What is Cyber Security? The Different Types of Cybersecurity

In this hyper connected digital age, cybersecurity is indispensable to safeguard the sensitive business data, systems, and networks for mitigating the risks of cyber attacks. The most common threats are ransomware, phishing, and data breaches, now becoming more frequent and dangerous to individuals and enterprises. As organizations become remote and hybrid, the usage of cloud technology and connected devices are heightening this risk. Cybersecurity is not an option, it is the foundation of business continuity, public safety, and digital trust. This blog discovers what cybersecurity is and the types of cybersecurity that protects the digital ecosystems.

What Is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is a practice to protect data, computer systems, networks, servers and mobile devices from malicious digital threats. It combines technology, processes and policy enforcement in order to safeguard the confidentiality, availability and integrity of information, known as the CIA triad model. 

Why Cybersecurity Matters

Cybersecurity is a core necessity required for business sustainability, for legal compliance, and establishing customers and stakeholder confidence. The increased sophistication, and impact of cyberattacks, tantamount to a social crisis, make cybersecurity a social responsibility. Breaches may pose an organization to many risk factors including operational downtime, regulatory fines, and reputational damage. 

For certain industries that produce and provide services vital to public health and safety, such as health care, energy, and finance, a breach can even cause a threat to people’s lives and national safety. Industry challenges aside, consumers are entitled to expect that the hosted personal data are protected. In today’s saturated ecosystems, cybersecurity is not only required to safeguard data, but equally to create resilience and consumer trust.

What are The Different Types of Cybersecurity?

A strong cybersecurity approach involves multi-layered security measures and involves different disciplines that work together to protect an organization’s digital ecosystem. Here’s discovering the main types of cybersecurity, which relate to specifics of threats and purposes.

1. Network Security

Network security is dedicated to securing the underlying IT infrastructure by denying unauthorized access, misuse and breaches. Network security technologies and practices are:

• Firewalls: Controlling the entering and outgoing network traffic

• Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): Monitor malicious activity causing activities

• Network segmentation: Limit the access and attack possibilities by isolating critical systems

• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Enable the encryption of connections over an unsecured, public network

Network security demonstrates capability to ensure that secure data flows within and across external and internal environments.

2. Information Security

Whether it’s digital, physical, or cloud-based, irrespective of its form, information security safeguarding the data from unauthorized access and corruption. Information security practices include:

• Data classification and access control

• Encryption of data, both at rest and in condition of transit

• Governance and compliance with information security standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and the GDPR

InfoSec as a discipline, and from a processes standpoint, aligns closely with risk management. InfoSec ensures that sensitive information is created, stored, and managed in compliance with established policy.

3. Application Security

Application security aims at securing software and applications from their point of creation and throughout its lifecycle (development, testing, production, maintenance, monitoring, and eventual decommission). With the rise of development of apps, vulnerable applications are a common target, especially on web or mobile devices.

Application security best practices may include:

• Secure coding standards

• Application security testing (static – SAST, dynamic – DAST and interactive – IAST)

• Web Application/Firewall (WAF)

• Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP)

Incorporating security as a core component of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), organizations will eradicate as many vulnerabilities as possible before the software is in production.

4. Cloud Security

Considering the cloud security strategy, whether public, private, or hybrid, there is a shared security responsibility between the cloud provider and the customer that presents a unique security challenge.

The following are key components to cloud security: 

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): to put controls in place for users

• Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB): For visibility and enforcing policies

• Data encryption and key management

• Secure management of containers and Kubernetes

Securing cloud assets cannot be overlooked as more organizations are migrating infrastructure, services, and workloads to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and similar resources.

5. Endpoint Security

Endpoints are devices such as desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets that are attached to a network. Endpoints are common targets of malware and phishing.

• Endpoint security solutions include;

• Antivirus and anti-malware tools

• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

• Mobile device management (MDM)

• Patch management and remote wipe capability

As more workforces become remote and BYOD continues to grow, endpoint security has become even more important.

6. Operational Security (OpSec)

Operational Security involves the decisions and processes of handling and protecting your data assets. OpSec refers to the management of:

• User access 

• User behavior 

• Insider threats 

• User training and awareness programs 

OpSec ensures that human behavior and organizational workflows are not a weak point in your overall security posture.

7. Critical Infrastructure Security

The critical infrastructure are a group of sectors that are deemed to be critical for public safety and national security. The sectors include: energy, water, transportation, and healthcare. While they all have unique characteristics, securing them does include the requirement of:

• Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA protection
• Threat detection in both physical environments, as well as cyber environments
• National standards, including NIST CSF or IEC 62443 compliance

Hurdles in security infrastructure can lead to future consequences to society, which implies securing it is a top priority for each level of government and private operators.

8. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Diesters are unavoidable and organizations might experience new incidents, regardless of their layered defenses. Cyber security measures are beneficial to respond, eliminate and quickly navigate forward from cyberattack, while minimizing downtime and data loss. The major components to business continuity include:

• Incident Response Plans (IRPs)
• Backup and recovery plans
• Failover and redundancy plan
• Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

Organizations will aspire to achieve resilience whereby they can operate throughout any disruption and recover efficiently following a disruption.

Conclusion

As cyber threats become increased and more sophisticated, the need for strong security grows. Safeguarding data, systems and infrastructure is not just a technical requirement – it is a necessity for sustaining business reputation and credibility. Therefore, organizations are demanded to understand the different types of security and initiate a layered security infrastructure in place. Each layer adds another important level of protection. Growing cyber threats impact organizations who fail to ensure that their cyber security measures are well encrypted. As we shift further into a digital world, robust cybersecurity strategies will enable trust and business continuity. 

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