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In the era of pervasive computing, the digital world faces several security issues. These include authentication of devices and users, privacy of data or information, defense against malicious code such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and access control mechanisms. The rapid digital transformation in the corporate world is giving rise to various new security issues. New threats are emerging every day.

Most businesses take for granted things such as easy online document sharing and databases accessible from everywhere. This reckless use of technology has brought with it a rise in cybercrime. One example of cybercrime was reported by Yahoo. The web giant suffered a breach affecting every one of its three billion customer accounts. Direct costs of the hack ran to around $350 million.

Why cyber security?

India was ranked among the top five countries to be affected by cybercrime, according to a report by online security firm Symantec Corp. As of 2017, the cost of cyberattacks in India stands in excess of `25,000 crore ($4 billion). The issue is forecast to balloon further in the coming years, reaching as high as `1.25 trillion ($20 billion) over the next 10 years as business operations of most Indian companies become networked.

Enterprises have been able to gather store and process data available in their business purposes. This has made them realise that big data is a valuable asset and needs to be well protected.

With data breaches multiplying in frequency and scale, the importance of addressing cyber security at the highest levels of corporate leadership cannot be understated. Sandeep Sengupta, Director, Indian School of Ethical Hacking, told BE, “All the software applications, networks and mobile apps developed by the IT engineers need to be tested for security. Without testing, unsecured technology will be out in the market and consumers will lose their confidential data.”

Cyber security threats

A lack of focus on cyber security can be greatly damaging to business processes. With a lack of faith in security measures, customers will be more inclined to venture elsewhere, resulting in a loss of sales and profits. Another cyber security threat for businesses is ransomware, which is a type of malware that encrypts a business’ data and is only unlockable in exchange for a large fee. These types of cyber-attacks have risen with the prevalence of cloud services for storing data. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), hackers also engage in advanced social engineering tactics like phishing to exploit accounts.

Cyber security measures

Now organisations are training AI systems to detect malware and other threats with the help of datasets that include algorithms and codes. Using such datasets, trained AI platforms can perform pattern recognition that helps to identify malicious behaviour and activity.