What Is Digital Security?
Digital security encompasses the practices and technologies that protect your data, systems, devices, and online interactions from unauthorized access, theft, or damage. It includes cybersecurity measures such as firewalls, anti-malware software, biometric authentication (e.g., facial or fingerprint scanning), and data backups.
The risks and consequences of digital threats are far-reaching and impact all types of organizations. They range from phishing attacks that target users’ weaknesses, to spyware and malware that steal sensitive information; denial of service attacks that flood websites and services with traffic, making them unavailable; and data breaches, which expose personal and organizational data.
Civil society organizations in particular face unique digital threats. Authoritarian actors often use public social media activity, leaked databases, and travel records to map community organizer networks, which can then be targeted for repression or surveillance. Civil society activists are also vulnerable to financially motivated cybercrime, such as ransomware attacks that threaten to shut down their systems unless they pay a hefty ransom.
Robust digital security measures can help mitigate these threats and keep your business running smoothly, even when incidents occur. Investing in robust security can also save you the substantial costs of incident response, legal proceedings, and mandatory notifications that typically follow data breaches. It can also prevent the loss of revenue and customer trust that may result from downtime or the inability to complete an important transaction. For example, in logistics and warehousing, system downtime means shipments can’t move or inventory isn’t tracked; and in hospitality, it can mean lost bookings and dissatisfied customers.