Cyber security features all the technologies and practices that keep computer systems and electronic data safe. It is a growing field in the contemporary world where more and more businesses and social lives become online. Cyber security is absolutely important in the contemporary world where the dangers of cyber crime become more serious. The practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems and data come under the broad umbrella of cyber security. Cyber security is also known as information technology security or electronic information security. The field cyber security can be divided into network security, application security, information security, operational security and disaster recovery.
Honeypot mimics a target for hackers and it makes use of intrusion attempts to gain information about cybercriminals. The honeypot looks like a real computer system fooling cybercriminals into thinking that it is a legitimate target. Any incident resulting in unauthorized access to computer data, applications, networks or devices can be referred as security breach. Security breach can cost a company huge amounts of money and three billion Yahoo user accounts were compromised in 2013 after a phishing attempt gave hackers access to the network. DDoS(Distributed Denial of Service) is a type of malicious cyberattacks that cybercriminals use in order to make an online service unavailable to its users on the internet. The DDoS attacks are totally different from conventional Denial of Service incidents.
Ransomware is a type of malware which encrypts a victim’s files and the attacker often demands a huge amount as ransom from the victim to restore access to the data. A common delivery system is phishing spam, attachments that come to the victim in an email masquerading as a file the victim could trust. They can take over the victim’s computer system once they are downloaded and opened. Malware is the group name for number of malicious software variants including viruses, ransomware and spyware. It will cause intensive damage to data and systems along with gaining unauthorized access to network.
Software virus is a malicious computer code designed to spread from device to device and it is a subset of malware. A software virus infects programs, alter the way computer operates, or stop the computer from working. Antivirus works by detecting and quarantining malicious code, in order to prevent malware from causing damage to computer. Essential features of an antivirus software include real time scanning, automatic updates, protection for multiple apps, and auto clean.
The threats countered by cyber security can be categorized into cyber crime, cyber attack and cyber terrorism. The list of common cyber security tips includes updating software, updating operating system, using antivirus software, using strong passwords, not opening email attachments from unknown senders, not clicking on links in emails from unknown senders and avoiding using unsecure Wi-Fi networks in public places. Cyber security is made up of application security, identity management, data security, network security, mobile security, cloud security, business continuity planning and user education.