Cyber Security Management

An unprecedented amount of data is being collected, processed, and stored on computers and other devices of government, corporate, military, medical, and financial organizations every day.

A huge portion of this data is sensitive information, including personal information, financial data, and intellectual property, for which unauthorized access or exposure can lead to serious consequences.
Cyber security management can help protect that information together with the systems used to store or process it.
Since all businesses are at risk of cyberattacks, which are evolving and growing in number, proper cyber security management is crucial to protect sensitive data and keep networks running smoothly.

According to the Academic Centre of Cyber Security Excellence, cyber security management is everything an organization does to “protect information resources and competitive advantage in a complex and evolving threat landscape.”

In other words, it’s the capability of an organization to protect its computer networks and information systems from malware, intrusions, cyberattacks, and all types of data breaches. The people whose job is to ensure this protection are called cyber security managers.

The job of cyber security managers is to know the potential vulnerabilities of a network. They stay up to date with the techniques cyber criminals use to invade information systems and use their knowledge and expertise to avert those efforts.

They prevent organizations from losing sensitive data like the credit card information of customers.

Some of the common job duties of cyber security managers are establishing network security procedures and policies, controlling access to data, and instructing staff on how to use information systems properly.

They check if there are any security gaps in the systems, create effective solutions, and send reports to executive and management staff. Additional job duties include testing data processing systems, running risk assessments, and designing firewalls.

And if there’s an intrusion, it’s their job to deal with it as efficiently as possible.

What About Cyber Security Consultants?

Their job is to find any weaknesses in computer systems, software programs, and networks, as well as figure out how to strengthen them to prevent intrusions, says ECPI University.

However, cyber security consultants don’t work for a single company, but offer their services to more customers, explain Simplilearn. They are hired to test the cybersecurity measures of an organization, and then create and implement a better defense.

Cyber Security Management vs. IT Security Management

Both of them are about security and against data being accessed, changed, or stolen, but they are still different. Cyber security management deals with the protection of electronic data from outside sources, while IT security management deals with the protection of data, no matter if it’s digital or stored in a file cabinet, according to Computer Science Degree Hub.

According to CISA, cyber security is the art of protecting data, devices, and networks from criminal use or unauthorized access and the procedure to ensure integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information.

This is really important if we think about how much of our daily life relies on computers and the Internet, such as medicine, transportation, communication, shopping, and entertainment, which requires storing our personal information on our smartphone, computer, tablet, or someone else’s system.

More and more information is now digital and accessible across the Internet and through wireless and wired digital networks. Not to mention the growing number and the continually evolving nature of cyberattacks which are a danger to companies, employees, and consumers. Cyber security management helps protect this highly sensitive information.

It allows companies and organizations to protect valuable information and prevent damage to their reputation and finances while concentrating on their duties.

Benefits of Cyber Security Management

Here are the benefits of implementing cyber security management:

• Protection for networks and data
• Business protection against ransomware, malware, phishing, and other social engineering techniques.
• Faster recovery time after a breach
• Prevention of access to digital assets by unauthorized users
• Improved confidence in an organization
• Protection of end-users and their personal information

Types of Cyber Security

Some of the most common types of cyber security include:

• Data Loss Prevention (DLS) – preventing the loss, access, or misusage of sensitive data by unauthorized users, according to Digital Guardian.
• Network Security – protection against unauthorized and malicious intrusion of your internal networks.
• Information Security – protection of the privacy and integrity of data in storage and transit.
• Application Security – ensuring devices and software are free from intruders.
• Operational Security – decisions and processes needed for protecting and handling data assets.
• Cloud Security – protection of cloud-based data, systems, and infrastructure.
• IoT (Internet of Things) Security – protection of sensors, appliances, wifi routers, televisions, security cameras, and printers.

It is the probability of loss or exposure of sensitive data that results from a data breach or cyber attack.

Cyberattack is an offensive action that targets personal computer devices, computer networks, infrastructures, or computer information systems in order to steal, change, or destroy information systems or data.

Cyber security management from an experienced firm like CMIT can help prevent successful cyberattacks.

