Why is cybersecurity hard to learn for most people? Well, there’s no doubt people feel that way. When it comes to cybersecurity, it feels like everything is on fire all the time.
In fact, hardly a week seems to go by without news of another company suffering from cyberattacks or data breaches. Besides, it involves a lot of fortifying and hardening but mostly patching.
Furthermore, what you’re protecting against isn’t well defined and it won’t be — until it’s discovered. So here are a few reasons why people feel that cybersecurity is so hard.
You Have a Lot to Protect
An organization has an internet connection, websites, email access, customer portals, and others. All of these are connected in some way.
So, if one of them is vulnerable, that means all of them are. Also, an organization is open to the outside world. That means your customers and others might be able to access it.
Thus, placing proper restrictions on your users is a good first step. Moreover, you need to train everyone in your organization on basic security practices.
It’s You Versus the Web
A lot of malicious entities on the internet compromise systems for a living. But they don’t follow best practices.
Therefore, your knowledge of internet security has at least match that of potential hackers. Additionally, you should also keep your skills up to date and encompass all of the recent changes in the infosec sphere.
What’s Going to Happen is Unpredictable
Cybercriminals and hackers do not request or ask permission before attacking your network. So, you have a zero chance of being aware of an attack before it starts.
Even if you’ve done everything right, you’ll almost certainly learn about the attack after it’s happened. One of the things that makes cybersecurity so difficult is dealing with unpredictability.
What Appears to Be Little Can Become a Major Issue
Many systems admins tend to ignore kill messages and failure notifications. Especially, if they’re coming from a non-critical system.
On the other hand, these seemingly minor kills can serve as a springboard for more serious strikes. So, intruders can easily get access to an unmonitored system.
It’s Not About Your Safety but Also for Your Team’s
You’re probably not solely responsible for everybody’s behavior. After all, this scenario so far sounds like something you’d never do every day.
In that case, drive home the point to your team that password complexity and security play a huge role. Especially in keeping your environment locked down. Remember, a small lapse in password handling can cause extreme headaches.
It’s Also About Deciding Which Data to Safeguard
To support a business’s IT infrastructure, you need to understand the operating requirements of the organization. You’ll also need to find out what data is needed for each department to operate efficiently.
Then, you’ll need to protect these data sources and maintain regular backups once you have a clear view of them.
Additionally, your IT infrastructure produces a great amount of data every second of the day. So, how do you intend to do it? Finding out what is useful and what to discard is crucial. And examining your intrusion detection systems is a good place to begin.
