Why is Cyber Security relevant for everybody?

Security is one of the most important factors in modern society. Online security has become a must-have nowadays because it allows people to work from home, watch movies online, communicate with friends, etc. This makes them dependent on technology and all the systems connected to the Internet. However, this also makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. 81% of Cyber Security experts said that there would be many more cyberattacks than last year. To give you an idea about this subject, we should define what “cyber” means for that purpose.

• What is Cyber Security?

Cyber Security (or Information Security) protects information or data against unauthorized use or damage by logging into programs over a network (Web), especially through hacking procedures like cracking passwords and breaking through firewalls; or via acts like espionage targeting Web servers or individual computers.

Therefore, people depend on technologies, and any cyber-attack could affect them in one way or another. Also, the problem is not just for businesses and organizations but also for individuals because many of them use their devices to connect to the Internet (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.), making them vulnerable. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Example 1: Banking online

Did you know that in 2021 there were more than 78.4 million attacks against banks over the Internet? Let’s see how this happens: people want to pay by credit card when shopping online; they make sure it is a trustworthy website when making an order; they type their username and password in…, and you guessed right! That is the information that hackers are waiting for. Similarly, some people might think it is safe to pay with PayPal, but this isn’t the case. It’s just another way of giving your credit card details to dangerous people. Even if you don’t use PayPal for online shopping, you could still be affected by its cyber-attacks because often they are conducted in collaboration with other platforms or websites (for example, Yahoo).

Example 2: Online transactions

Let’s go back to the devices that most of us have these days, and let’s see how cyber-criminals can target them too! Did you know that according to McAfee’s study last year, only 42% percent of users install antivirus software on their mobile phones? Yes, people don’t take cyber-security seriously, which is a problem! Why? Take a look at this:

You carry around your mobile phone everywhere, and with it, you perform online transactions (banks, PayPal); pay for services like Netflix or Spotify; you might use it to access social media accounts and share lots of personal information over the Internet. If mobile devices are not protected by antivirus software, hackers can take control of your device as if they had access to all those things. In other words, they could see your credit card details, account usernames and passwords for different platforms, chats on WhatsApp or Facebook, etc.

Example 3: Data storage

In the case of businesses, data storage becomes even more important. It’s crucial to protect it because if data were lost or stolen, that would be a disaster, and the repercussions on the business could even lead to bankruptcy! That is why companies invest huge amounts of money in servers and other technologies which use encryption as one of their security layers. We feel completely impotent about this subject because we don’t know anything about encryption processes, and we trust those who work with such technologies (the IT department). However, cyber-criminals know how they work very well, and they are highly skilled at breaking through these kinds of barriers; not only that but since some decades ago, viruses have been created that can break those encrypted codes.

Example 4: The web

People can find everything related to cyber-security on the dark web: tools, tutorials, hacking services. Yes, you heard that, too, right! People can hire hackers to spy on others or steal their data. This is where the term “online espionage” comes from. Imagine what could happen if governments or big businesses hired people who know how to break through firewalls and encryption processes to steal critical information? Big trouble!

According to Kaspersky Lab, 200 million new malware programs are trying to infect computers worldwide every day. That’s why cyber security has become a necessity for everybody nowadays, whether they are businesses, organizations, or individuals – because everyone depends on technology in one way or another these days!

• Securing website connections through SSL certificates

SSL  certificates are server security protocols that help an enterprise’s web presence spread across many websites with a single certificate. Nearly one-third of the world’s public web pages have been found on just 10 different sites, for example, Facebook, Google, and Amazon. The rest of the pages are distributed among thousands of other sites. Even if hackers compromised only two percent of those 20,000 plus websites, it would still mean that around 400 smaller businesses lost their online customer base due to such hacking attempts. They could lose an estimated $2 billion in business overnight since people will not want to buy from any company that does not seem trustworthy enough to store data through their website servers’ cybersecurity measures.

All websites with an SSL certificate will be viewed as trusted by browsers, which reduces the chances of warnings about untrusted connections on multiple websites.

Investing in the right kind of SSL cert is an important step. With a plethora of certs available in the cybersecurity industry, you need to match your needs with the perfect SSL type. If you have multiple domains and subdomains at different levels that you need to secure, investing in a separate single domain SSL cert for each domain doesn’t make sense.

For such cases, we recommend going for a multi-domain SSL certificate. You can secure 250 Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) when installing this single certificate. This figure can vary from provider to provider. This simple single step will save you money and eliminate certificate management hassles.

Conclusion:

Cyber security has become increasingly important in our modern world. With the development of technology, bad news comes along almost as fast – cybercriminals are lurking behind every corner, waiting for their chance to exploit people who lack proper cyber security skills. It is up to us to keep away from these dangers and act by learning how to protect ourselves properly better than others have done before us. If everyone keeps this in mind, there will always be hope that the future will be bright with technologies beneficial for society rather than harmful ones exploited by criminals.

Author Bio

Dan Radak is a web hosting security professional with ten years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of online security, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.