Cybersecurity Issues In The Businesses

Project objective

Discuss about the Cybersecurity Issues In The Businesses.

In the last few years, the use of computers in different fields has been rising with the ever-rising technologies. The management teams of different fields have realized that computers are very effective and efficient as compared to human beings which makes their output to be higher and better than that of human beings (Jacko, 2012). The business field has not been left behind but has been in the front line to incorporate computers in most of its operations. The incorporation of computers in business has helped to improve the performance of the businesses in a great way as computers are well known for their high efficiencies and effectiveness in performing different operations. Despite the improvement in the performance and many other benefits of computers in businesses, the computers have made the business to incur great risks and losses which mainly result from computer failure and cybersecurity attacks which are very rampant in the contemporary business world (Walters, 2014, pp.1-5). In this paper, we are going to discuss the cyber attacks and cybersecurity issues in businesses which has been one of the major issues facing the businesses which have incorporated the use of computers in most of their operations. Cyber attacks are the attacks which are normally directed to computer information systems, computer infrastructures, or computer networks. These attacks are usually conducted by unauthorized personnel who try to access some systems or some information which they are not allowed to access with the aims of gaining some personal benefits. Cybersecurity issues, on the other hand, are the issues related to technologies, processes, and the controls which are designed with the aims of protecting the systems, the networks, and the data from cyber attacks (Privette, Carlton, and Kelly-Kilgore, 2014). Businesses have been working day in day out to make sure they will come up with good cybersecurity systems which will help to protect their systems, networks, and data from the malicious people who are always working hard to hack the businesses’ systems and information. However, their efforts to establish strong and reliable cybersecurity systems to protect their information have been faced with very serious challenges which we shall discuss in this paper.

Project scope

The main objective of our report is to determine some of the major challenges which face the businesses when they to implement some of the cybersecurity measures which can help to reduce the cases of cyber attacks. Discussing and understanding these challenges will help us come up with some reasonable solutions which can be employed by the businesses to address the challenges and thus reduce cases of cyber attacks in their organizations.

This project will mainly focus on the issues of cyberattacks in businesses and some cybersecurity measures which can be used by the businesses to address the cases of cyber attacks in their organizations. The project will also give serious emphasis on some of the main challenges which face the businesses when they try fight cyber attacks in their organizations through the implementation of some cybersecurity measures. Therefore, the scope of the project revolves around the issues of cyberattacks and cybersecurity issues in businesses which use computer systems in their operations.

From assignment 1, we know that cybersecurity entails the technologies, the progress, and the different practices which are normally done with the aims of protecting different networks, programs, and different devices from cyber attacks which may occur in forms of viruses, spams, and many other kinds of online attacks (Fielder et al., 2016, pp. 13-23).

Cybersecurity is of great importance in businesses as it helps in the protection of the businesses data or information whose leakage can have some detrimental effects on the businesses. The management teams of the businesses normally share and transmit data some highly sensitive or secretive data through some computer networks, and therefore it’s very important for the businesses to be very keen on the security of the data as leakage of this data may seriously affect the performance of the businesses (Graham, Olson & Howard, 2016). Research has shown that the cases of cyber attacks have been escalating at an alarming rate for the last few years and different organizations are becoming more vulnerable to different types of cyber attacks as their cases and transmissions continue to escalate. Therefore, it’s important for the businesses to capitalize on the security of their data and information else they will end up in big trouble. Businesses have been looking for the best cybersecurity measures to implement in their businesses to address the cases of cyber attacks. However, most of these cybersecurity measures have been faced with some serious challenges which make it very hard for the businesses to use them to fully address the cyber attacks issues in their organizations.

Literature review

According to a study which was conducted by Graham, Olson, and Howard (2016), the cyber criminals will have created about 3.5 million new, unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2020. This marks a 350% increase when compared to the cybersecurity jobs which were available in 2016 which means the cases of cyber attacks continue to increase as the cyber criminals are ever-working to increase them, and this makes it very hard for the businesses to control the cases of cyber attacks in their organizations. Businesses spend huge sums of money annually to address the cyberattacks cases in their organizations but they have not yet been able to phase out this threat completely. In 2017 alone, it was realized that about $86.4 billion was spent by the businesses in their efforts to address the challenge of cyber attacks in their organizations and even after spending all this amount, they were not able to address the problem completely. In 2018, the cases of cyber attacks are expected to become even worse and the businesses will most likely spend a higher amount of money in their attempt to address the challenge. There are many cybersecurity challenges and their trends keep on rising which makes it very hard to address the challenges. Some of the main cybersecurity challenges faced by the businesses as they try to address the cyberattacks cases in their organizations include:

The evolution of the ransom software. The ransom software disrupts the operations of businesses in a great way and it keeps on evolving with time which makes it very hard for the business to address it completely.

