Cybersecurity: A Cyber Guard Of The Current Era

Cybersecurity is no longer a task for governments and large corporations in the connected world of the present; it’s something that reaches every single user of the web.

While working on research on this topic, I came across an interesting report by Sandeep Kumar Dasa, who is a cybersecurity specialist.

His book (AUTONOMOUS DATA GOVERNANCE: AI-ENABLED COMPLIANCE FOR GLOBAL DATA ECOSYSTEMS) delves into the necessity of online protection, the vulnerability caused by weak defence, and the means to secure electronic property.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

Intrigued by his remarks, I invited him for an interview to gain more insight into how cybersecurity influences our individual lives, organizations, and the safety of our nation.

Speaking with Dasa, he put into perspective that cybersecurity is not just about making sure one will not get hacked it’s protecting the building blocks of the world today. “We live in an age where almost everything is connected to the internet,” he said.

“Our personal data, financial transactions, business processes, and even our national security networks rely on digital platforms. A single breach can be irreversible.” He quoted that mass-scale cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks and data breaches, have already shown how devastating bad security can be.

Often enough, businesses must shut down completely via loss of data or reputation damage.

IMAGE: SANDEEP DASA

Even with cybersecurity, however, there’s a price to pay. Dasa understood that there would be no level of security that could withstand sophisticated hackers. “It’s a never-ending battle,” he said. “The cybercrooks are constantly evolving and finding new ways, and it’s the responsibility of the security professionals to be one step ahead.”

It’s not a simple issue of installing firewalls and anti-viruses, it’s proactive defence. He also went on to say that as artificial intelligence has increased, cyberattacks have become more sophisticated. Hackers are now given the choice to use AI to automate their attacks, thereby speeding them up and making them hard to track. This makes it necessary for cybersecurity professionals to implement AI in bolstering defences as well.

The key aspect of cybersecurity is how it impacts national security. Governments around the world are spending heavily on cybersecurity to prevent foreign cyber-attacks. “Cyber warfare is a threat,” Dasa said.

“Gone are the days when countries were fighting land, sea, and air wars now cyberspace is becoming a war zone.” He referred to past instances when hackers invaded power grids, government networks, even election systems to try and destabilize a country.

Purifying national interests requires a good cybersecurity plan, backed by gathering intelligence, innovative threat detection, and intensive worldwide coordination.

To businesses, cybersecurity is a case of survival. Businesses store sensitive amounts of data, ranging from customers’ personal data to corporate secrets. Cyber-attack leads to loss, litigation, and damage to customers’ trust.

“Small businesses like to believe they are not targets, yet in reality, they are more vulnerable because they don’t have advanced security,” Dasa said. He emphasized that businesses ought to invest in regular security training for employees, since human error is among the leading causes of breaches.

“A single employee opening a phishing email can open the doors to a large-scale attack,” he warned.

On a personal level, it is equally important. As Dasa says, people tend to overlook keeping things simple for security reasons and thus are an easy target for the cybercriminal. “Poor password habits, reuse of credentials, and failure to apply patches for software flaws are sloppy mistakes,” he said.

He asked people to use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and be mindful of which links they click on. “Cyber hygiene must become as automatic as locking your front door,” he added. Good personal security habits can prevent identity theft, financial fraud, and unauthorized access to confidential data.

But cybersecurity has a shadow side as well. Dasa conceded that excessive security can also intrude on individuals’ privacy and liberties. “There’s a thin line between protection and monitoring,” he said. “Governments and corporations collect massive amounts of data in the name of security.. While this helps in preventing cyber-attacks, it has ethical implications.”

He added that, in a few cases, cybersecurity laws have been used to mask bulk surveillance, which leads to the infringement of privacy. This calls for striking a balance between security and human rights.

“In the future, Dasa believes that cybersecurity will continue to develop with advances in technology. Since the advent of quantum computing, encryption methods will need to be stronger,” he said.

He also predicts that cybersecurity would be a vital talent in the workforce as more individuals look for experts who could guard digital frameworks. “It’s a category that will never diminish in importance,” he said. With more cyber threats come more creative solutions to counter them.

As I finished speaking with Dasa, one thing was sure: cybersecurity is not just a technical issue: it’s a part of living in the modern era. For a person, a company, or the government, to stay safe on the internet has become a responsibility.

The cyber world is opening, and simultaneously, the threats are becoming sharper. But as emphasized by Dasa, if we have the right awareness, infrastructure, and governance, we are capable of a secure digital life for everyone.