In the past, cybersecurity was simple and practically an afterthought. The critical information of organizations was protected by the firewalls in a data center facility. Secure access controls made unauthorized access very difficult and organizations felt that cyber attacks were a low threat. Because of the advancements in digital technology, those days are long gone. Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and numerous high-profile breaches have hit basically every industry. We can’t afford to continue taking a loose approach to cybersecurity.
Everything is Becoming More Interconnected
While advancements in technology have been extremely beneficial to our society, these benefits do not come without risk. Industries, to include the government, are all interconnected and share enormous amounts of financial and customer data on a daily basis. This data is very susceptible to hacking. In many cases, the compromise is not detected until after the damage has been done. Ohio University points out that with Amazon partnering with Bank of America, more opportunities to be attacked will become available through e-commerce platforms. It is important to remember that one weak link is all it takes. This is why cybersecurity should be a top priority for every industry.
Important Industries Depend on Tech
There are many important industries, such as transportation, financial, and healthcare, that depend on technology to operate. For example, physicians depend heavily on technology for patient databases and records, according to The George Washington University. While this helps to improve the patient experience and saves time, it can expose the data to cyber attacks. Health care and many other industries in recent years have lost billions of dollars due to data breaches. Proper cybersecurity can minimize these risks.
Online Shopping Reigns
Online shopping has grown tremendously in recent years. This trend is expected to steadily grow in the future. Online shopping currently accounts for about 10% of total retail sales. In addition, in 2018 nearly 90% of the total population used the internet. While online shopping has numerous benefits, it does make consumers susceptible to cyber attacks because their personal and financial information is stored online. There are numerous things you can do to help prevent your data from being compromised to include creating strong passwords and not shopping on public computers.
Cyber attacks are a growing problem, and there appears to be no end in sight. Industries are more connected than ever and they share enormous amounts of information that is susceptible to hacking. It is very important for industries all over the world, including governments, to make cybersecurity a high priority.
