BotNet News

Cyber-security is the art of protecting networks, devices and data from unauthorized access or criminal use. It seems everything relies on computers and the Internet now – communication (email, smartphones, tablets), entertainment (interactive video games, social media), transportation (navigation systems), shopping (online or at brick-and-mortar stores) and even medicine (electronic medical records).

The threats are varied, from single actors seeking financial gain to organized groups seeking to steal or disrupt. These can range from ransomware erasing a company’s entire system, to hacking into credit card information and using it to make unauthorized purchases, to attacks that attempt to bring down websites via distributed denial of service (DDoS) or to intercept messages between two parties. Many threats can be internally sourced, from current or former employees with a grudge and intimate knowledge of a company’s network to steal critical information.

A strong cyber-security strategy is built on a foundation of proactive risk assessment and mitigation to identify and prevent security vulnerabilities. This includes conducting regular security reviews such as vulnerability scans, source code review, architecture design reviews, red team assessments, and penetration testing. Backing up data periodically is also a key practice to reduce the impact of a breach.

Keeping up with the latest tools and technologies is vital to staying ahead of cyberattacks. In addition to deploying a suite of cyber security solutions, a robust business continuity and incident response plan is necessary. Whether the goal is to protect customers’ personal and financial data, or to keep critical business systems online during an attack, cybersecurity professionals are in high demand.