The easy availability of an #Internet facility at a very affordable cost allows anyone from anywhere and at any time to get connected to anyone located anywhere in the world. Today, there are no physical/regional boundaries for any business activity or #psychological #warfare or political campaigning or social media interaction. Infect, #Time #Zones have become an advantage since people can now transact their business and social interaction on a 24x7 basis. On the flip side, this user-friendly #digital #environment has created lots of issues, related to data #safety, data #integrity, #privacy, #security and #accessibility. In the last 7 years, #cyber-attacks / #cybercrimes continue to rise which threatens the safety, security and #reliability of data. This cyber threatened environment poses serious concerns to most companies/ organizations /institutions and government departments of various countries. We are today living amidst a #cyber-warfare world, where some countries get involved in using their cyber activity power as a #political #weapon to undermine the integrity, sovereignty and freedom of another nation. Cyber security risk is not just data breach/ corruption, but also the risk of the entire organization being put out of gear and blocked its functioning at a critical time. The target organization can be Banking, Financial market, Finance Institute/ company, Healthcare, Insurance, Education, Air/Rail Ticketing and Reservation, Military operations or Political campaign. In the emerging Digital World, intelligent communication and computing devices are being employed in all business houses/workplaces. These electronic devices are prone to hacking. To safeguard against such malicious activities, there is an urgent need to have qualified and highly competent professionals to manage national cyberspace.
Technology Wave. Over the last 10 years, the technology wave continues to rapidly
sweep across the world and so is the rise in instances of cyber-crimes. Till
around 2008, Information Security was the major issue, where various business
enterprises and organizations had their dedicated leased lines and their
own computer /communication configurations. To deny any unauthorized access to
their information systems, they deployed required Hardware/Software Firewalls.
Some of them also used voice/data scramblers/descramblers, security keys to
encipher and decipher sensitive information. There were very few instances of
hacking and fraud. With Cloud Computing becoming cost-effective and
easily available even to Small, Medium Establishments (SMEs), data/information
security has a new dimension to tackle. For instance, in a public #Cloud
Computing environment, customers are not sure where their data has been stored
and processed. Even if some large enterprises like Reliance or Mahindra or
Tata in India have their own cloud and deploy their own means for security,
they are not fully secure. Likewise, with social media traffic being handled as #Big Data on a 24x7 basis by Google, Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Telegram,
Twitter, LinkedIn and using Data #Analytic tools, the user is not sure of the
safety and privacy of data. Social media networking is an easy
target for hackers to spread misinformation/false news about any political
party or leader.
Cyber-hacking Modes. In the last 7 years, cyber-attacks or cyber-crimes have become
cyber-warfare, where nations are engaging cyber agencies to impact the minds of
the citizens of the target countries. The hired cyber agencies deploy their
hackers to monitor communication channels, social media and computer networks
of the target organization to sabotage their information systems. Such a paid
hacking service could also be engaged to harm the business of competing
organizations. Following are the modes for conducting cyber-attacks:
•
Defensive. As per the need of the clients, hackers are engaged to either
protect their system from cyber-attack or take remedial measures to restore the
system, if it has been attacked.
•
Offensive. An offensive role of hackers is to keep the target system
under surveillance and gather input. At an appropriate time, hackers launch
their planned attack to disable or corrupt the information system of the target
organization. They may even render the target systems unserviceable at a
critical time.
•
Ethical Hacking. Ethical hacking is
the process where professional hackers are engaged by an organization to
deliberately break into their own computers and communication devices to test their
security measures. As technology and cyber security are rapidly
advancing, ethical hacking is becoming a very hard task.
Scope. Cybersecurity is a vast and technically complex subject requiring
a book of 200 to 300 pages to be written to cover all its
aspects. This section does not cover technical details about various
algorithms, statistical techniques, numerical methods and software/ hardware
tools, used to provide cybersecurity. The scope of this section is limited to
providing adequate knowledge of cyber-security and showcasing its job
opportunities for young professionals. The contents of this section will
inspire young professionals to join this exciting and highly paid career.
Political
Warfare. Of late, cyber-attacks have been used as
psychological warfare to impact the minds of a society /community,
by spreading hatred, misinformation or false news, through social media
networks. A glaring example of cyber warfare is the 2016 presidential elections
of the USA and the alleged involvement of one country having interfered to
sabotage the USA’s election process. Indeed, cyber-attack has become a potent
and silent weapon to be swiftly launched at a suitable time.
