Cybersecurity: what it is and how to ensure it in your company

In a context where both public organizations and more and more private companies from various sectors are complaining about cyber attacks, having a company and not insuring it is information security It's a risk not worth taking. Not to mention the potential fines you risk if you don't comply with the provisions. GDPR. 

That being said, it's time to learn more about cybersecurity, but also about the methods by which you can ensure it in your own company. 

What is cybersecurity? 

In short, cybersecurity, also known as digital security, refers to a set of practices, methods, and measures that are applied to protect information, assets, and digital devices. Information includes personal information, files, accounts, databases, photos, and even money. 

Cyber attacks are attempts to misuse information, either by stealing, destroying, editing, or even publishing it. Cyber attacks can also be aimed at simply destroying computer systems and networks. 

The three basic principles of cybersecurity are data confidentiality, data integrity, and the ability to access data when necessary. 

Why do we need cybersecurity? 

Now that we have learned the definition of cybersecurity, in Romania, but also abroad, let's see why we need it. Almost all the systems that provide various services that we use daily have been digitized, which means that we are exposed to threats daily, if there are no protection methods. In other words, cybersecurity is the only wall of defense between potential attackers and these systems without which society would no longer function normally. 

A company that has not invested in IT security cannot claim that his banking information, private messages, or activities, online or even locally, will remain confidential. 

Types of cyber attacks

Unfortunately, there are many ways in which attackers can access the confidential information and files of an organization, whether public or private, or even the data of individuals. Among the most well-known forms of attack are: 

• Malware, software that generates advertisements or even those that have a keylogger function, that is, they record every keystroke on the keyboard. The latter can be used to crack passwords;

• Ransomware, programs that attack devices and encrypt data. The victim is asked to pay a ransom in order to regain access to the data;

• Social engineering, more precisely certain techniques through which a victim is manipulated in order to fulfill the hacker's needs. This includes several practices such as pretexting, catfishing, phishing, vishing and so on;

• DDoS attacks, in which websites become unusable or even blocked for certain periods of time;

• MITM attacks, i.e. intercepting communications from the user's device. This allows the user to be observed and manipulated or their data traffic to be stolen;

• SQL attacks, through which websites are manipulated to allow access to confidential data;

• Cross-site scripts, used on regular websites. Targeting fields where data such as account numbers and other personal details are entered;

• Credential stuffing attacks, whereby a hacker who has obtained your password, probably through a data leak, will try to break into your other accounts;

• Dictionary attack, which aims to crack passwords with the help of programs that use predefined lists of words and phrases to guess the chosen password. 

Cybersecurity solutions

Ensuring cybersecurity you can rely on is a long-term and never-ending process. If you own a business, we advise you to develop a infrastructure IT razors and send all your employees to cybersecurity courses. 

In addition to antimalware software, firewall, VPN and best antivirus available, we advise you to also apply the following measures: 

• Always back up your data. Your data will be stored in a safe location anyway, but make sure you can always restore a good copy;

• Keep all software updated, in accordance with the latest updates from the manufacturer. Obviously, any update must have an official source;

• Practice good cyber habits, meaning don't open links or attachments in emails or messages unless they come from someone you trust. If you're not sure, ask your IT department to check;

• Use strong passwords, not necessarily unique for each account. A good password should be at least 14 characters long, with no English words. 

• Use multi-factor authentication, meaning not only with username and password, but also with phone, additional PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition;

• Lock devices with password, PIN or even biometric authentication. 

Do you need more details about cyber security? Write to us on the page contactWe'll bring the coffee.