Cybersecurity is the practice of preventing and defending systems, networks and data against cyberattacks. It’s a critical part of business strategy and should be included in any organization’s plan of attack against digital threats, which can damage company reputation and profitability as well as cause a direct impact on revenue and operations.
As more and more information is stored in digital form, it’s becoming an increasingly attractive target for cyberattackers. The world is expected to store 200 zettabytes of data by 2025, and much of it is highly sensitive or confidential. Attacks can take many forms, from ransomware that encrypts files and demands a payment to get them back to work to malware that infects personal devices or a company network to make them vulnerable. Hackers also use tools like Botnet to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks and flood a network with fake traffic to cause it to shut down or crash.
In the past, cybersecurity was viewed as a technical issue that fell largely within the purview of IT leaders. However, recent surveys have shown that 88% of board members now view cybersecurity as a business risk and hold the chief information security officer or their equivalent accountable for it. This shift has pushed many companies to adopt more holistic cybersecurity practices, including the use of visual network maps, to identify and prioritize risks. As a result, the industry is exploding with new opportunities and a variety of entry-level positions are available to those interested in joining the fight against cyberattacks. SOCaaS