trojans/backdoors etc…
So, what exactly is a threat actor anyway? Who are they and what do they want to do with your data/network?
A threat actor is someone who wants to access your network. They could be a criminal, competitor or just someone who wants to see what you’re up to. Threat actors can be motivated by money (e.g., selling data), ideology (e.g., political beliefs) or curiosity (e.g., “I wonder what they do in there?”).
Threats come in all shapes and sizes–from simple attacks on websites or email accounts, to sophisticated social engineering schemes that trick employees into giving up their credentials through phishing emails and fake websites that look like legitimate services such as PayPal or Facebook Messenger but actually contain malware designed specifically for stealing passwords from unsuspecting victims’ computers without their knowledge.#ENDWRITE
Knowing how your network is being attacked can help you stop it from happening.
Knowing how your network is being attacked can help you stop it from happening. The first step in understanding the threat landscape is knowing what types of threats exist and how they work, but that’s only half the battle.
Knowing which type of attack you’re dealing with will help identify what needs protecting: if an intruder has gained access to a system as part of an espionage campaign, they may not be interested in stealing data or installing malware on that particular machine; however, if they had access during a ransomware attack (wherein infected machines were held hostage until payments were made) then there’s likely some additional protection needed at that location within your organization.
Knowing this information beforehand allows us to develop strategies for proactively defending against these kinds of attacks before they begin–and even better yet–it gives us time before any damage takes place!
Conclusion
So, what can you do? The first step is to understand that your network is being attacked. If you know this and have taken the time to investigate it, then great! You’re already ahead of most people who don’t know about their own network security issues until it’s too late. As we saw in this article, there are many different types of attacks and threat actors out there who want access to your data–so keep an eye out for anything suspicious happening on your system (or in general).
