What is Cyber Security?

With a huge range of cyber security solutions available, it can be difficult to know which ones offer the best protection. Organisations looking to better understand their security posture and where to invest should consider commissioning a vulnerability scan or penetration test to identify weaknesses.

The Cyber Essentials certification scheme is a useful mechanism to help businesses achieve a base level of cyber security assurance and demonstrate to employees, partners, customers and investors that cyber security is taken seriously.

With the threat landscape evolving at an unprecedented rate, no organisation is immune to cyber-attacks. Regardless of size or sector, all businesses need cyber security to protect their employees, customers and partners, and any organisation that neglects it is making itself an easy target.

Cyber security protects critical assets and confidential data. A cyber security breach can be hugely damaging for any organisation’s finances and reputation. Legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) means that organisations face significant penalties if they fail to take security seriously.

Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to protect an organisation against all cyber threats. To make genuine, lasting improvements to cyber security, a strong blend of technology, expertise and processes is required.

While preventative security controls such as firewalls and antivirus software are a solid first line of defence, proactive network and endpoint monitoring is increasingly important to improve visibility of threats that bypass these defences. Regular security assessments such as vulnerability scanning and pen testing are also important in order to identify and address weaknesses before they can be exploited by attackers.

In a large enterprise, a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Security Officer (CSO) are the employees with overall responsibility for cybersecurity. In smaller organisations, the responsibility commonly lies with an IT Director, Head of IT or IT Manager.

Regardless of organisation size, no one person or team should shoulder the entire burden of ensuring an organisation’s cyber security. All employees have a responsibility to raise awareness and follow recommended procedures and practices.

Cyber security vulnerabilities are weaknesses in an organisation’s technology, people and processes that could allow hackers to obtain access to critical assets and data. Vulnerabilities can include flaws in unpatched software, weak passwords, insecure system configurations, and poor email security protocols.

As attackers become increasingly persistent and well-funded, and the workplace is transformed by cloud services, remote working and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), the number of threats targeting organisations is multiplying. Common cyber security threats include hacking, malware, social engineering, brute-force attacks and denial-of service attacks.