AI expansion. With the ever-rising technology, the AI (artificial intelligence) keeps on expanding which has made the hackers gain more computer knowledge on how to conduct their hacking with much expertise and more new ways, and this makes it very hard for the businesses to control the hacking of their systems even though they have also to incorporate artificial intelligence to knowledge to try and improve the security of their systems (Anitha, Paul, and Kumari, 2016, pp. 25352-57).

IoT threats. The internet of things threats arise from the fact that with the modern information technology knowledge, most businesses have employed very complex network interconnections to link most of their services and enhance their operations which for sure has helped to enhance their operations (Xia et al., 2012, pp.1101-1105). However, these very complex network interconnections also increase the chances of leakage of information and also increases the chances of the systems being hacked as it’s very difficult for the businesses to control them perfectly.

The challenges of cybersecurity for businesses

Block Chain Revolution. With the blockchain revolution and the development of different kinds of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins, the cases of cyber attacks have increased and it has become very hard to control them with these complex blockchain revolutions in the business world.

The vulnerability of server-less applications. Some of the businesses have some server-less applications and it’s very hard to control cyberattacks with these server-less applications and thus these businesses find it very hard to control cyberattacks in their enterprises.  

Drone jacking. Some businesses use drones and in new and innovative ways and with these drones, it’s very hard to control cyberattacks as the drones can be easily hijacked by the cyber criminals or the hackers (Liu et al., 2015).

The internal threats. The businesses also face serious threats of internal cyber attacks which can be conducted by the computer experts working within the businesses. It’s a bit challenging to control such cyber attacks as the businesses may not know the exact culprits doing the attacks.

There are many other challenges which faces the businesses as they try to control the cases of cyber attacks in their enterprises and it’s up to the businesses to be very keen to make sure they are very keen to identify these challenges and act accordingly to minimize the cases of cyber attacks in their organizations as much as possible.

From the discussion, we can see that cyber attacks are very common and serious challenges which face the businesses and the businesses should be very keen to address these challenges else they might end up incurring very huge losses.

As already mentioned, this paper aims to study cyberattacks, cybersecurity measures, and some of the major challenges which face the cybersecurity measures which can help to address the cases of cyber attacks. The research questions of our research will be:

What are the major challenges which face the cybersecurity measures?

This main question will address some of the major challenges which face the businesses as they try to implement the cybersecurity measures in their organizations.

What are effects of cyber attacks on businesses?

What measures should businesses take to address the challenges which face the cybersecurity measures?

To get the best solutions to our research questions, we shall use both qualitative and quantitative research design methodologies which will help us to collect the required information (data) about the major challenges which businesses face when trying to implement cybersecurity measures, the main effects of cyber attacks in businesses, and the best measures which the organizations should take address the challenges they face with the cybersecurity measures. The qualitative research design will mainly be used when dealing with all the non-numerical data or information while the quantitative research design will be used when dealing with all the numerical data (Hakim, 2012).

In qualitative research design, the main steps which we shall follow are:

Deciding the main questions to be researched

Doing a brief literature review to know more about the questions and the best ways we can gather the solutions to our questions.

Considering the best sampling method and the most ideal sample size which we shall use to gather the required information

Collecting the required data or information using the most appropriate data collection methods like interviews and questionnaires (Sullivan-Bolyai, Bova, and Singh, 2014). For us to get more valid and more reliable data, we shall use a big sample size (of a about 1000 or more) and be very open and friendly to the people we shall meet in the businesses during the data collection, and this will motivate them and make them cooperate and give valid information about cyberattacks and cybersecurity measures in their businesses.

Clearly defining all the variable specifications used in the research which will make our data analysis easy and understandable.

Preparing a report which will describe the whole research process more so the data analysis and all the findings of the qualitative research (Taylor, Bogdan, and DeVault, 2015).

In quantitative research design, the main steps which we shall follow are:

Deciding the main questions to be addressed in the research.

Defining the main purpose or the objectives of the research.

Carrying out a brief literature review to understand the main topic of research in details.

Formulating the hypotheses to be used in the research. The hypotheses help the researchers to explain what they expect to get or disapprove from doing the research.

