Introduction
With the advancement of the internet and the progress of the digital information age, businesses all across the globe can access a high proportion of the information that they hold from anywhere in the world. This has also consistently increased convenience and productivity but at the same time exposes the computer systems to cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Ever since the introduction to cybersecurity, the field has grown rapidly and remarkably in the most prominent way. Having years of experience as well as expertise, the cybersecurity professionals or experts have mastered the art of handling all the realistic situations practicing their skills in the cybersecurity program. This is the reason why cybersecurity professionals have to compete against the clock to deal with cyber threats or solve certain challenges that might arise during the process or have to come up with the most innovative cybersecurity strategies. Now, the new technologies that are being developed on an everyday basis very obviously bring with them and introduce new levels of interconnectivity, and as the case for every other technology, along with them come to the new vulnerabilities and all the cyber threats. Therefore, it should be obvious that to keep up with the industry, one needs to be updated with everything that has been happening in the industry. To stay competitive in the industry, one needs to excel in their skills in the cybersecurity field and take them to the next level if possible. So, a cybersecurity course might help in boosting a career in the cybersecurity industry.
The impact of cybercrimes on businesses and individuals
As we know, with the advancement of technology, the risks for data theft and corruption of systems have also increased rapidly. The cybersecurity trends show a massive increase in the breached data over recent years. The hackers are coming up with new policies or are continually developing new hacking tools and strategies for gaining malicious access to systems and networks. Many areas get included in the cost of cyber attacks and they have stolen money, theft of intellectual property, the damage and the destruction of data, embezzlement, theft of personal and financial data, the business disruption, restoration of hacked systems, and data as well as reputational harm. These are some of the areas that require the cost of these cyber threats while dealing with the process.
The shortage of the cybersecurity specialists
Now, the huge cybersecurity demand in the past few years has resulted in it being an integral part of almost all of the companies in the world. Now, as much as cybersecurity becoming critically important to every industry, the increase in the demand for knowledgeable employees and cybersecurity professionals with exceptional cybersecurity skills has significantly led to the shortage of them in the market. Now, there is a reason behind this and that is there is a lack of qualified professionals in this field that lack efficiency in fighting off cybercrimes. The shortage is becoming worse with each passing year and this has automatically let thousands of cybersecurity job positions go vacant if the records of the past few years are something to go by. While this is horrible news when it comes to the industries suffering a shortage of cyber employees and looking for cybersecurity professionals, this is, by all means, a great advantage for the ones looking forward to making a career in cybersecurity. This simply gives away the fact that the industry is highly lucrative for the ones interested in pursuing it. This has also led to another advantage that might lure the aspirants and that is, the companies are willing to provide lucrative offers to properly trained cybersecurity professionals. There is a lot of money that can be made in this field if only one decides to put their heart and soul into this field and is determined to make a cybersecurity career.
The cyberthreats that make the companies look for potential candidates
Here’s the thing, there are many kinds of cyber attacks that occur and so, knowing them before becoming a part of the industry is essential for every aspirant. They are listed down below.
1. The Phishing Attacks:
Phishing Attacks are nothing but a way to steal the credit card credentials or the login details or the other types of personal and financial data accessed by the users. These are the attacks that come from perceived reliable sources such as, for these attacks, the ones behind them impersonate established and trusted sites, personal contacts, or from banking institutions. Now, the biggest problem is these Phishing Attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and thus more effective. For example, if an employee clicks on the link or even tries to reply to a phishing email, it can lead to the opening of loopholes for cybercriminals to hack an organization’s system.
2. Ransomware:
Ransomware is a type of malware that locks the users out of their own devices or files themselves and threatens to perpetually block access or publish the data possessed by the victims unless an anonymous payment is being made or an online transfer of money takes place. With so much data being produced, the companies now are being constantly subjected to more than 4000 ransomware attacks regularly. The cyber threats leveraging the file lock malware almost doubled the previous year because cybercriminals constantly modify their methods for more lucrative payouts.
3. Software update supply chain attacks:
This is the most prominent and emerging threat in recent years. These attacks involve implanting a piece of malware into an authentic software package at its distribution source. This mainly occurs during the production of the location of the vendors or at a third-party storage location. The number of infections that get attached to it while the software is being updated can multiply quickly and more than often can go unnoticed. Since sensitive and valuable information is often shared in a supply chain, a cyber attack can often compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the information gathered. This has often led to one of the most important concerns related to cybersecurity and has become an important matter.
4. IoT botnet DDoS Attacks:
The compromised IoT devices are often used to launch malicious attacks on a large scale and create the most powerful botnets. A distributed denial of service attack or DDoS attack is the one when a cybercriminal gets a network of stagnant computer systems or often termed as zombie computer systems. These systems send botnets to contact a specific server or website time and time again. The increase in the volume of the traffic often burdens the server or the website making it slower for the authentic users and sometimes to the extent that the entire system shuts down completely. The attackers use multiple computer systems to launch the DDoS and therefore the attacks are distributed.
Conclusion
One can’t conclude about their expertise in cybersecurity career with the help of some self-taught training, rather opt for good cybersecurity certifications to equip them with all the latest advancements happening in cybersecurity technology and cybercrime techniques. The field of cybersecurity is constantly and rapidly evolving and so there is always something more to learn even for the ones who are already working professionals in this field.
