Even when we take a conservative approach, the global cybercrime has become a $1.5 trillion economy. The figure may not sound staggering unless we relate to its economic aspect.
What cybercriminals across the globe earn aggregately today is equivalent to Russian GDP in 2017. Such stats make it even more important to know what is cyber security in 2019.
Take a minute to understand the gravity of the issue.
The cybersecurity experts identified that for every passing second an average of four scalable malware is making way to the market in 2019.
This puts a strain on the organizations to protect their IT infrastructure from the illicit and malicious attacks.
Experts are raising caution!
2019 would be a year of monstrous growth of cybercrime and they must prep their cybersecurity teams and cyber security in India to combat the hyper-connected cybercriminals.
It is a challenging time for cybersecurity experts. Engulfed by sophisticated cyber attacks, we must take a moment and redefine what is cyber security and also understand the scope of Cyber Security.
Explaining What is Cyber Security?
It was 1988 when Robert Morris Jr. wrote a piece of code to assess how big the internet was.
This program propagated from computer to computer and sent a signal back to the controlling computer that was keeping a count. This naïve attempt was called DDoS cyber attack.
The glossary of cyber attacks has grown since then.
While the aim still remains to access and destroy sensitive information, the intent is to disrupt the business operations or lead extortions.
As the world becomes more digital than the 1980s, the scope of cybercrimes has also increased and so have the cyber security tutorials to educate users.
To know what is cyber security in 2019 is not a challenge.
It is the fortification of multiple protection layers to safeguard the network of computers from any kind of cybercrimes.
To combat cybercrime sophistication, organizations need to revamp security processes & learn cyber security. It becomes crucial to identify an attack and protect the systems against the implications of a successful attack.
Any cybersecurity the process must cover the following aspects of an organization and the cyber security in India:
(i) Endpoints of networks (computers, smart devices, and routers)
(ii) Entire networks
(iii) The cloud
Since decades organizations have relied upon firewalls, email filters, malware detectors and protectors, DNS filters and antivirus to keep the attacks at bay.
What kind of Security threats is lingering around in 2019 and what is cyber security all about?
Before we understand what is cyber security all about and what is trending in the space, it is important to gauge what we are fighting against.
1. Ransomware
Software used to seize access to critical files or systems and the access is released only when the ransom is paid.
Till 2018, the frequency of ransomware attacks was one attack every 14 seconds which is expected to increase to one attack every 11 seconds by 2021.
2. Malware
Software designed to access a computer system without access to any authorization details. Effectively the malware is used to damage the computer.
According to the recent stats of what is cyber security, malware attacks are expected to grow in 2019 as in 2018 almost 48% of the Microsoft office files accounted to be carrying malware.
3. Phishing
Leading the cyber attack space is the Phishing attacks. Fraudulent emails that con the readers as authentic emails from an actual brand or source steal sensitive information like user’s portal access.
Employees are educated through programs and cyber security tutorials.
91% of the successful cyber attacks in 2018 started with spear-phishing attacks.
As the phishing volumes, Phishing attack volume grew up by 40.9% in 2018 and with the sophistication, it has exhibited, there is no looking back.
Trends to watch out in 2019 – What is Cyber Security all about?
According to the AT&T survey, only 29% of the Infosec professionals trust the cyber security protocols they are following while 60% of the C-level executives believe their organizations are well guarded against attacks.
While cyber-security automation is expected to see some broad daylight in 2019, there are other trends that will create more noise.
1. Securing the Cloud
The organizations are moving their data, information and work to cloud incessantly. Cloud is quick and accessible across everywhere so everyone intends to harness the potential.
But when it comes to cloud the security game is completely different from the legacy databases. As it passes through cyberspace and it is more vulnerable to the meticulous attacks cyber attackers.
That is why the people who keep probing into what is cyber security is advising that cloud machines must be mentored just like the legacy systems so that any kind of security breach is notified in time.
Between the organization and employees, there is a number of people who interact with the Cloud environments that is why it is important to maintain the log.
Such a shift will create a secure cloud with more visibility against the cybersecurity breaches. More and more cyber security tutorials are being introduced to increase awareness.
