This blog touches base on the world of cybersecurity risk, a topic which affects us all in this digital era. It has become a necessity to know what cybersecurity risk is and why it should always be at our radar.
Imagine your home is your digital world. We have got all kinds of important things there, our documents, money, photos and what not! Now think about someone trying to break into your house and grab the stuff. That is what cybersecurity risk is. It focuses on protecting your digital home from
those digital burglars.
Cybersecurity Risk can be defined as the potential harm that may arise from unauthorized access, disruption of digital systems, impacting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data.
There can be many types of cybersecurity risks, and with the velocity digital dependency is progressing, the risk has increased manifold. However, in this blog we will try to boil it down to four main categories:
- Phishing Attacks: Almost each one of us has received an email saying that we have won a lottery, and we need to share our bank details in order to claim the prize. Beware! This is a classic example of phishing. These attacks are deceptive attempts to acquire sensitive information from users.
- Malware Mayhem: Suppose you click on a link, and suddenly the PC starts acting unusual.
This could be due to malware, a malicious software which enters our device and causes trouble. Most common examples would be viruses, ransomware and spyware. - Predictable Passwords: Are you using ‘password1234’ for all your password protected sites?
Weak passwords like these makes it easy for cyber-thieves to access your digital data. - Social Media Exploitation: You are sharing your vacation content on social media and suddenly you get a call from a ‘friend’ asking for money. These are manipulative tactics to trick people into performing actions that might compromise with their security.
In this brief introduction, we have scratched the surface of cybersecurity risks. There are multiple unseen challenges to our digital lives. Stay tuned as we explore more in the world of cybersecurity risk!
– Team Risk Unplugged