Discuss about the Cyber Security Challenges and Emerging Trends.
Internet had penetrated into the lives of the people. This has not only made the lives of people easier but has helped them in day to day activities. It is not only beneficial for the individuals but has also helped business to grow at a much faster rate. Cyber world is facing lot of challenges. These challenges are posing negative effect on the operations of the firm. With the increasing popularity of the cyber based business and the increase in the use of smart devices is substantially. These days various business industries like shopping, entertainment, finance, banking and many others are heavily relying on internet based business. In the past cybercrimes have increased which is a major challenge for the business management. This research will evaluate the challenges in cyber security for the business.
The major objective of this research is to do a literature review on several challenges that are faced by the business due to cyber security. This research will also discuss various kinds of cyber-attacks done on companies in the past as well as the effect that these attacks made on businesses. The secondary objective is to give recommendations regarding the ways in which firms can face challenges.
The research will analyse the influence of the internet and other online web services on the organisation’s operations as well as understand the alterations in their functionalities so as to evaluate their vulnerability towards cyber threats. The research will inspect several cyber threats and the risk faced by the firms in the past. Several professional advice and theories is illustrated in the later part of the research management.
In the era of digital technology, internet has played a very crucial role. In the views of Choo, (2011) it has not only transformed the businesses all around the world but has also impacted the lives of people. Many firms have emerged all across the globe that is running their business on the online space. This is due to the reason that it benefits the company as they can reach to a larger numbers of people at once irrespective of their geographical locations. This has empowered the smaller firms who does not have larger amount of resources to do business on such larger scale as done by the bigger firms. As per Yan, et al., (2012) business organisations takes use of internet so as to connect with larger section of the market and hence achieving higher growth rate. Both individuals and firms upload their private and sensitive data on internet which makes them vulnerable target for the cyber-attacks. Due to lack of security measures these attacks are getting frequent especially it happens with those people who have poor knowledge about the operations through internet mediums. According to Elmaghraby and Losavio, (2014) there are several hackers that are in the search of some kind of loop holes in the network. This empowered them to make easier attacks on the business. This is done so as to gain an unfair advantage over the business. With the expansion of internet mediums the chances of attacks have also increased. There are various reasons because of which number of cyber-attacks enhanced in the past few decades.
O’Connell, (2012) illustrated that there are several platforms through which these attacks are getting possible. Mobile internet has become one of the major sources of these cyber -attacks. Today almost all the businesses are getting connected to the mobile technology. For example mobile banking has been one of the prime areas where the attacks in the past few decades have been used. It has also been noticed that App based business is also not safe and there are several loop holes through which various crucial data gets leaked. Phishing has been one of the most common forms of cyber-attacks in the mobile banking. It is posing serious threats to the businesses and individuals. With the increasing number of mobile phone users all around the world, it has become one of the largest markets where companies can sell their products. On the other hand Jajodia, et al., (2011) thinks that taking use of mobile transactions for different purposes has also raised the concerns of the business. Services like mobile wallet, online shopping, Pay Pal has further enhanced the cyber threats. Since there are many financial data that is present on such online mediums which if gets into the hands of unauthorised person then there can be heavy losses to the individuals. There are multi-layer protection like firewalls that has been used by the banks and other firms so as to protect their consumers and their business. Hackers generally take advantage of any faults that is done by the users or says the flaws present in the system is capitalised by the hackers for their personal benefit.
On the contrary, Sadeghi, Wachsmann and Waidner, (2015) believes that most of the frauds in the online banking is through the website. Since there are many operations that are done by the banks with the use of these sites hence the number of cases of such attacks has been seen in the past. For instance the cyber-attack on the JP Morgan resulted in information breach related to 83 million consumers. Another example in this regard is Tesco Bank, where the hackers stole more than 2 million dollars from accounts of bank’s clients. In both the cases it was seen that the major reason for such type of attack getting possible is due to poor security measures. Razzaq, et al., (2013) suggests that the major reason for most of the attacks is that they have not invested a lot on the security infrastructure. This is done for saving cost. Another side of it is that people do not have enough knowledge regarding the ways of using the safe banking solutions. Most of the infrastructures are easier to break due to some kind of loop holes. In a research it was found that the 19 out of the 20 banks present in America has got “C” grade in their security. Firms generally neglect higher security infrastructure because of their higher infrastructural cost and maintenance charges.