2. Leveraging AI and ML
Cybercrime is no exception to use artificial intelligence to execute successful attacks. As AI systems are affordable and automated, they help cyber attackers to conduct smarter and quicker attacks.
As the volume of data across enterprises is increasing, the need to analyze the data is important. Utilizing manual effort to analyze the data is not a sane option.
Thus we need to have a clear idea of what is cyber security and be witnessing artificial intelligent solutions making footsteps in sophisticated cyber security systems.
Identifying Shadow IT resources
Gartner predicts that by 2020, around 30% of the successful cyber-attacks will target the vulnerable shadow IT inventory.
These will be the software solutions that are not allowed by the enterprises but still make way to the computer systems and networks.
With the business apps being allowed to be used on personal mobile phones, the enterprises are putting their databases at risk.
The time is ripe to develop security layers that would make sure the employee’s freedom to access enterprise data does not happen while keeping the security aspects at stake.
With the growing number of both managed and unmanaged devices being used by employees and IoT devices connecting to enterprise databases, the risk mitigation is becoming crucial.
Clear protocols and monitoring must be established to combat any impact of the cyber-attacks.
Various cybersecurity frameworks are being established that document the best practices to be followed when multiple real-time devices are connected to the enterprise infrastructure.
The enterprises need to regularly identify and disconnect the device or IT inventory that is a soft spot for cyber security in India and abroad.
This would imply that multiple security endpoints need to be established to avoid any type of catastrophe.
Here is more on what is cyber security all about and its trends in 2019:
Why Become a Cybersecurity Analyst in 2019?
To build a strong career in Cyber Security, a cybersecurity analyst is required to have a combination of skills.
He must be capable of conducting technical research that involves keeping a track of the latest malware, evolving phishing attacks and how to counter them.
They are required to make an intelligent analysis of activities, create reports of the patterns they notice and then need to present the data to the c-level executives.
1. Profile Requirements
Either you must have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or you must have exhaustive experience in the field of cybersecurity. As the need for cyber security analysts grows, there are better opportunities on the market. To grab a good job one can go for add on certifications that add value to the profile.
2. Rising demands
Cybersecurity experts are being hired as hot cakes. In 2019, 1.5 million new job openings are expected to be created in the market.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Information Security Analyst posts have gone up by 37% by 2022.
This domain requires different expertise from Security analysts, architects, consultants and more.
3. Better Paychecks
On average, a Security Analyst earns $90,809 per year in the United States. It has become one of the most competitive and high paying jobs when compared to trending fields like data science.
In 2016 ISACA conducted a skills gap analysis and reported a gap of 2 million cybersecurity professionals by 2019. This is the right time to turn towards knowing what is cyber security as a career.
4. Engagement with Giants
Business giants like AT&T, American Airlines and ExxonMobil are aggressively hiring security experts. It may not be that all the experts aspire but working with agencies of such repute adds value to the resume.
5. Technical Skills Required
Cyber analysts need to have a stronghold in network operations and security aspects of networks. They must have knowledge or experience of detecting intrusions in a computer network.
Apart from the detect skills, they need to have a sound knowledge of Firewall implementation and response technologies.
As cyber security is an ever-evolving landscape that is hit by newer attacks every day, one must keep pace with what is happening on the front.
What is cyber security and how are the professionals required to have deeper analytical skills so that they can identify patterns of cyber threats?
Conclusion
As today’s world is more connected over the internet, the need of knowing why is cyber security is more pronounced.
With smartphones becoming the end-points of attacks, a lot needs to be changed so that the sensitive information is kept secured for better social functioning.
The cyber security team’s benefit the entire society thus the landscape is emerging with new strategies, tools, and techniques to fortify the security of the organizations, individuals, institutions and more.
The cyberspaces are vulnerable enough as the attacks have turned sophisticated.
Every day hackers identify a new vulnerability every day so the experts need to be on top of everything and know what is cyber security & also should follow cyber security tutorials to ensure the internet remains a safe place.
Are you also inspired by the opportunity provided by Cyber Security and are looking forward to building a career in it? Enroll in our Cyber Security Course to become a Cyber Security Expert.
