What Is Cybersecurity? Cybersecurity is the process of securing and protecting devices, programs, apps, networks, and systems from cyberattacks. Such attacks aim to access, change, corrupt, or even destroy sensitive data, extort money from affected parties, or put a hold on regular business proceedings.
Cybersecurity is also known as electronic information security or information technology security. It applies to a myriad of contexts, from personal computers through Smart Home networks to enterprise systems.
Cybersecurity measures include, but are not limited to, anti-malware protection, endpoint protection, regular security updates, cloud backup assistance, cloud patch management, network fortification, data encryption, and other, including even iphone backup. In today’s cyber landscape, it is crucial to implement comprehensive data security methods in individual and company networks to secure them against innovative attackers.
Different Types of Cyber Security Services
Most modern businesses rely on computers and the internet to operate efficiently. Such high dependency on the digital opens up an extreme exposure to cybercrime if your systems are not appropriately secured.
To prepare your networks against potential cyber-attacks, it’s essential to consult with experts in cybersecurity, such as GuidePoint Security. Additionally, familiarizing yourself with all possible vulnerabilities and ensuring you have a course of action can be beneficial.
Below is a list of the main cybersecurity types. We hope this article will help you build a stellar foundation for a solid security approach.
Operational Infrastructure Security
This approach emphasizes the critical infrastructure modern society relies on to conduct everyday tasks and potentially run a business.
Electrical grids, traffic lights, water purification, hospitals management, malls – all of those could be connected to the internet, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Organizations responsible for any critical infrastructure should address cyber threats accordingly, perform due diligence, and strive to secure all potential entry points for attackers.
Businesses relying on a critical infrastructure should research and develop a contingency plan to evaluate how attacks on such infrastructure could disrupt their flow of work.
Network Security
This security type points to the protection of a computer network from both inside and outside attacks.
It relies on anti-spyware protection, anti-malware protection, antivirus programs, firewalls, endpoint protection, regular reporting, and employee education to minimize the risk of a successful data breach on the network.
Additionally, network security focuses on building a comprehensive firewall to block out access to untrusted network connections and potentially malicious traffic. Furthermore, it aims to strengthen email security as phishing attacks are the most common access point for cyber attackers.
Apps Security
Apps provide a constant connection to the internet and are susceptible to infiltration if left unsecured.
Before deploying an app, you should ensure there are security measures in place to block hacker attempts. Strong user passwords, two-step authentication, security questions, and regular updates are vital to keeping an app out of harm’s way.
Information Security
Information security (or “data security”) refers to protecting the privacy, integrity, state, and traffic of data across all company networks or storage.
Such an approach includes data encryption, email encryption, firewalls, threat management, Smart alerts, antivirus scanning in real-time, and others to minimize the risk of data leakage or data corruption by outside parties.
Cloud Security
Cloud storage is still perceived as “riskier” in general. Many companies find physical storage safer due to the control that comes with ownership of physical storage systems. However, accessibility weighs more than control when it comes to protecting your data, no matter where it’s stored.
Controlling a system doesn’t mean you can negate every cyber threat. Nonetheless, if a threat manages to get through your defenses, it’s crucial to have an operation-ready backup of data to deny ransomware and continue business as usual.
Modern cloud security providers aim to deploy smart cloud backup and enhanced cloud patch management to bring the same security a physical system offers without the need for massive storage space or the cost of maintaining one.
IoT Security
Appliances, televisions, Wi-Fi routers, security cameras, sensors, and printers are often left vulnerable to malicious attacks due to a lack of security patching. This leads to vast security challenges for all users connected to IoT.
We can divide all security approaches into two major categories—subscription-based and One-time Purchase (or “Perpetual”). Let’s explore the pros and cons of both below.
Perpetual Pros & Cons
Pros
- One-time payment
- Pre-automated security options
Cons
- Active maintenance requires a paid plan
- More upfront costs
- Long-term commitment
- Technical support, software updates, and upgrades require a maintenance plan
Subscription Pros & Cons
Pros
- Renewable subscription options
- Easy scale down/ramp up options
- Fewer upfront costs
- Tech support and security updates/upgrades included in subscription plan
Cons
- The software won’t operate outside the subscription period
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is an essential part of modern business. Protection against cyberattacks becomes more and more challenging, but, luckily, protection software and tools evolve as well.
However, we find perpetual security software to lack some of the adaptive options provided by subscription-based solutions. Both could fit the suitable security model for your company, yet subscription-based vendors offer a more comprehensive approach against malicious threats.