Risks in the Digital Age

How substantial are cybersecurity threats?

The threats posed by the internet are not new, studies in 2007 showed that on average, a computer connected to the internet is attacked once every 39 seconds and over 65,000 UK SMEs are targeted by cyberattacks daily. The cleanup costs associated with these threats also run up to very high amounts. IBM suggested that the cost of a data breach suffered by a large organisation is around $3.6mn. 

What are the areas of risk?

Cybersecurity risks aren’t associated with just our computer - it encompasses every single internet device we own, every email address we use, every online service and business we have ever used. The modern internet has a raft of threats that we do not realise because we believe the sites/services we use are safe. 

Almost all activities in our daily life that involve access to the internet can lead to cybersecurity risks and need to be monitored carefully. From our usual morning scroll of the news on our phone to social media, food delivery apps, banking apps, and entertainment services as well. 

What are the different ways in which we could be attacked?

Hackers could trick us into visiting a fake version of a website and this could potentially enable them to steal our data, identity and even our money. We could also face direct attacks which grant access to hackers through malware. Simply having an antivirus software or having a secure password will not be enough to help us in this situation. 

Increasing scale of cyberattacks 

The corporate world is seeing an increase in cybersecurity related risks as a direct consequence of the shift to working from home. Studies suggest that most companies have witnessed a 91% increase in cyberattacks as a result of this. 

However, this is not limited to employees working from home and cyberattacks spare nobody, anyone can be targeted at anytime. This is evident from the large number of big organisations, from different industries and countries that have recently faced cyberattacks. This includes the likes of Aramco, The University of California, San Francisco and also the BlackBaud Ransomware attack which affected several charities in the US and UK. Similarly, in the UK, the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 had crippled the NHS and cost over 92million. The most infamous of cyberattacks is arguably the one on Yahoo! in which all 3.1 billion accounts were compromised and data had been stolen. 

What are the techniques to help protect ourselves from these threats?

It is important to understand the vulnerabilities we face such as malware and network risks. It is also prudent to understand the ways in which we can protect ourselves. The different techniques that will help us prevent being victims of a cyberattack include authentication, network security, encryption and cryptography. Finally we need to keep in mind the steps that need to be taken in a situation where we have been victims of a cyberattack.