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As we progress in our digitalization, the chances of becoming a target to damaging cyberattacks increases. While there is no way to stop the occurrence, staying vigilant and adopting a holistic security approach is key to surviving the attacks. The evolving threat landscape today emphasizes the need to analyze and dive deep into the core of cybersecurity, its evolution, and its role in preventing cyberattacks. So, what is cybersecurity, and why is it so important today? This article will discuss everything you must know about cybersecurity: what it is all about, its importance and benefits, the best career opportunities in the domain, and more.
Cybersecurity is popularly defined as the practice of implementing tools, processes, and technology to protect computers, networks, electronic devices, systems, and data against cyberattacks. It is adopted by individuals and enterprises to limit the risks of theft, attack, damage, and unauthorized access to computer systems, networks, and sensitive user data. Since its inception in the 1970s, cybersecurity has undergone constant evolution. Today, cybersecurity is no longer restricted to the practice of only protecting computers but also individuals against malicious cyberattacks. The main purpose of cybersecurity is to prevent the leak of sensitive data while simultaneously ensuring cyber resilience to respond and recover from cyberattacks with lesser damage.
As cyberattacks become more innovative and complex, the scope and domains expand to encompass several disciplines. Based on its application areas, cybersecurity can be broadly classified into six distinct types:
Based on Akamai’s report, it was demonstrated that SQL Injection currently represents about 65.1 percent (almost two-thirds) of all web application attacks. This is 44 percent above the web application layer attacks represented by SQLi in 2017. Many web applications have SQL Injection vulnerabilities, indicate the fairly limited attention given to the security application development phase.
With evolving cybercrimes causing havoc to enterprises and individuals, cybersecurity is increasingly important. Cybersecurity is essential to protecting individuals and businesses against diverse cyberthreats (as discussed above). It strengthens an organization’s defense posture and is critical in mitigation and response. The benefits of cybersecurity are not only limited to data protection but also extend to employing cyber-resilience approaches to help organizations recover from a cyberattack as quickly as possible.
As the world continues to rely heavily on technology, online cybersecurity defenses must evolve to cope with advanced cyber threats. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, adhering to cybersecurity best practices can limit the occurrence of catastrophic cyber attacks. Here are a few recommendations for maintaining good cyber hygiene.
Cybersecurity challenges today have become synonymous with digitalization. Let’s look at some recent challenges the cybersecurity industry faces today.
Cybersecurity is a fast-paced domain and projects huge career growth potential in the future. With cyberattacks growing in leaps and bounds, the number of entry-level, mid-level, and advanced job positions in various cybersecurity domains will rise. The demand for Information Security Analysts alone is expected to grow 35 percent from 2021 to 2031. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). One can explore entry-level job roles such as “Information Security Specialists,” “Digital Forensic Examiners,” etc., and consider mid-level or advanced roles such as “Security Engineer,” “Security Architect,” etc., as per proficiency levels and interests.
SQL Injection attack can be prevented by adopting the OWASP SQL Injection Cheat Sheet. You cannot determine whether the SQL query string is distorted with a server-side scripting language. This can only send a string to the database server and hold on for the deciphered response.
As an expert ethical hacker, it is recommended that you apply different solutions and prepared statements with whitelisting input validation, escaping, validation, and bind variables. There are different ways to sanitize user input. Precise prevention practices are based on the sub–category of the SQLi vulnerability, the programming language, and the SQL database engine. However, the only guaranteed approach for preventing SQL Injection attacks is to use input validation and parameterized queries, such as prepared statements.
Statista. (2022, August 3). Annual number of ransomware attacks worldwide from 2016 to first half 2022 (in millions). https://www.statista.com/statistics/494947/ransomware-attacks-per-year-worldwide
Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183457/iot-connected-devices-worldwide/
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. Information Security Analysts. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm
Vailshery, L. (2022, November 22). Number of IoT connected devices worldwide 2019-2021, with forecasts to 2030. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183457/iot-connected-devices-worldwide/