Areas of Focus in Cybersecurity

 

Areas of Focus in Cybersecurity:

Countermeasures should address: a strong cybersecurity strategy that has layers of protection to defend against cybercrime, including cyber attacks that attempt to access, change, or destroy data; extort money from users or the organization; or aim to disrupt normal business operations.

Critical Infrastructure Security:

Critical Infrastructure Security is the set of practices and measures that are implemented to safeguard computer systems, networks, and other assets that are crucial for the functioning of a nation's security, economy, and public welfare.

The protection of critical infrastructure is vital as it ensures the continuity of essential services such as power, water, healthcare, transportation, and communication. Organizations can utilize the Cybersecurity Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a guide to enhance their security measures and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides additional resources and guidance for the protection of critical infrastructure.

Network Security: 

Network Security refers to the set of practices and technologies that are implemented to protect a computer network from unauthorized access, misuse, modification, disruption, or destruction. It covers both wired and wireless connections, including Wi-Fi networks. 

Network security includes measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and prevention systems, VPNs, and encryption to safeguard the network and the data it carries, as well as security policies and best practices to ensure that network users comply with the established security protocols. Network security also involves monitoring and analyzing network activity to detect and respond to security incidents and threats.

Application Security:

Application security refers to the set of practices, methodologies, and technologies that are implemented to secure applications, whether they are operating on-premises or in the cloud. It is a holistic approach that starts with the design stage of the application and continues throughout its entire lifecycle. The goal of application security is to protect the application and its data from unauthorized access, use, modification, or disruption. 

It includes the implementation of security measures such as input validation, user authentication, and access control, as well as the handling and storage of sensitive data in a secure manner. Additionally, application security also involves regular testing and monitoring to identify and address vulnerabilities and to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Information Security:

Information security also known as data security refers to the set of practices and technologies that are implemented to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, exposure, or theft. This includes measures such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring to secure data both in storage and in transit. 

Information security also includes compliance with data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU or similar regulations such as HIPAA in the US, which set the standards for the handling and protection of personal data. Additionally, it also includes incident response plans and regular risk assessments to ensure the security of data and the ability to quickly detect and respond to data breaches or other security incidents.

Cloud security:

Cloud security refers to the set of practices and technologies that are implemented to protect data and resources that are stored, processed, and managed in the cloud. It includes measures such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring to secure data both in storage and in transit, as well as compliance with industry standards and regulations. 

The term "confidential computing" is often used to describe the practice of encrypting data at rest, in motion, and in use, which provides an additional layer of security to protect data from unauthorized access, disclosure or modification. Confidential computing also helps customers to meet their privacy, business, and regulatory compliance standards. 

This type of encryption is implemented both by the cloud providers and customers in the cloud environment to ensure the security of data and applications in the cloud.

End-user education:

Building security awareness across the organization is an important aspect of enhancing endpoint security. One way to achieve this is through regular training and education for employees, which can help to raise awareness of potential security threats and to reinforce best practices for protecting sensitive data and systems. For example, employees can be trained to recognize and avoid phishing emails, handle and secure USB devices properly, and identify and report suspicious activity. 

Additionally, security awareness training can also include the use of simulated phishing campaigns and other exercises to test employee knowledge and help to identify areas where additional training may be needed. By creating a culture of security awareness within the organization, businesses can help to improve the overall security of their systems and networks and to better protect against cyber threats.

Disaster Recovery:

Disaster recovery and business continuity planning (DR/BCP) refers to the set of processes and procedures that are implemented to ensure that an organization can quickly resume essential operations in the event of a disaster or major disruption. This includes identifying critical systems and processes, developing backup and recovery plans, testing these plans regularly, and training personnel on how to respond in the event of a disaster. 

The goal of DR/BCP is to minimize the impact of a disruption on an organization's operations, employees, and customers, and to ensure that the organization can quickly return to normal operations. 

This may include using backup data centers, cloud-based services, and other strategies to maintain critical systems and data availability. DR/BCP also includes risk assessment, incident management, and testing to ensure that the plan is well-prepared and executed in case of a disaster. 

Storage Security:

Storage security refers to the set of practices and technologies that are implemented to protect data that is stored on various devices such as hard drives, flash drives, and external storage systems. This includes measures such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring to secure data both in storage and in transit, as well as compliance with industry standards and regulations.

To ensure the integrity and availability of the data, storage security includes creating immutable and isolated copies of the data, which can be quickly restored in case of a cyber-attack or data loss. This approach, known as backup and disaster recovery, helps to minimize the impact of a cyber attack and ensure that critical data is protected and can be quickly restored. 

Additionally, it also includes implementing secure protocols for data transfer and remote access, monitoring for unauthorized access, and the use of multi-factor authentication to provide an added layer of security for stored data. It also includes the use of hardware-based security features such as secure enclaves, secure boot, and a trusted platform module (TPM) to protect the storage devices from tampering or unauthorized access.

In 2021, approximately 90 percent of all users who experienced a cloud storage security issue had problems with a permissive storage policy. Cloud policies refer to the guidelines that set the rules with which companies have to comply when operating in the cloud.

Mobile security:

Mobile security is the set of practices and technologies that are implemented to protect mobile devices and the sensitive data they access, from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, or destruction. It includes measures such as mobile device management (MDM), mobile application management (MAM), and mobile threat defense (MTD) to secure the mobile workforce and their data.

 

Mobile security also includes App security, which is the practice of securing the mobile application and the data it processes, Container app security, which is the practice of securing the mobile apps and the data inside them, and secure mobile mail, which is the practice of securing the email communication on mobile devices. 

This includes encrypting email and attachments, enforcing security policies, and implementing two-factor authentication to ensure that only authorized users can access the data. Additionally, remote wipe and lock features can also be implemented to protect data in case of lost or stolen devices.

Conclusion:

In summary, cybersecurity is a multi-faceted field that encompasses various areas of focus to protect against cybercrime. These include:

1. A strong cybersecurity strategy with layers of protection to defend against cyber attacks that attempt to access, change, or destroy data, extort money, or disrupt normal business operations.
2. Critical infrastructure security, which safeguards computer systems, networks, and other assets crucial for national security, economy, and public welfare.
3. Network security includes measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and prevention systems, VPNs, and encryption to protect computer networks from unauthorized access, misuse, modification, disruption, or destruction.
4. Application security is a holistic approach to protecting applications and their data from unauthorized access, use, modification, or disruption throughout their entire lifecycle.
5. Information security, also known as data security, refers to the set of practices and technologies that protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, exposure, or theft.
6. Cloud security, involves protecting data and resources stored, processed, and managed in the cloud, including measures such as encryption, access controls, and monitoring, as well as compliance with industry standards and regulations.

To know more about What is Cybersecurity? Read my previous article about it.

Read more about Top Misconceptions/Myths and fallacies related to CyberSecurity