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What is cybersecurity?

Summary

Cybersecurity defined with best practices and ways to protect against cyber threats.

Read time: 4 minutes

Businesses need cybersecurity solutions today more than ever.

'What cybersecurity is’ has almost become less important to why it’s needed – which is to protect your data and information from cyber threats.

Yet, even with all the attention being given to cybersecurity, it seems a week doesn’t pass without reports of another data breach or major hack.

In fact, most cybersecurity experts agree that it’s not a matter of if, but when a company will be attacked – with an attack probably happening more than once.

To ensure the best cybersecurity defense for your business, it helps to understand the basics.

Here's a short quiz to gauge your knowledge on cyber threats:

A common example of a cyber threat is:

  1. A ransomware attack in which hackers demand money (usually cryptocurrency) to release encrypted data and/or locked devices.

  2. A phishing email to unsuspecting employees containing malware that infects entire systems when opened.

  3. A Denial of Service (DoS) attack in which thousands of “zombified” computers bombard a website with requests to the point of crashing it.

  4. All of the above.

Hackers engage in criminal activity to:

  1. Extort money from targeted businesses.

  2. Sell stolen customer identities and credit card data on the dark web.

  3. Interrupt business operations in protest of corporate policies.

  4. All of the above.

Organizations vulnerable to cybercrime are:

  1. Typically large enterprises with a huge digital footprint and lots of cash.

  2. Small and medium-sized businesses without the resources to build a reliable cyber threat defense system.

  3. Local, state, and federal government agencies with databases storing millions of customer identities.

  4. All of the above.

Successful data breaches can result in:

  1. Extended periods of downtime, lost revenues, and reduced customer trust.

  2. Permanent data loss and damaged computing assets.

  3. Exposure to fines and other penalties for compliance violations.

  4. All of the above.

If you answered “All of the above” to all of the above, then it’s clear that you understand how serious cybercrime is and how vulnerable your organization might be.

Keep reading to build on your knowledge as this article will:

  • Define cybersecurity

  • Share best practices

  • Provide information you can use to find the solutions you need

  • And answers perhaps the most pressing question…

What is a business to do?

Questions about your specific situation?

Speak with one of our IT security professionals for personalized answers.

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