Cyberattacks – The Threat To Your Data And How It Can Be Avoided

In today’s digital age, most of our precious data, be it financial, personal, or professional, is present online. Therefore, cyberattacks pose a major threat to individuals as well as organizations and may result in the leakage of confidential information that infringes one’s privacy and might even cause a loss of millions of dollars.

If you go through the types of cyberattacks listed online, you will be amazed and shocked by how in the past, hackers got into the systems of some of the biggest companies in the world. Needless to say, nobody is safe from the threat of cyberattacks. So let us discuss some of the most famous attacks of the past 5 years and how they could be averted with the right cybersecurity measures.

IMAGE: DI

[pullquote]In 2013, Adobe Systems suffered a network breach in which the hackers stole the IDs and passwords of around 38 million users.[/pullquote] This stolen data was later made available for sale on the dark web. The hackers also stole Adobe’s confidential source code, which led to a lot of criticism regarding Adobe’s cybersecurity measures. The encryption methods used by Adobe for storing the passwords were fairly easy for the attackers to decode and the lack of double encryption was one of the primary reasons that made the data susceptible to the breach.

In an equally shocking incident in 2014, the customer base of the popular online auction website eBay was compromised. Hackers revealed the names, email ID’s, physical addresses, birth dates and passwords of around 145 million users. The breach was believed to be caused due to the obtainment of the credentials of three of the company’s employees by the hackers. This clearly proves that company employees need regular training on online security and should be reminded frequently not to share their private data with unknown parties or to open emails from suspicious addresses.

According to Wikipedia, professional hackers can find vulnerabilities in a government’s security software and may exploit the same to disturb the political structure or to even expose military data to a rival nation. It is beyond doubt that these cyberterrorists can wreak havoc in the world, and can use cyberattacks for the large scale disruption of society. [pullquote]The most effective way to protect the data of individuals, as well as organizations from these malicious cyberattacks, is the deployment of adequate cybersecurity measures.[/pullquote]

According to Forbes.com, the value of the cybersecurity market is estimated to increase from 75 billion dollars in 2015 to 170 billion dollars in 2020. Companies are investing a lot of money in online security to protect their data from cyberattacks. Therefore, if you are currently on the hunt for a job that offers a stable career, then cybersecurity is one of the top recommended options for you.

An online information technology degree can provide you the right skill set to be eligible for a career in cybersecurity. So in the face of the increasing reports of cyberattacks in the world, do consider cybersecurity as a promising field to pursue.

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Cyberattacks – The Threat To Your Data And How It Can Be Avoided

IMAGE: CNBC