Cyber security, like most things, isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. In a world where most people rely on the internet to some capacity, the ease of which hackers could ruin lives becomes scarily obvious. Entertainment, communication, transportation, banking, and other areas of business all rely on technology, and that dependency can not only help someone’s business thrive, but also be their downfall if the wrong person were to break past their firewalls. This dependency can leave you vulnerable, so to keep yourself and your business safe, it’s best to become familiar with the different types of cyber security that’s available. Being familiar with these types will allow you to build a strong, solid foundation for a security strategy.
Critical Infrastructure Security
Critical infrastructure security focuses on the cyber-physical systems that we depend on. These systems include electricity grids, water purification systems, traffic lights, shopping centers, hospitals, and so on. All of these can be reliant on the internet, and when that’s the case, that makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. To protect yourself against failures on this end, you need to be diligent and understand the vulnerabilities that these systems come with so you can protect them as best as you can. If you’re not responsible for your critical infrastructure but rely on it, evaluate how an attack may happen and develop a contingency plan for that sort of scenario.
Application Security
Application security is a must-have security measure to ensure that your systems are protected against cyber-attacks. This security type uses both software and hardware to counteract external threats that can arise in the development stage of an application. Since applications are accessible over networks, having application security measures such as antivirus programs, firewalls, and encryption programs will help prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive data from leaking.
Network Security
Network security is crucial when safeguarding your internal networks from malicious cyber-attacks. This secures your internal network infrastructures and keeps it from being accessed by hackers and anyone else who is unauthorized to access your data. Security teams have started using machine learning to flag any activity that can be deemed abnormal and alert necessary personnel in real-time to potential threats. Some examples of network security are implementing several logins to get past, resetting passwords every few months, and investing in application security like firewalls, antivirus programs, etc.