Business Attacks. As per National Security Agency (NSA), USA, there have been
thousands of locations in eastern Europe and the Middle East from where hackers
had launched attacks on many financial institutes in the USA. It was
also reported by NSA in 2015 that 2.2 million personnel files were
stolen from the Department of Personnel Management in
2014. Likewise, during 2018-2019 there have been many cyber-attacks
launched on the Hospital Information System (HIS), Airport Operations
Systems(AOS) and Banking Operations System (BOS). These attacks
paralyzed operations of all departments and it took 2 to 3 days to restore
those. There are some business houses that arrange to hack the information
systems of their competitors by feeding wrong information or completely shutting
down their Information systems.
Changing Working Environment. In the last 7 years, there has been a great change in
our work culture, the way we behave, the way we work and inter-connect through
various communication channels. Today workplaces are not bound by physical
buildings, devices, or even time zone. To get a job done as per schedule,
trustworthy information must be available when and where we need
it. For this, various software apps must perform reliably and
securely. While emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Intelligent Automation and the Internet of things (IoT) are helping to
enhance industrial productivity, efficiency and reliability, these are also
posing new security threats. One
of the main challenges for various industries, organizations/institutions is to
have adequate skilled security professionals,
who are experienced in deploying new digital technologies for ensuring good
digital security. These cyber professionals must protect their organizational
data and infrastructure from security threats. In
2020, India and Japan have signed an agreement on sharing info related to
likely cyber-attack activities by China and to counter their efforts.
Cyber Security vs Information Security. Although both security schemes provide protection against
information and data being stolen, accessed or altered, these are quite
different in their scope and capabilities. Information security
relates not only to the information stored on a computer but also to hard copies
stored in file cabinets. On the other hand, cyber-security deals with
protecting data and information from outside sources in cyberspace or the
Internet. Therefore, it is important to understand the difference
between information security and cyber security.
•
Information Security. Information security is related to protecting information and
information systems from unauthorized access, modification or removal from our
system. Information of the organization needs protection from insiders
stealthily stealing information as well as from outside attacks/ intrusions.
•
Cyber security. Cyber-security is the process of protecting information and
data from outside sources on the Internet. Cyber-security professionals provide
protection for the telecommunications network, computer networks, servers,
intranets and computer systems. They also ensure that only authorized people
have access to that information.
Attributes of Cyber
security. In the digital economy, we need
global access to carry out our business on a 24x7 basis. At the same time, we
need the safety, privacy and integrity of our personal data as well as our
business data. For smooth and assured functioning of the information
system, the following attributes are universally accepted:
•
Availability. All decision-makers need immediate availability of required
information and in the required format. Therefore, we need to maintain a
judicious balance between security restrictions imposed upon the information
system and its ready availability to the users.
•
Authenticity. A
security system must ensure thorough verification and quick
approval of any user seeking accessibility to personnel data or organization
data. This helps in detecting fraud and cautioning customers in case of
unauthorized use of credit cards.
•
Auditing and logging. It includes an audit trail, for traceability of any
malicious activity. This helps in detecting the timing, duration and
frequency of any malicious activity.
•
Integrity. It relates to permitting only authorized users to update
the database.
Types of Threats. Cyber-security
is one of the fastest-growing industries because now more and more companies or
institutions are realizing the importance of data protection and privacy.
Businesses, houses and the service industry are experiencing frequent incidents
of cyber-attacks, which are costing them a big loss in their revenue. In
this scenario, someone located far away can technically manage to hack
into another company’s network and breach their information system. The hacker
can make their system fully or partially inoperative for a short or a long
time. The target organization could be a bank, stock market, financial
institute, hospital, power grid, tourism, airline/railway booking/ reservation
system or a corporate house. Some major threats related to Cyber-security are
briefly given below:
•
Insider
Threats. Insider threats relate to information security and are stealthily
carried out by disgruntled employees. Insider threats keep happening
silently causing great embarrassment /harm to the organization. These own working employees keep lurking around
to steal away some information for their personal advantage as well
as causing big damage/loss to the organization. Such an
employee might go to another’s computer, install a pen drive (USB) and quickly
copy confidential information. This information is stolen for subsequent
misuse. As per the latest survey, 90% of
insider threats go undetected for weeks or months. Combating insider threats is
one of the big challenges due to limited data visibility. As per
available statistics, 80% of insider threat incidents occur mainly due to three
common situations: a) exiting employees, b) relocating of employees during company
re-organization, c) employees having access to high-value files containing
business rules/secrets. Unhappy employees can take away trade
secrets and other valuable information and the security team can’t stop as they
can’t see stolen information. Today with rapid advancements in
electronics and computing devices, data is more portable where
removing/stealing data in an organization is quite easy. Employees can store
hundreds of gigabytes on their smartphones or they can quickly take 1TB or more
of data on a pen drive. They can quickly transfer dozens or hundreds of files
to personal cloud storage services like Dropbox. They can instantly share files
through Microsoft Teams and other messenger apps.