Types of Cyber Attacks & Cyber Threats

The most common types of cyber attacks, according to Netwrix, include:

• MitM (Man-in-the-middle) attack
• DoS (Denial-of-service) and DDoS (Distributed denial-of-service) attacks
• Drive-by attack
• Phishing and spear-phishing attacks
• Password attacks
• Eavesdropping attacks
• Malware attacks
• XSS (Cross-site scripting) attack
• Birthday attack
• SQL Injection attack

A cyber threat is the possibility of a successful cyberattack whose purpose is to gain access, steal, change, or damage a computer network or sensitive data. According to the IEEE Computer Society, the top five cyber threats to watch out for in 2020 are:

1. Cloud Attacks
2. AI-Enhanced Cyber threats
3. AI Fuzzing
4. Machine Learning Poisoning
5. Smart Contract Hacking

FBI warns about the growing and serious threat of cybercrime. Identity thieves and fraudsters target citizens while online predators target children. Universities are targeted for their revolutionary research and development, and companies for their trade secrets and other sensitive corporate data.

The five most popular forms of this criminal activity are identity theft, phishing, hacking, online harassment, and cyberstalking.

Cybercrime detection is not easy as cyber criminals use proxy serves that hide their location or secure software to stay anonymous. It involves monitoring computer networks, computers, and network serves that are important for information systems.

Still, the good news is you help fight cybercrime by hiring a great cyber security management firm.

Some intrusion detection techniques include tripwires, honey pots, configuration checking tools, operating system commands, and anomaly detection systems, as reported in the International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering.

Cyber theft occurs when someone steals personal or financial information through the use of computers and the Internet and uses that information illegally. It includes interfering with copyright and hacking of a bank’s computer records to wrongfully debit one account and credit another, explains US Legal.

Cyber software is a computer program that improves information security. There are many types of cyber security software or computer security software, such as anti-spyware, anti-malware, firewall, antivirus software, intrusion prevention system, fraud detection, etc.

What Is Firewall?

A Firewall is a network security tool that keeps track of outgoing and incoming network traffic and blocks or permits data packets based on pre-established security rules.

The aim of Firewall is to make a boundary between your incoming traffic and internal network from external sources like the Internet so that it can block hackers, viruses, and other malicious traffic.

A zero day exploit is leveraging a software, firmware, or hardware flaw unknown to the manufacturer to conduct a cyberattack. These exploits are very dangerous as manufacturers haven’t had an opportunity to patch them.

In other words, hackers find loopholes in released software, firmware, or hardware and write a malware script that invades all devices that download it. While hackers are wreaking devastating havoc, manufacturers have to develop a security patch that addresses the specific zero-day exploit.

The next step would be to make sure all users download the security patch, which can take weeks and even months, says TCI Technologies.

How Do Hackers Find Exploits?

Hackers don’t find exploits but vulnerabilities or weaknesses in a computer system or program to perform a malicious attack. They research how to use the vulnerability and exploit or take advantage of it (using some tools or code.)

Finding a vulnerability and exploiting it is about patience and methodologies. First, they assess the attack surface, then they identify a vulnerability, and finally they figure out how to use it.

One way hackers can steal your information is to try to obtain it from a device connected to the Internet by installing spyware. What this spyware does is sending information from your computer, smartphone or any other device to others without your consent or knowledge.

All it takes is opening a spam email or clicking on images, attachments, or links in instant messages, email messages, and pop-up messages and you’ll unintentionally install the spyware on your device.

The spyware will then take pictures of your device’s screen or track keystrokes to snag sensitive information such as passwords and account numbers. CMIT Solutions, a professional cyber security management firm, has proven solutions to help you protect your passwords and other data.

Another way hackers can steal your personal information is by hacking your email, financial account, or social media account, reports The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Can Someone Steal Your Identity with Only Your Name and Address?

Even though the short answer to this common question is “no,” your name and address may serve as a gateway to identity theft. Hackers can use your name and address to find out more information about you and your financial accounts as security answers, to redirect your mail to theirs, or to send fake offers via mail as an attempt to commit phishing.

According to eSecurity Planet, the top cyber security companies as of 2020 are Fortinet, KnowBe4, Cisco, Splunk, Microsoft, IBM, Sophos, Palo Alto Networks, McAfee, Broadcom, Trend Micro, Check Point, Proofpoint, Imperva, and RSA (Dell Technologies). These are large companies. If you want custom services from a company that understands the needs of small businesses, contact CMIT Solutions of Northwest Georgia.