Imagine a worker working with data at a computer. Her company’s private documents are secretly accessed by a hacker in the background. He misappropriates private data and sells it to criminals, who use it to demand a ransom from the business.

Although it sounds like something from a movie, it happens frequently in today’s online environment. Due to the importance of cyber security in modern business strategies, there is an increased need for cyber security experts.

Learn how cyber security functions, why it’s necessary, what data protection experts do, and how to become one, in this introduction to the field.

What exactly is cyber security?

Cybersecurity is a procedure created to safeguard devices and networks from outside threats. Businesses typically hire cyber security specialists to safeguard their private data, maintain worker productivity, and boost consumer confidence in goods and services.

The industry standard of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, or CIA, is central to the field of cyber security. Only authorised individuals can access data in order to maintain privacy, integrity, and availability. Systems, functions, and data must all be readily available at all times in accordance with predetermined guidelines.

Utilizing authentication mechanisms is the key component of cyber security. A user name, for instance, identifies an account that the user wishes to access, whereas a password serves as a mechanism to verify the user’s identity.

Cybercrime Types

Any unlawful activity involving a computer, device, or network is considered a cybercrime. The three categories are computer-assisted crimes, crimes where computers themselves are targets, and crimes where computers are merely incidental—as opposed to being directly involved—in the crime.

Cybercriminals typically employ a variety of strategies, including:

• DOS, or Denial of Service
  When a hacker uses up all of a server’s resources, legitimate users are unable to access anything
• Malware
  victims who have their devices rendered useless by a worm or virus
• Man in the Middle
  When a hacker places themselves in the middle of a victim’s computer and a router to sniff data packets
• Phishing
  when a hacker sends an email that appears to be legitimate and asks recipients for personal information

Cross-site scripting attacks, password attacks, eavesdropping attacks (which can also be physical), SQL-injection attacks, and birthday attacks based on algorithm functions are some other varieties of cyberattacks.

What inspires cyber criminals?

The primary goal of cybercrime is to interfere with essential infrastructure and routine business operations. Cybercriminals frequently manipulate stolen data in order to gain financial gain, inflict financial loss, harm someone’s reputation, further military goals, or spread ideologies. Some people don’t even need a reason to hack; they just do it for fun or to show off their abilities.

Who are these online criminals, then? Here is a list of the most typical types:

• Black-Hat Hackers
  Black-hat hackers assume false identities to carry out harmful operations for gain.
• Gray-Hat Hackers
  They carry out both malicious and impartial security analyst work.
• White-Hat Hackers
  Working as security analysts, white-hat hackers find and fix flaws while defending against malicious hackers.
• Suicide Hackers
  They want to openly destroy vital infrastructure in support of a cause.
• Script Kiddies
  They are inexperienced hackers who use programmes and scripts made by more skilled hackers.
• Cyber Terrorists
  They disrupt large computer networks to spread fear, and they are driven by ideologies that are either religious or political.
• State-Sponsored Hackers
  They hack into government networks, obtain sensitive information, and compromise information systems while being compensated by an adversarial government.
• Hacktivists
  Promote political causes by covertly destroying and shutting down websites