Cybersecurity Basics

Cybersecurity is ever evolving in response to online threats, hacker attacks, viruses and many more vulnerabilities online. We at HowToHosting.guide consider it important to give you a quick lesson in Cybersecurity basics and how that can affect all of us on the World Wide Web.

What is Cybersecurity?

The most common and broad definition of Cyber Security states that it is the body of technologies, practices, and techniques created to protect computer systems, programs, networks and data from exploitation such as damage, attacks or unauthorized access.

When we have a discussion related to computer systems, security as a term is understood as Cyber Security, by default. For the sake of avoiding confusion, we will use the term Cyber Security throughout the article.

Cyber Security also encompasses the safeguard of computers and networks from theft or damage to related hardware, software, or electronic data and any disruption or misdirection of associated services.

Any network, websites, Internet devices and everything else that is online is vulnerable to attacks and must be protected. Thus, Cyber Security is the knowledge, prevention methods, tools and actions you can utilize to prevent any kind of threats related to the Internet.

Cybersecurity Vs. Cyber Security (Disambiguation)

People tend to ask about the difference between Computer Security, Cybersecurity, Cyber-security, Cyber Security and Web Security. While the first four are different spellings of the same term, the last is a sub-branch.

Cybersecurity is the more modern and recognized spelling of the term and is more widely accepted in the United States of America and US English.

Most people prefer this spelling in the IT sphere and outside it, and also appropriate it to other related terms such as Cyberspace and so on.

Cybersecurity is also written as two separate words, as Cyber Security in British-English. Both terms mean the same regardless, which spelling you desire to use. The only notable difference is that writing it as two separate words is preferred when you use the term as an adjective to Security.

How Does Cyber Security Work?

Cyber Security is complete when you have software, plus hardware and the human factor all working together as one defense system.

As a prime example, let us point out that Cyber Security is critical when it comes to website hosting. A secure server environment almost always prevents attacks from hackers, data breaches, and website attacks which aim to cause downtimes and crashes or other malicious activities.

Network defense mechanisms and proactive systems of Cyber Security set in place for protection depend on the type of management and specific configuration, from company to company.

Standard IT practices should be set in any company or business including secure protocols for better defense.

Main features of Cyber Security in the Hosting sphere include:

• Network Firewall
• Backup and Recovery
• Secure Filters
• Advanced DDoS Protection
• Email Filtering (Anti-Spam Protection)
• Malware and Virus Protection

Better security features provided by hosting companies usually require additional payment.

Note that you should go with managed hosting plans to spend less effort and time to protect your online business. That way you will have at your disposal a team of professional administrators to monitor and defend your website.

Types of Cyber Security

We will list the most commonly known types and their definitions to give you a better perspective on the matter.

Application Security

Application Security involves implementing different defense mechanisms to software and services utilized inside an organization against a huge range of attacks and threats.

What is required to make Application Security effective is the following:

• Design secure application architectures
• Writing secure code
• Implementing strong data input validation
• Implementing threat modeling

All of the above is needed to minimize the probability of any unauthorized access or tampering of application resources.

Here, the term Security by design is often used. To best describe it, software has been designed from the start to be secure and that is the main focus for the software.

Data Security

Data Security involves the implementation of strong information storage mechanisms that make certain that all data at rest or in transit is completely secure.

Here are the types of Data Security:

• Encryption (Using an algorithm to scramble data)
• Data Erasure (Overwriting or Deletion)
• Data Masking (masks Personally Identifiable Information)
• Data Resiliency (Endurance of a Data Center)

There are other strategies to secure data, involving solutions as Data and file activity monitoring among other, more modern methods and tools.

Network Security

Network Security involves the implementation of hardware and software mechanisms to secure a network and an infrastructure from unauthorized access, disruptions, and other malicious activities.

Types of Network Security involve:

• Network Access Control
• Anti-virus and Anti-malware Software
• Firewall Protection
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Many people believe that having just one type of Network Security would be sufficient against all active threats of the Internet. That is not true.

Another delusion is that having multiple anti-virus software applications installed and active at the same time equals to having a better protection. Read the 3 Common Misconceptions That Can Put Your Website at Risk.

Efficient network security aids in protecting organizational assets against various internal and internal threats.

Mobile Security

Mobile Security mainly refers to the protection of organizational and personal information that is constantly stored on mobile devices.

Mobile devices include the following:

• Cellular phones
• Smartphones
• Laptops
• Tablets

Threats such as unauthorized access, device loss, device theft, malware attacks, virus intrusions and others can plague any modern mobile device.

Necessary and preventative actions should be taken in advance for such attacks and threats to not happen. Installing and updating an anti-malware software and firewall will help in that regard.

Cloud Security

Cloud Security is the making of secure cloud architectures and applications for companies.

Valid Cloud Service Providers that can help with that are:

• Amazon AWS
• Google
• Azure
• Rackspace

Efficient architecture and environment configuration inevitable will establish potent protection against multiple threats in any organization.

Security Education

Individuals undergoing formal training regarding topics on computer security are better equipped about the industry’s best practices, organizational procedures and policies.

In addition, they understand how essential it is to raise awareness as well as the monitoring and reporting of malicious activities quickly.

Another related field we should mention here is that of Identity management. This includes frameworks, processes, and activities which enable the authentication or authorization of legitimate individuals to information systems inside an organization.

Conclusion

We cannot stress enough, by many degrees, how crucial Cyber Security is and hopefully you know that now thanks to this article.

All types of related defense mechanism and preventative measures, down to the human factor and IT education are part of the process.

You should first make more people aware of Cyber Security, then get advanced hardware protection and also install and update software and applications to further secure a network and related devices.

Hackers, DDoS attempts, unforeseen circumstances in IT happen on a daily basis. Knowing the basics of Cyber Security and creating a secure environment is the only way to fight back online threats.

Be the first to make a move. Educate yourself, share the knowledge and contribute to win the battle against the bad side of the Internet and make computer environments safer than before.