In the views of Katal, Wazid and Goudar, (2013) major source of attack on the business is through social media. This is the place where the vulnerability is highest, as huge amount of personal data related to individuals and firms are present on these sites. Presently there are approx. 3 billion social media users which is again a large market for the companies. This is the place that is utilised by the firms to post their advertisements collect data regarding their products, getting feedbacks, doing market research and many other activities. Organisations have been highly benefited by the use of social media sites as their promotional campaigns can go worldwide on a single click. Hackers generally hacks the social media sites of the company and other users so as to gather important information associated with them. This is also done to diminish the image of the firm.
Dunn Cavelty, (2013) states that the major reason for such kind of online attacks is that they do not have such a high level of digital knowledge that they could protect their online data. People and organisations generally do not focus on the security features that are hard to understand even when they provide extra layer of security to the business operations. Presently allegations on Facebook Inc. in various parts of the world regarding the stealing of many private data of the people has raised serious questions on the business of this organisation. This has made many companies vulnerable to data theft. The attack on the Apple Incorporation has resulted in the private data leakage of many people. Posting of more than 500 personal pictures of celebrity on the internet sites was the result of it. According to So, (2011) these challenges have resulted in heavy losses to the firms and individuals. Today data has become the most valuable tool in the modern day business hence there are many hackers that are trying to access the data related to the personal likings and disliking of the people without their prior permission.
According to Suo, et al., (2012) some more kind of challenges are faced by the business organisations. Distributed Denial of Service attack or DDoS over the servers enhances the traffic of such servers to a limit that it stops performing several operations. Usually the hackers attack on the most vulnerable node or system on the network and hence gaining the access to the computers that are linked with same server. Sometimes attack gets possible due to large traffic on the server. This provides the access to the hackers due to system failures. Hackers generally take advantage of these situations and attack on servers since at this time they are most vulnerable. They take use of spams, mails, advertisements or other type of viruses in order to enhance the server’s traffic. The attack on BBC was a type of DDoS attack. Other examples of such type of attacks are DYN, American presidential election where attack was on campaign of Donald Trump, attack on five Russian banks and Rio Olympics.
On the contrary McGettrick, et al., (2014) believes that the advancements like IOT have helped the firms in their growth process but it has significantly caused several types of cyber-security challenges in front of the firms. A research conducted by McAfee suggested that by the end of 2019, 1.8 billion internet based devices will be used by the consumers. IOT is a network where the connection between all the devices makes the system smarter and hence they can take decisions on their own. IOT is understood as the future of advanced business as it helps the owners to have more control over their operations. Due to large numbers of nodes connected with the IOT, vulnerability of the network towards cyber-attacks has increased. Due to presence of large number of sensors at various level of IOT network hacking of devices has got easier. With such a large amount of data being stored at various nodes this is serious problem for the company. These devices when hacked can be used for accessing the environment that is present at workplace as well as they can have control over the operations till the time it is not regained by the owner. Since all the machines that are in use are connected with each other hence the challenge before companies becomes greater.
In the views of Morrow, (2012) smartphone Malware has become one of the biggest challenges for the business. Since smartphones have large amount of personal data hence if it gets hacked then huge loss to the stakeholders can be possible. Hackers generally attacks on the bigger stakeholders of the company so as to take their private data and use it for their personal benefit (Arabo and Pranggono, 2013). With the use of mobile application, a mobile malware like ‘Plankton’ can steal the data. Another mobile malware that is popular is ‘DroneKungFu’.