Selecting the best sampling technique and the sample size to be used during the data collection. Just like in qualitative research, we shall use a big sample size of about 1000 or more which will improve the reliability of the collected data or information as it will come from many and different businesses (Marshall et al., 2013, pp.11-22). To improve the validity of the collected data or information, we shall be more friendly and frank to the businesses which will help them to give more valid responses.

Collecting the required data or information where we shall use the best and the most appropriate data collection methods, which in our case will be questionnaires and open interviews.

Defining all the variables used and doing a detailed data analysis to analyze all the collected data and information. To do so, we shall use some software such as Excel, SPSS, STATA, or any other appropriate software used to analyze numerical data (Gnanadesikan, 2011).

Preparing a report which shall discuss the whole research process and the findings for future references (Bryman, 2017, pp.57-78).

The research is expected to be faced with some limitations which the researchers should look for some ways to address them. Some of the major limitations of the research include:

Financial limitations. The research requires a huge amount of capital else the researchers will not get all their desired outcomes from the research (Hillier, 2012). The researchers must come up with some ways to look for enough capital which will help the research to flow smoothly as expected.

Non-cooperative respondents in the businesses. The researchers may come across some respondents who won’t cooperate with them during the research and so they must be well-prepared to handle such challenges during the research (Shipman, 2014).

Inaccessible businesses. The researchers may also come across some businesses which might refuse to participate in the research, and so they must also be ready to face that limitation and address it as required.

The whole research process is expected to take about three months. The research plan to be followed during the research is shown in the table below:

Duration	Dates	Activity
Week 1 and week 2	26th May to 9th June 2018	Planning and deciding on the questions of research and the objectives
Week 3 and week 4	10th June to 25th June 2018	Doing a detailed literature review of the topic to be researched
Week 5 to week 8	26th June to 24th July 2018	Deciding on the best sampling technique, sample size, and collecting the required data
Week 9 and week 10	11th July to 25th July 2018	Doing a detailed analysis of the collected data and information
Week 11 and week 12	26th July to 10th August 2018	Preparing a detailed report of the research

Conclusion

From the research proposal, we can say that research is very important as it helps the researchers to study many things. In our specific case, carrying out the actual research will help us to have a deep understanding of the main challenges which face cybersecurity measures in businesses, the effects of cyber attacks in businesses, and the measures which the businesses can implement to address the challenges of cybersecurity measures in their organizations.

References

Anitha, A., Paul, G., & Kumari, S. (2016). A Cyber defense using Artificial Intelligence. International Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 8, 25352-57.

Bryman, A. (2017). Quantitative and qualitative research: further reflections on their integration. In Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research (pp. 57-78). London: Routledge.

Fielder, A., Panaousis, E., Malacaria, P., Hankin, C., & Smeraldi, F. (2016). Decision support approaches for cybersecurity investment. Decision Support Systems, 86, 13-23.

Gnanadesikan, R. (2011). Methods for statistical data analysis of multivariate observations (Vol. 321). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Graham, J., Olson, R., and Howard, R. (Eds.). (2016). Cybersecurity essentials. CRC Press.

Hakim, C. (2012). Research design: Succesful designs for social economics research. London: Routledge.

Hillier, F. S. (2012). Introduction to operations research. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Jacko, J. A. (2012). Human-computer interaction handbook: Fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications. Florida: CRC Press.

Liu, Y., Sarabi, A., Zhang, J., Naghizadeh, P., Karir, M., Bailey, M., & Liu, M. (2015, August). Cloudy with a Chance of Breach: Forecasting Cyber Security Incidents. In USENIX Security Symposium (pp. 1009-1024).

Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., & Fontenot, R. (2013). Does sample size matter in qualitative research?: A review of qualitative interviews in IS research. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 54(1), 11-22.

Privette, H. M., Carlton, D. S., and Kelly-Kilgore, S. (2014). SEC Guidance on Cybersecurity Measures for Public Companies, The. LA Law., 37, 14.

Shipman, M. D. (2014). The limitations of social research. London: Routledge.

Sullivan-Bolyai, S., Bova, C., and Singh, M. D. (2014). Data-collection methods. Nursing Research in Canada-E-Book: Methods, Critical Appraisal, and Utilization, 287.

Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Walters, R. (2014). Cyber attacks on US companies in 2014. The Heritage Foundation, 4289, 1-5.

Xia, F., Yang, L. T., Wang, L., & Vinel, A. (2012). Internet of things. International Journal of Communication Systems, 25(9), 1101-1105.