What is the Future of Cyber Security?
Author Bio: Jack is interested in everything to do with technology and has recently purchased secure web hosting with JaguarPC so he can launch his own analysis and opinion website related to the industry. In his spare time, Jack enjoys painting. As far back as the 1990s, technology analysts were saying that wars of the […]
Author Bio: Jack is interested in everything to do with technology and has recently purchased secure web hosting with JaguarPC so he can launch his own analysis and opinion website related to the industry. In his spare time, Jack enjoys painting.
As far back as the 1990s, technology analysts were saying that wars of the future wouldn’t be fought with tanks on the battlefield. Instead, war would rely on technology experts being able to hack computer systems and access and extract data for analysis by individuals in various fields. While there are still plenty of examples today of ‘traditional’ wars being fought around the world, there is no question that the level of cybercrime has increased.
Increased Problems
There are many reasons why cybercrime occurs. The most common appears to be when cybercriminals deliberately target a specific organisation with the objective of stealing data or accessing personal details with a view to committing fraud of some type. However, cybercrime, or a cyber-attack, might be committed by an individual or a group who mean to expose how flawed a system is. These people aren’t hacking to necessarily cause harm, but to raise awareness and say “This is what would happen if…” although critics of this approach often scald such initiatives, as they are perceived to be an open invitation to criminals.
Cyber Security Priorities
Because of these issues, cyber security is an increasingly large priority both for governments and for companies around the world. At the beginning of 2013, we saw high profile hacking cases involving the New York Times, while Google have also been a target and, in recent days, Adobe have admitted that details of nearly three million customers have potentially been compromised.
The Chinese Government have also publicly admitted in recent weeks that they have been victims of a cyber-attack, while it is thought Western governments “legally” target so-called rogue states like Iran and North Korea to get information about potential nuclear development, among other things.
When names such as these are being targeted, it is clear the size of the problem is gargantuan. The important thing with cyber security is that it is seen as a continuous priority and that it is accepted that the job is never done. As soon as an update is released or a website or database protected and made more robust, there is someone somewhere trying to break it, and history tells us that eventually they will do.
Small Business Risks
In recent months, analysts have been pointing out the dangers of not having adequate cyber security to small businesses. Although a small business might not have the depth of data a large corporation or a government will hold, they could be seen as an easy target, particularly if security is seen as lax by criminals and they’re able to get all the information they need almost unnoticed.
The lesson for all webmasters to heed is that, if it can happen to Google and Adobe, for example, it can happen to them. An attitude of “I have nothing to offer so I’m not at risk” is a dangerous one to have. Even a large company would struggle to maintain its reputation if it was compromised to the extent that large-scale fraud was carried out based on data gleaned from them, so how would a small one survive?
The importance of cyber security is clear, what matters now is that everyone acts on it and ensures they’re in the best position not to be compromised.