Sharma, (2012) says that the biggest challenge to the cyber security of the business is Hacktivism. Mostly it is seen that cyber-attacks have increased because there are many active hackers present in market who just have the intension to gather the data for their personal benefit. It is also promoted when one firm using it against their competitors to gain their crucial data regarding their business. This destroys the reputation of the company which displaces the firm in achieving their motives. This sometimes results in financial disability. The best example of hacktivism was the attack on Sony Corporation where an unknown hacking organisation attacked the firm due to their PlayStation lawsuit. An unknown hackers group also attacked Bank of America in order to expose the illegal activities that are conducted by the firm. Panama paper leak was another such example that provided information related to tax evasion scandal of many bigger leaders all around the world management.
In the views of Gupta, Agrawal and Yamaguchi, (2016) another type of malware known as Ransomware, attacks firm’s systems or individuals and does not allow them to access their own data. For having control over their system, hackers demand a ransom in the form of money or other valuable products. There is no guarantee that hackers will give access to the computers even after paying the ransom. The examples of ransomware are Locky, WannaCry, Cryptolocker. In past such ransomware attack was possible on FedEx and Nissan Motor Company.
On the contrary Bayuk, et al., (2012) believes that the biggest challenge to the cyber security of the company is the threats from inside of the firm. A research by IBM in the year 2016 suggested that most of the cyber-attack approx. 60% that took place happened due to insider threats. Many a time workers intentionally or unintentionally provides access to the hackers and a result data breach gets possible. Many a time it is seen that employees intentionally gives access codes to the hackers and hence making their work easier. Jun Xie and Edward Snowden are perfect examples of insider threats; both leaked the information of the website for which they were working.
Jing, et al., (2014) believes that companies should make many types of changes so as to make sure that these attacks may not be possible. Data encryption can be one of the most valuable methods in this regards. Organisations can take use of encryption techniques for transmitting it among two distinct devices. This is highly effective in the case of connected networks like IOT as they can share and receive data without the chances of getting hacked. It acts as an additional layer of security which enhances the device usability. Firms do not prefer to adopt encryption since it takes additional time for data processing but the security provided to it can protect from potential cyber-attacks, like as the attack from Sony Corporation.
Tonge, Kasture and Chaudhari, (2013) suggests that physically safeguarding the servers and computer is also crucial for making sure that data of corporation gets secured. Putting security camera, biometric locks and other security measures in labs of computer can protect the firm from threats from insider. Appropriate checking of workers is also essential for ensuring that credible data with other parties.
On the other hand Reddy and Reddy, (2014) thinks that a firm must not hesitate to invest in the security software since it helps in safeguarding against the potential threats. This may destroy the financial position or reputation of the organisation. Every firm must an additional budget that must be used towards upgrading technology that will help in enhancing security against cyber-attacks. The use of antivirus, firewalls and other security software can minimise this potential risk.
He, et al., (2016) suggests that taking use of password protected systems as well as authentication tools like once time passwords can be highly helpful against the phishing or other kinds of attacks. Strong password is highly recommended. For business the passwords must be regularly upgraded.
In the views of Parmar, (2017) organisation can establish a culture where the data privacy and security must be given higher importance. A formal training regarding the cyber security can help in enhancing the safety of the data that gets leaked due to some kind of human errors. A culture of check and balance must be incorporated where the fault of one employee can be corrected by someone else.
Conclusion
From the above research it can be suggested that the use of computers and internet mediums for doing business have increased. This has benefitted the firm in many ways but it has also resulted in negative sense as the company’s data and information are in a great threat to get stolen. There are many challenges faced by the firms in the cyber-world which can result in heavy losses for the company. Mobile banking, use of internet and IOT has increased the problems of the firms. Many kinds of risks that is faced by the larger firms are insider threat, ransomware, IOT, DDoS, Hactivism, smartphone malwares etc. There are many examples in the past where companies have faced loss due to cyber-attacks like BBC, Sony, DYN, FedEx, Bank of America and many more. A firm needs to be ready with larger amount of resources so as to confront the challenges that are posing by the hackers all across the globe. Increasing security budget, setting effective and flexible security infrastructure or preventive measures like passwords or data encryptions can help the firm in safeguarding themselves from external attacks. These day data is business hence firm needs to have an organisational culture where knowledge about preventing data must be given to all their stakeholders.
References
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