Impact of Cyber Security on Businesses Essay

Submitted By ubeeunkown
Words: 2372
Pages: 10

Have you ever wondered were the information you give out goes? With some wish full thinking you would assume whatever business or association that you gave your information to will be using it process your request of some kind. Giving your personal information to business in exchange for services has become a regular thing, maybe even monotonous. In putting our trust in these companies we assume that or information is being well taken care of, and in most cases it is, but what happens when they don’t? Poor cyber security results in someone else getting hold of your information, and as a result tragic events may follow for you. What is cyber security, and what would categorize as a breach of this security? Cyber security also commonly known as Computer Security or IT security is defined as the security of information that is applied to computers and computer networks. In this day and age almost everything is processed through some form of digital application. With the growth in applications of the Internet, technology is advancing. As a result the Internet has come the home for an astonishing wealth of information. With defenses in place it has also become home to lot of society’s personal information as it is much more convenient for information to be stored on the net and in computers rather than older more complex means. Like most things in the world the internet is not perfect, but actions can be taken to remedy those flaws. With the rise of such powerful technological advances it is only natural that counter measures were taken. Viruses and other debatably malicious software have been given birth. Advertisements that may contain malicious software or may contain ways to scam users out of their information or money pollute the internet, and their numbers continue to grow every day. The rise of hackers, those whose purpose is to penetrate cyber defenses and do as they please, has resulted in many nationwide scandals, and major incidents. Whether these measures were made to be malicious, or to test the power of the net, does not matter as what is more important is the fact that they exist. Black box penetration testing for example is a service in which the heads of companies show just how vulnerable their security is (Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning 1). By stealing the companies “trophy information” or their more sensitive information, they aim to bring light to the flaws in their security. The common successes of these tests are a perfect test, and help replicate a real world intrusion into their security.
The presence of these counters to the net has given rise to originally secure information being breached and manipulated in multiple manners. The power to breach the once debatably secure Internet, in the wrong hands has given rise to hackers and powerful viruses that can easily cripple a server. Criminals worldwide have seized upon the Internet as a treasure trove to breach, steal, scam, extort, phish, stalk, and track and victimize any individual or entity that has a connection to the worldwide web (Internet Security: Whom Should You Trust?). Each of the former is a different action that exploits the Internet in order to obtain once secure information illegally.
It appears that the majority of small business owners admit that proper Internet security is crucial, but many fail to take proper precaution to prevent cyber security breaches from happening (Symantec: Businesses Suffer from Cyber-Security Delusions). This is a shame, and although this is a prevailing problem in the world of small business it is also present in that of larger corporations. 40 percent of small businesses admit that they have suffered some form of breach in their cyber security, resulting in damage and even the loss of their customer’s information (Symantec: Businesses Suffer from Cyber-Security Delusions). In most cases customers aren’t even made aware of how their information is being secured. Poor cyber security