Cyber Security : The New Business Priority

Since the onset of the first packet switching event that many believe to be beginning of the internet, no other technology besides the printing press has ever transformed the ability to deliver information. Although the internet is used by a large percentage of the civilized world, few Americans realize how vital cyberspace is to our national infrastructure. Today, we are faced with even more threats although it has been a recognized problem since 2009, when President Barrack Obama said “The cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. It’s also clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country (Obama, 2009).” Every industry that operates in the United States is dependent on the internet for some aspect of their business. Commerce, transportation, financial institutions, military, as well as industrial control systems are all interconnected. This interconnectedness has created vulnerabilities within their infrastructure that have increasingly become targets of terrorists, script kiddies, foreign governments and hackers of all types.

The world of cyber security continues to introduce new threats each year against network infrastructures and computer devices. In the recent years, the impact from cyber-attacks has wreaked havoc on many company brands and organizational reputations. As this issue grows so does the technology to prevent and protect against these malicious attacks. It is absolutely crucial for organizations and businesses to shift focus from defense for different types of attacks to improving safeguards to mitigate the loss of sensitive data when an attack occurs. In addition to the traditional security technology used to detect an attack, companies will have to include

Cyber security, also referred to as information technology security, focuses on protecting computers, networks, software programs and data from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction. Post 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, the United States grows its endeavors to repulse cyberattacks, U.S. corporate organizations and the government agencies wind up in strife over how to adjust to new methods of security and privacy. The current state of security measure protocols and privacy policies placed by the US government in cyberspace raises concerns for the 99%. This is due to the recent cyber-attacks on American corporate organization systems and government alike, where their digital information and network infrastructures within the systems were compromised, and personal data was hacked and stolen.

As a nation, today’s society must invest in cyber security to execute military power, protect citizens information, and safeguard businesses.

Times have changed what was known as organized crime has been replaced by Cybercrimes (Heists: Cybercrimes with Ben Hammersley). Cybercrimes have risen dramatically in recent years and have become a major issue the United States and company’s face today jeopardizing as well as threatening the critical infrastructure of America (Cyberwar Threat, 2005). Sadly, the status quo of cyber security is very unstable with the advancements and growth which has put most individuals and businesses into an enormous threat (Agustina, 2015).

can protect the company if wisely implemented, a recent security breach, and concerns over the

While all of these technologies have enabled exciting changes and opportunities for businesses, they have also created a unique set of challenges for business managers. Chief among all concerns about technology is the issue of information security. It seems to be almost a weekly occurrence to see a news article about yet another breach of security and loss of sensitive data. Many people will remember high profile data breaches from companies such as T.J Maxx, Boston Market, Sports Authority, and OfficeMax. In the case of T.J. Maxx, a data breach resulted in the loss of more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers. In many of these incidents, the root cause is a lack of adequate security practices within the company. The same technologies that enable managers can also be used against them. Because of this, businesses must take appropriate steps to ensure their data remains secure and their communications remain

Recently, JP Morgan Chase was hacked in June 2014 which led to the compromise of data related with 83 million accounts. It was in late July when the attack was discovered and still took time till mid of August to stop the attack. [1] There are many more examples like this, which demonstrates that today organizations struggle to detect the data breach. In the wake of such undetected data breach, the strategy towards information security should be changed from static risk and vulnerability assessments to more adaptive systems and policies.

Cyber security is a major concern for every department, business, and citizen of the United States because technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives. The more we use technology the more complacent, we get with the information that is stored within our cyber networks. The more complacent, we get, the more vulnerable we become to cyber-attacks because we fail to update the mechanisms that safeguard our information. Breaches to security networks are detrimental to personal, economic, and national security information. Many countries, like Russia, China, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, now have the abilities and technology to launch cyber-attacks on the United States. In the last five years there have been several attacks on cyber systems to gain access to information maintained by major businesses and the United States Government. Cyber-attacks cause serious harm to the United States’ economy, community, and the safety, so we need to build stronger cyber security mechanisms. Based on my theoretical analysis, I recommend the following:

In the previous five years, cybersecurity has turned into the most looked for after calling around the world. More than 90 percent of respondents to an overview directed by the Ponemon Institute (2011) detailed being a casualty to cyberattacks amid the most recent year, costing all things considered more than $2 million for each association. This number keeps on ascending as the two programmers and security devices progress. As indicated by PwC, roughly 33% of all U.S. organizations are as of now utilizing digital protection (Lindros and Tittel, 2016).

Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.

When firms like Home Depot and Target invests a lot of financial and non-financial resources to curb the menace, one is left to wonder why such vices continues to affect them and their clients. Hacking of companies in the United States have reached a sky high and notable names in the industry have been affected by the vice. The firms like Home Depot, JPMorgan, Michael, Nieman Marcus and Target, have had its share of this vice. The United States Postal Services have not been left behind also, because it was also affected by the hackers ( 'Cybercrime a

Governments, organizations and companies co-operate to secure cyber space. In fact, the prevention of cyber criminal activities is the most critical aspect in the fight against cyber crime. It’s mainly based on the concepts of awareness and information sharing. A proper security posture is the best defence against cyber crime (Paganini, Perluigi, 2014)

It is important to note that whether an attack is perpetrated by a hacker group, other corporations or individuals, organizations must always prepare adequately through intrusion detection and prevention systems in place. Data breaches can have very devastating business and social impact to large businesses and their customers – the users. For instance, were Cloudflare attacked by a competing company, their trade secrets could have given the opponents ammunition to take them out of the field. In addition, lost data could influence criminal activity if for instance particular client information, for

Almost all kind of large and small organizations might face increasing number of attacks into their network or intellectual property. This may lead to data disclosure, data destruction, and damage of organization’s reputation. There are numerous threats in the cyber space which might be capable of stealing, destroying or making use of out sensitive data for financial and non-financial gains. As the amount of computer, mobile and internet users increases, so does the number of exploiters.