Role of Cybersecurity in Today’s World

The internet is a fundamental element in the current generation as it cuts across different sectors like travelling, banking, shopping and running different organizational activities. The growing usage of the internet has necessitated the need for protecting valuable information. A computer device with no proper security control can easily have malicious logic infections, thus making the stored data to be accessible. Some malicious websites and infected web pages are available on a daily basis, and they can infect a computer thus giving a chance to the hackers to gain access to the computer systems. 

Hacking of vital data, computer viruses, network outages and different cyber-related threats can have an adverse impact on an organization ranging from insignificant inconveniences to severe incidents. This increases the need for cybersecurity within an organization since there is a variety of sensitive information which is available in the company’s files such as the employee’s passcodes, passwords, and social security numbers for numerous functions essential for the success of the company. Hackers are in constant search for chinks in the defenses that companies have put up as protection. If an organization opts to forego the cybersecurity, they can experience severe damages to their progress and reputation. Thus the paper will focus on discussing the role that cybersecurity plays in the current times to prevent malicious hackers on organizations.

Traditionally, cybersecurity could focus on some areas like monitoring ports, defending firewalls, and preventing intrusions. The evolving landscape has however resulted in a more dynamic approach.  Innovative thinking at this time entails three critical capabilities grounded in being vigilant, secure and resilient. Government agencies find encounter challenges in protecting their vital information and yet they store more info than even the private companies (Eggers, 2016). The government agencies should not be relying on perimeter security only, but instead, they need to establish robust capabilities for detecting, responding, reconnaissance and also recovery.  The SANS Institute, which is responsible for research and security training indicates that prevention is superlative, but detection is a must in a company (Eggers, 2016).

According to De Bruijn and Janssen (2017), Cybersecurity plays a paramount role in the central, state, and local government since these organizations store a huge amount of the citizens and the country’s’ confidential records and information.  Some of the reasons why many government organizations find difficulties in protecting the vast database is because of the lack of security awareness, limited funding and inadequate infrastructure. Accessing sensitive information or confidential data by hackers from the government organizations and also digital spying can jeopardize the country.  For this reason, cybersecurity plays an essential function in ensuring that all the citizens feel secure with the information and also detecting the hackers aiming at stealing the information to threaten the country.

Reddy and Reddy (2014) argues that the emerging technologies are changing the face of a human in today’s’ technical environment. Individuals and companies encounter difficulties in adequately safeguarding private information thus increasing the cybercrimes day by day.  Currently, more than 60% of the commercial transaction happens through the online platform; therefore, the sector needs high quality security for first and transparent transactions.  Cybersecurity is a vital element in all companies that have adopted the use of the online technologies. The cybersecurity scope does not have the limitations of only securing the information in the IT sector, but it cuts across different fields such as cyberspace.

            Cybersecurity plays a vital role in the latest technologies like mobile computing, cloud computing, net banking, and E-commerce, which needs high levels of security. Since the technologies possess crucial information on an individual, then there is a need for prioritizing their security. Organizations handle finances, physical assets, access codes and employees’ key information which needs to be safe from unauthorized modifications of access by the hackers.  There are cases where the lack of effective cybersecurity systems resulted in huge losses for the companies. For example, in 2014, there were reports that   Russian hackers managed to steal more than 1.2 billion passwords. The criminals managed to get records from the affected network system (Science Channel, 2016). Protecting critical information structures and enhancing cybersecurity are key to every company’s security and they directly boost the company’s economic well-being.

            Cybersecurity is vital in every organization since it helps in protecting the existing assets.  A company’s intangible assets like patents, company information, intellectual property, computer software, literary works, trade secrets, employment contracts and licensing agreements are usually stored, shared and managed on network systems.  Ensuring this information and data is secure supports protecting an organization’s function and mission. Hackers can attempt to steal trade secrets, IP and valuable organizational information which can result in financial losses and breakdown or shutdown of business relations.  For example, in 2010, Google reported IP stealing by operators from China. The operators exploited the company’s weakness in internet explorer, thus hacking their Google China Operation. The Incident had an adverse impact on Google and China’s business relation (Science Channel, 2016).

Additionally, cyber security protects an organization’s clients/customers. Majority of the companies store clients’ records on their network systems. Exploitation of system vulnerabilities or a breach of security controls by the hackers or by unauthorized persons can lead to data privacy issues. Unauthorized agencies or persons can access sensitive personal information resulting in identity theft and misinterpretations. The clients can lose trust with the companies if their vital information is exposed to the public, thereby necessitating the agency of having effective cybersecurity systems. For example, in 2015, LastPass, which is a strong password organization experienced instinctual force attack where their customers’ master passwords, password reminders and email addresses were stolen. The incident put the customer’s privacy at risk since the passwords could be used in accessing various information like the health records, social media and bank accounts (Science Channel, 2016).

