Into The Void. Removing Cybersecurity: what would that look like?
The cybersecurity world in 2022 is fast-paced and volatile. In our very modern world, cybersecurity has become fundamental in the way we operate at home, at work and even in social settings. Not only do we need a solid cyber foundation to run our businesses and organisations, but we are also becoming more and more dependent on cybersecurity to protect us at home.
As businesses and industries continue to shift towards digitalisation it is easy to see why cyber threats are becoming such a big risk. A huge 39% of businesses experienced a cyber breach or attack in the last 12 months and of the 39% of UK businesses who identified an attack, the most common threat type was phishing attempts (83%).* In the UK alone, victims lost £1.3bn in 2021 to online fraud.**
Online transactions are however continuing to grow: contactless payments, one-click-purchasing, social commerce, software and apps all come with new cybersecurity challenges; however, by staying ahead of the game we can protect all of our assets and rest assured. Protection is key and this is now needed in all areas of your business or organisation as, in our ever-expanding digital world, cybersecurity isn’t just as simple as a one-size fits all approach.
We understand that businesses and organisations need to be able to operate very often in a 24-7 marketplace, where demands from customers need to be met and where delays and downtime can cause huge losses. In a wider sense, we are now looking at a landscape where not only is the internet creating a new cyber sphere in need of protection from data loss and hacking but, now the Internet of Things (IoT) has opened up, an entirely new plethora of potential threats not only in medical, manufacturing and infrastructural settings but also within our home networks. IoT is said to be on the frontline for future focus areas for hackers, and the medical and pharmaceutical world hold a large position in the marketplace where sensitive data breaches can have monumental impact.
So, just what do we think would happen if we all simply removed cybersecurity from every aspects of our lives? Well, in a nutshell, it could be seen as a bit of a nightmare. The one thing that can be said about a world where data is stored online and transactions are completed through online portals, is that it is all at risk. We have a lot to lose when it is all open for the taking. Pay slips, TAX bills, bank statements, ID, online store cards from your home life and customer data, website content, medical instruments, industrial systems and even fleets of trucks – Data loss, identity theft, money theft, and now threats to basically anything that uses an internet connection. We are talking real-life mayhem where hackers and cyber attacks could take control of infrastructure and machinery at the click of a button.
With all of that said, we can see how paramount cybersecurity truly is. In this age, its importance has grown into an incomprehensible mass – so saying that it is fundamental seems far too understated. Cybersecurity today is paramount to the continued growth and sustainability of the UK economy and to the operational infrastructure of both businesses and organisations throughout the globe.
What else can we say? It is better to be protected.
Sarah Ward – ITB Marketing Manager
References:
*Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), gov.uk.
** The Guardian Online, Jess Clark, Wed 29 Jun 2022 09.30 BST. [https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/29/uk-victims-lost-13bn-in-2021-amid-surge-in-online-new-data-shows]