What is security & cybersecurity software?

Malware, ransomware, fishing, hackers… The list of online threats has grown exponentially in the last few years. Therefor the cry for reliable protection grows. Many organizations saw this as obsolete in the past decade, but most know better by now. Cybersecurity protects computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks and data against harmful attacks. Security can be applied to all IT, from business environments to mobile computer use, and is subdivided in its few categories.

Categories

Network security is protecting a computer network against intruders. This can be random malware, but also dedicated attackers.

Application security focusses on protecting software and devices against threats. An infected application can give access to data that should be protected by design. Successful security starts in the design phase, well ahead of a program or device being installed.

Information security secures the integrity and privacy of data, in storage as well as during transfer.

Operational security entails the processes and decisions regarding the processing and protection of data assets. The user rights when they’re connecting to a network and the procedures that decide how and where data is being stored or shared, are part of this category.

Disaster recovery and continuity of work is the category that defines how an organization reacts to a cybersecurity incident or any other incident that leads to loss in business operations and loss of data. The policy for disaster recovery dictates how a organization recovers her business operations and information, back to the same business capacity as before the incident. Business continuity entails the plan an organization falls back to, while they are trying to function without certain sources.

Training of end-users is directed to the most unpredictable factor of cybersecurity: people. Anyone can activate a virus by accident in an overall well protected system by not following good security procedures. Users learn to delete suspicious e-mail attachments, not to connect unidentified USB sticks and several other important lessons that are crucial in the security of every organization.

Besides to the focus on tools, suppliers of security software put more emphasis on awareness. People are the weakest link in the chain. It’s no longer sufficient to apply excellent security tools, but it’s also necessary to make staff members aware of security risks. Staff members must be trained proactively in recognizing information security incidents, so they can prevent them and take action.

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