For an organization to effectively manage cybercrime, they have to identify appropriate cybersecurity systems and ensure they can detect any hacking attempt and prevent it from taking place. Bou-Harb, Debbabi and Assi (2016) propose a new approach to help in identifying malware-infected machines. The method will assist the network operators, including the organizations with a cyber-security potential of detecting their customer’s affected machines and also pointing out a particular malware which caused the contamination. The authors indicate that MacAfee identifies more than one hundred thousand new malware samples daily, 69 threats in each minute or approximately one new threat in each second. The approach has been identified to be efficient since it does not analyze or record the symptoms of infection. In additions, the approach is swift since it exploits probing actions which are an initial indication of contamination. Companies should think towards adopting this cybersecurity method since it is cost effective because it does not involve any maintenance or implementation costs (Debbabi & Assi, 2016).

Collier (2018), on the other hand, proposes that there should be one central organization that addresses the cybersecurity issues. They further indicate that an assemblage framework can provide a means for comprehending the multifaceted configuration of the cybersecurity participants considering that the contemporary cybersecurity practices do not go hand in hand with the global-local and the conventional public-private differences used in international relations and security studies. A central organization will give room for comprehension the diachronic, dynamic and contested nature of the contemporary cybersecurity provisions. This, however, can be tricky in the implementation since different nations and companies have different goals. For example, in The US, the private actors’ incentive structures usually run contrary to the government’s interests in relation to the current security issues like encryption. The companies can, however, focus on identifying common goals that will gear them towards generating new ideas on preventing cybersecurity issues. Many governments and nations are imposing strict laws on cyber securities to curb the loss of vital information.  However, with a common goal, every individual and each organization will have awareness on cybersecurity and save themselves from the emerging crimes.

The increasing use of social media and internet among individuals and companies has enhanced the role of cybersecurity in the current times. Goel, Williams and Dincelli (2017) point out that there is the presence of phishing attacks which take advantage of the individual tendency in making quick, intuitive judgments depending on the initial impressions of the present context. The research found out that the context of the email has a strong correlation to susceptibility to phishing. Every organization needs to enhance their training in a manner that all the users get educated on how they can detect phishing emails. The increasing cyber threats like phishing scams, data theft and other cyber vulnerabilities need the users to be always vigilant to protect their data. It is vital to learn the various vulnerabilities and risk present in the internet world. Every user needs to critically think before they connect to another individual using an online medium. This can happen in an organization where the internet users should think before they give any company information to other users on the internet. 

Lastly, with the increasing number of data networks, internet and mobile users and digital applications, there is a high chance for cyber crimes and cyber exploitation. Even minimal mistakes in not securing vital information can pose adverse effects on an organization. If an organization does not adequately secure its accounts, it will be easier for the unauthorized users or hackers to spread social engendering attacks or viruses with the aim of stealing data. These issues highlight the need for cybersecurity in every company because it is a crucial approach to protecting and preventing vital data from reaching unauthorized users.  It is evident that cybersecurity plays a pivotal role in companies. It helps in protecting the company’s data and ensuring that their projects and services are moving smoothly without delays or obstacles.  

Failure to provide that there are security systems can lead to loss of competitive information, loss of data, loss of clients and employee information which can result to loss of public trusts in the organization’s integrity. All organizations should focus on subscribing to periodic cybersecurity audits so as they can learn their unique security needs. Other researchers recommend for the need of having a central cyber securing system in protecting company information from the hackers. Companies need to educate their staff to have an awareness of the cybersecurity risks like the social engineering and phishing emails which take place.

References

Bou-Harb, E., Debbabi, M., & Assi, C. (2016). A novel cyber security capability: Inferring Internet-scale infections by correlating malware and probing activities. Computer Networks, 94327-343. doi:10.1016/j.comnet.2015.11.004

Collier, J. (2018). Cyber Security Assemblages: A Framework for Understanding the Dynamic and Contested Nature of Security Provision. Politics and Governance, 6(2), 13-21. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.v6i2.1324

De Bruijn, H., & Janssen, M. (2017). Building cybersecurity awareness: The need for evidence-based framing strategies. Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 1-7.

Eggers, W. D. (2016). Government’s cyber challenge: Protecting sensitive data for the public good. Deloitte Review, 19, 139-155.

Goel, S., Williams, K., & Dincelli, E. (2017). Got Phished? Internet Security and Human Vulnerability. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 18(1), 22-44

Reddy, G. N., & Reddy, G. J. (2014). A Study of Cyber Security Challenges and its emerging trends on latest technologies. arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.1842.

Science Channel. (2016). The role of cyber security in an organization. Scientect Broadcasting Science and Research News in Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.scientect.com/the-role-of-cybersecurity-in-an-organization/