Introduction to Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Domains:

Cyber attacks that attempt to access, modify, or delete data; extort money from customers or the company, or disrupt routine business activities are all examples of cybercrime. A comprehensive cybersecurity plan has layers of protection to guard against cybercrime. The following issues should be addressed by countermeasures:

Critical Infrastructure Security:

Computer security, network security, and other assets that society relies on for national security, economic development, and/or public safety tactics The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a cybersecurity framework to assist firms, and the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also offers advice.

Network Security:

Security procedures for both wired and wireless (Wi-Fi) connections to safeguard a computer network from intruders.

Application Security:

Procedures that aid in the protection of on-premises and cloud-based applications Security should be considered during the design stage of applications, with concerns for data handling, user authentication, and so on.

Cloud Security:

Genuine confidential computing encrypts cloud data at rest (in storage), in motion (as it travels to, from, and within the cloud), and in use to meet consumer privacy, corporate standards, and regulatory compliance norms (during processing).

Information Security:

Data security measures, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), protect your most sensitive information from unwanted access, exposure, or theft.

End-User Education:

To improve endpoint security, raise security awareness throughout the enterprise. Users can be taught to remove questionable email attachments, avoid utilizing unfamiliar USB devices, and so on.

Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning:

Unplanned events, such as natural catastrophes, power outages, or cybersecurity threats, require tools and methods for responding with little disruption to core operations.

Storage Security:

Provides a high level of data security with a variety of safeguards. This includes encryption and data copies that are immutable and segregated. These are kept in the same pool so that they may be promptly restored in the event of a cyber assault, reducing the damage.

Dangerous Cybersecurity Myths:

The number of cybersecurity events is increasing around the world, however, misunderstandings persist, such as the belief that:

Cybercriminals Are Outside Cybercriminals Are Outsiders:

In reality, hostile insiders who work for themselves or in coordination with outside hackers are a common source of cybersecurity breaches. Insiders can be members of well-organized groups with nation-state assistance.

Risks Are Well-Known:

Thousands of new vulnerabilities in both old and new applications and devices have been identified, demonstrating that the risk surface is continually expanding. Human error is on the rise, especially when it comes to negligent employees or contractors that accidentally cause a data breach.

Attack Vectors Are Contained:

New attack vectors, such as Linux systems, operational technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and cloud environments, are constantly being developed by cybercriminals.

My Industry Is Safe:

Cyber adversaries take advantage of the communication network requirements of virtually every government and private-sector body, posing a threat to every enterprise. Ransomware attacks, for example, are affecting more industries than ever before, including local governments and non-profits, and supply chains, “.gov” websites, and critical infrastructure are all at risk.

Common Cyber Threats:

Despite cybersecurity professionals’ best efforts, attackers are constantly seeking new ways to avoid detection by IT, circumvent security measures, and exploit new vulnerabilities. Work-from-home environments, remote access technologies, and new cloud services are all being used by the latest cybersecurity threats to put a new spin on “well-known” attacks. Some of the evolving risks are as follows:

Malware:

Worms, viruses, Trojans, and spyware are examples of malicious software that give unauthorized access to a computer or cause damage to it. Malware attacks are becoming increasingly “lifeless,” and are designed to elude detection technologies such as antivirus software that scans for malicious file attachments.

Ransomware:

Ransomware is a type of computer virus that encrypts files, data, or systems and threatens to delete or destroy the data unless the hackers who started the attack are paid a ransom. State and municipal governments have been the targets of recent ransomware attacks, as they are easier to penetrate than corporations and are under pressure to pay ransoms in order to restore key apps and services that citizens rely on.

Phishing / Social Engineering:

Phishing is a technique of social engineering in which people are duped into divulging personal or sensitive information. Phishing scams solicit personal information such as credit card numbers or login passwords via emails or text messages that appear to be from a respectable company. According to the FBI, there has been an increase in pandemic-related phishing, which they ascribe to the expansion of remote labor.

Insider Threats:

Current or former employees, business partners, contractors, or anyone who has previously had access to systems or networks and misused their access permissions can all be considered insider risks. Traditional security solutions, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems, may be blind to insider dangers since they focus on external threats.

Distributed Denial-Of-Service (DDoS) Attacks:

In order to shut down a server, website, or network, a DDoS attack floods it with traffic, frequently from many synchronized systems. To overwhelm enterprise networks, DDoS attacks exploit the simple network management protocol (SNMP), which is used by modems, printers, switches, routers, and servers.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs):

An APT occurs when an attacker or a group of intruders get access to a system and go unnoticed for an extended period of time. The intruder leaves networks and systems untouched in order to spy on company activity and steal important data while avoiding the activation of protective countermeasures. The recent Solar Winds penetration of US federal computers is an example of an APT.

Man-In-The-Middle Attacks:

Man-in-the-middle is an eavesdropping attack in which a cybercriminal intercepts and relays messages between two parties in order to obtain data. On an insecure Wi-Fi network, an attacker, for example, can intercept data passing between a guest’s device and the network.

Key Cybersecurity Technologies And Best Practices:

The best practices and technologies listed below can assist your company in implementing strong cybersecurity that decreases your organization’s exposure to cyber assaults and secures your vital information systems without interfering with the user or customer experience:

Identity And Access Management (IAM):

describes each user’s roles and access privileges, as well as the conditions under which those privileges are granted or refused. Single sign-on, which allows a user to log in to a network once without having to re-enter credentials during the same session; multifactor authentication, which requires two or more access credentials; privileged user accounts, which grant administrative privileges to only certain users; and user lifecycle management, which manages each user’s identity and access privileges from initial registration to retirement. Your cybersecurity personnel can also employ IAM capabilities to gain a better understanding of suspicious behavior on end-user devices, including those they can’t physically access. This shortens the time it takes to investigate and respond to a breach, allowing you to isolate and contain the damage.

A Comprehensive Data Security Platform:

Secures sensitive data in a variety of settings, including hybrid multi-cloud setups. The best data security platforms offer automated, real-time visibility into data vulnerabilities, as well as ongoing monitoring that alerts them to data vulnerabilities and risks before they become data breaches; they should also make compliance with government and industry data privacy regulations as simple as possible. Data security also necessitates backups and encryption.

Security Information And Event Management (SIEM):

Combines and analyses data from security events to detect suspicious user behavior and initiate a preventative or remedial response. Advanced detection approaches, such as user behavior analytics and artificial intelligence, are now included in SIEM solutions (AI). SIEM may automatically prioritize cyber threat response based on your company’s risk management goals. Many firms are also connecting their SIEM solutions with security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms, which help organizations automate and accelerate their response to cybersecurity issues while also resolving many incidents without the need for human participation.

Zero Trust Security Strategy:

Businesses are now more linked than they have ever been. Your systems, users, and data all exist in different settings and operate in different ways. Security on the perimeter is no longer sufficient, yet establishing security controls within each environment adds to the complexity. In both circumstances, the effect is a deterioration in the protection of your most valuable assets. A zero-trust strategy anticipates compromise and implements controls to ensure the validity and purpose of every user, device, and connection into the organization. Organizations require a way to aggregate security information in order to provide the context (device security, location, etc.) that informs and enforces validation controls in order to execute a zero-trust strategy successfully.