Let’s Learn about the Digital World and How to be Safe Online

Every 6 in 10 individuals globally utilize the internet, that is to say 60% of the world’s population. In April 2021, 4.72 billion individuals worldwide use the internet according to the study provided by Datareportal. This number has nevertheless increased, as over the previous 12 months there have been 332 million new online users. Internet users now expand at 7.6% a year, representing almost 900,000 new users on average, every day.

By 2025, the global data sphere will reach 163 zettabytes, or trillion gigabytes, according to the Data Age Report. That’s 10 times of the data stored in 2016 which was of 16.1 zettabytes. Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on that, 163 zettabytes is a huge amount of data. What exactly does that mean? Our stack of DVDs would be long enough to round the Earth about 207 times if we were to save 163 Zettabytes to DVDs.

There is no second thought regarding cyber security with the rising number of active internet users and data storage. We’re in the digital world, let’s face it. The world of internet, mobile, computers, and electronic media has all began to gravitate in our working as well as personal lives.

Is Cybersecurity really necessary?

With all of the preceding discussion, there must be few queries running in your mind. Do we really need cybersecurity? Is our identity secured online? How to secure our self from a cyber attack?

As we move further in this article, we’ll try to resolve your queries to the best possible way we can.

Some recent Cyber Attacks

The recent cyber assaults indicate that violations continue to devastate companies of all kinds throughout the world.

• Experian, a credit reporting agency, had a data breach in August 2020, affecting 24 million South African individuals and around 793,000 companies.
• On June 2020, California University was hit by a ransomware assault, which caused hackers to demand a $3 million payment. The system of the institution was targeted by malware which may encrypt several servers and steal crucial information.
• On April 18, 2020, Cognizant was hit by a ransomware assault. The attackers seized data and threatened to publish it online unless Cognizant paid a ransom price. Cognizant later stated that it paid a ransom price of between $50 million and $70 million to restore its services.

The figures above should have answered your questions about whether we truly need cyber security and whether our digital identity is safe.

Now comes the most crucial question, how can we protect ourselves against cyber attacks?

While cyber assaults and threats are a constant battle, they may be avoided by understanding the different protocols, tools, and resources available for combating them.

• Penetration testing may be performed to look for instances where theft could occur. A penetration test mimics a Cyber Assault to hunt for vulnerable defects in your computer system. The CPENT Certification will let you execute penetration tests.

• Businesses should hire cyber experts to decrease the danger of a cyber attack. For example A Certified Ethical Hacker Certification holder could be hired to conduct advanced penetration tests on a company’s system and identify any breaches or weaknesses in the security setup. or a CHFI (Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator) Certification holder could be hired to analyze highly complex digital evidence in order to uncover and document evidence against cyber criminals.
• Keeping our security software up to date will help us to protect from viruses, malware, and other online threats.
• To watch all of our movements, including passwords and account information that we enter when we login, hackers can easily connect to public wireless internet access. We should just avoid utilizing public Wi-Fi to keep our information secure.

Summing up the Article

The usage of the internet will certainly increase over the future years, which will undoubtedly increase cyber attack’s frequency and intensity. It is therefore highly important for both, a company and an individual to defend themselves against any kind of cyber abuse. The above mentioned points could be used to minimize the possibility of cyber attacks.