THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBER SECURITY

The Importance of Cyber Security

According to Rick Delgado Cyber security is one of the most important issues of our time. It’s so important that in the 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama is promoting the notion of government sharing data about cyber threats with private companies to better combat the issue.

He said, “We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.” If cyber security is at the forefront of the nation’s security threat checklist, then it should also be an important aspect of every personal and business venture. Unfortunately, most private citizens and small businesses don’t pay as much attention to the threat as they should.

Cyber security compromises can threaten the national government, large and small businesses, as well as parents and children. No one is exempt from the threats posed online. For individuals and family’s cyber security can mean protecting important things like family photos, videos, or important electronic documents. The financial security of families can also be compromised through malicious intent. To a hacker, stealing several thousand dollars and wiping clean a hard drive from a family may be a good score, but for the family it can be personally and financially devastating.

To fight Cyber-attacks in cyber-crime came first in the form of an email. phishing is a term used in cyber security that pertains to these types of emails. These emails are used to solicit personal and financial information. They usually come in the form of a legitimate looking bank, credit card or financial source. These emails request personal and business information through legitimate looking means. Never open attachments or click on links within these emails if the source is unknown.

Everyone should be well-versed in how to use passwords and passcodes on their computers and mobile devices. Passwords should never be in the form of personal identifiable information. Birthdays, maiden names, marriage dates, and so on are the easiest for hackers to break through. Instead of passwords use passphrases. These are a combination of words that cannot be easily guessed. Change your password regularly. Mobile devices must be locked with passcodes. And highly sensitive information within the phone should also have a passcode attached to it. This places two, three, or even more layers of security on a mobile device.

Keep all operating systems, web browsers, and security software up-to-date. The reason there are constant updates for these things is that they are constantly under attack from cyber threats. Software engineers are always learning these vulnerabilities and fixing them making the software more secure. When software updates are indicated on your machine make sure you follow the instructions and update.

In conclusion: Ignoring cyber threats or becoming complacent can cost people, communities, and large organizations dearly. The importance of cyber security has never been greater.

By:  ULAYA SIJALI A. (BAPRM 42681)