Cyberattacks are now so common, recent reports show that hackers attack a computer in the US every 39 seconds! Once an attack happens millions of people could be harmed. State-run organizations can be shut down, services can’t be provided to citizens. Case in point, the city of Atlanta was attacked using the infamous SamSam ransomware. The attackers asked for a ransom of $51,000. The SamSam ransomware was so harmful that the city of Atlanta was offline for five days. This caused several significant citywide operations being halted. It ended up having a recovery cost of $17 million. Businesses face over 4000 hacks every single day using ransomware alone.
What Is Ehical Hacking?
When people hear about the term hacking, they might think that someone is infecting their computer system using viruses, stealing their money, or crashing a network. Most people do not know that ethical hackers are the person who is hired by the company. They make an investigation into a company’s system in order to find any weakness and bring them the business’s attention. Ethical Hacking is considered to be an investment in which the company in this modern and digital world cannot afford to do without. Need to learn more about this? You have to keep on reading the upcoming sections.
Can hackers help the business?
From countries all over the world, every business is spending millions of dollars in order to keep the hackers out of their computers. It might seem that counterintuitive that some industries are greeting the hackers with their open arms. It looks strange that it is really important to have ethical hackers in order to identify some weak points in their Cyber Defenses. The ethical hackers will be creating more reliable as well as more resilient networks.
Why Cybersecurity Is Important Now?
1 – CYBERATTACKS AFFECT ALL PEOPLE
Cyberattacks can happen on a global scale as well with hackers breaching government organizations. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns businesses and citizens that Russia is exploiting network infrastructure devices such as routers around the world. The aim is to lay the groundwork for future attacks on critical infrastructure such as power stations and energy grids.
It is such a threat that nuclear plants can be attacked causing a nuclear disaster with millions of lives lost. In Iran, one of the nuclear facilities were attacked by a malicious computer worm, Stuxnet, that ruined one-fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. These cyber worms caused centrifuges to heat up and may have caused an explosion costing human lives.
2 – THE FAST CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY WILL CAUSE A BOOM IN CYBERATTACKS
Faster speed of broadband service.
With the advent of 5G network. According to The Brookings Institute, “5G networks thus create a greatly expanded, multidimensional cyberattack vulnerability. It is this redefined nature of networks—a new network “ecosystem of ecosystems”—that requires a similarly redefined cyber strategy.” Further stating that the increase in cyber vulnerabilities of software, it would be difficult to retool how organizations would secure the most important network of the 21st century.
Better technology that can automate the cyberattack.
The advent of modern technologies such as IoT is exponentially increasing the number of connected devices to the extent that there will be around 200 billion connected devices by the end of 2020. Cyberwarriors are increasing their knowledge while hackers can now utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to trigger automated cyberattacks that can easily compromise secure systems without any human intervention. These automated cyberattacks pose a global scare and can be done on a mass volume.
More use of cloud computing.
According to the latest worldwide market study by Canalys, cybersecurity solutions for public cloud and ‘as a service’ accelerated in the first quarter of 2019. Those deployment models collectively grew 46 percent year-on-year. The GAO Finds Cybersecurity Risks as Agencies Increase Cloud Use. Federal agencies are increasingly using cloud computing services and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires them to use the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) to authorize use.
3 – CYBERSECURITY THREATS FACED BY INDIVIDUALS
Not only do nations and businesses face threats from the actions and intentions of hackers, but individuals face many risks as well. Identity theft is a huge issue, where hackers steal an individual’s personal information and sell it for profit. This also puts the personal safety of an individual and his or her family at risk. This happened numerous occasions and millions of dollars lost at the expense of the victim. In other cases, the hackers use blackmail and extortion after stealing their identity and demand ransom money to take no further action. This is especially true for high profile identity theft cases of celebrities or people with high net worth. Hackers have attacked household camera devices like the Ring and invade other people’s privacy. This causes major privacy concerns and hackers can speak to individuals that live inside the home, and make ransom demands.
4 – CYBER CONCERNS MAY RESULT IN INCREASED REGULATIONS AND LEGISLATION
With cybersecurity threats increasing new laws can be placed to protect the consumer from potential attacks. This would mean that increased regulations and legislation may soon become a reality. Harsher penalties need to be placed on perpetrators of the attack. Citizens need to be made aware of laws passed and make sure that their businesses comply with the laws.
The world is your Oyster
As an ethical hacker, you have the liberty to work for whichever industry you want. You can work for one of the Fortune 500 or even start a small venture on your own. Moreover, for those who aspire to travel the world, ethical hacking might be the right start. The reason being that on the global scale, Cyber attacks are on an all-time ride and are outpacing the supply of ethical hackers. Thus, there are plenty of opportunities for cybersecurity professionals.
Conclusion
Certainly, by now, you must be aware of the importance of learning Ethical Hacking. In the booming area of the cyber world, knowing about Ethical Hacking and other technical terms can help you prepare better for millions of trending jobs