•
Hacking Software. Hackers
can use various types of hacking software to steal/ corrupt your data. They may
use malicious software like Malware which can be stealthily planted
into your computer system. This hacking software can run on various platforms
like Linux, Mac OS and Windows operating systems. It gets activated
at the particular instance and can quietly inject the particular virus into
your data storage system. Likewise, malware can also infect portable
communication and computing devices such as iPods, smartphones, and
tablets. This way, hackers can quietly copy/delete/alter your
sensitive data. The hacker can use another hacking tool to
disable your computer network and bring your whole organization to a
standstill. Such hacking is happening in healthcare facilities, airports and
banks, where at a critical time, the computer system shuts down or starts
malfunctioning. It is quite difficult to detect and counter such silent attacks.
•
Third-Party Exposure. Many retailers engage professional hackers (third party) to
access payment gateway for services to extract customers’ personal information
like Aaddhar Card Number (India ) /Social Security Numbers ( USA) or
credit card numbers. The engineering company feels that any breach of data
security applies to only to the third party and they only will be
accountable for such acts. This is a false hope/excuse since a third party
vendor does not absolve retailers from their responsibility for a data breach.
Therefore, retailers, hospitals or bankers must have their cyber security
policy in place.
•
Software Patch
Management. It is easier for the hacker, to
attack outdated software systems. Some companies /individuals are lazy and do
not update their systems. This lack of responsibility on the part of users,
increases their vulnerability to cyber-attack.
•
Cloud
Vulnerabilities. Many companies think
they are fully secure because they use cloud security technology.
Actually, the data stored on a public cloud is exposed to a higher risk of
a data breach. Cloud services are vulnerable to a wide range of cyber-attacks,
like hacking business accounts.
•
Ransom attacks. These attacks infect your network and hold your data and computer
systems hostage until you pay the ransom. Such attacks are increasing
across the globe.
•
Mistaking ISO Compliance for
Protection. Some
companies mistakenly think that following ISO standards or meeting data
compliance and legal standards as specified by higher
authorities will ensure the safety and privacy of their data.
•
Mobile Communication
Security threats. Although mobile
communication technology is a big boon for any business,
it also exposes their information system to potential cyber-attacks. Most of
such attacks come from malware which is very cleverly injected through cookies
into your system.
•
Internet of Things
(IoT). The Internet of Things (IoT) has given
new momentum to the service sector as it interconnects a very large
number of devices from all over the world, through the internet. This allows
for a network of devices to store, send, and receive data in autonomous mode.
Although IoT makes it convenient for end-users,
it also makes their information exchange vulnerable. Hackers can
exploit internet connectivity as an access point to quietly steal data.
•
Military Operations. For military operations against an adversary, a
cyber-attack is proving a low cost, silent and swift attack. There is no need
for going across an enemy border or using Ground. Air or Sea
force. Cyber-warfare is even smarter than Electronic Warfare (EW) or
any clandestine/covert operation or proxy war. It is a lot more effective than
good old psychological warfare or propaganda through radio or airdropping of
leaflets.
Cyber Security challenges. Providing good cyber-security for an organization has a number of
challenges, which should be considered while planning the security curtain
around any organization.
•
There are no global standards
for cyber security.
• There are no ethical norms for cyber-warriors
•
Difficult to monitor or control
multimedia networks.
•
Difficult to detect or control
insider stealing sensitive information.
•
The proliferation of
communication networks using technologies of 4G and future 5G has increased the possibility of
cyber-attacks.
•
It is not possible to restrict
the exchange of information on social media. Hence state-sponsored-cyber-attack
can easily flood with misinformation across its own population or
population on its adversary.
•
The present
traditional approach to countering security threats is not matching
new threats by high tech hackers.
•
Most of the existing security
systems have limited authentication
Job
Potential. With the easy availability of the
internet across the world and a flood of unclassified information flying across
the globe through social media, cyber threats are on the increase.
Consequently, both cyber-security and information security professionals are in
great demand. As per the survey report of Burning Glass
Technologies, during 2014, in the USA alone approximately 238,158
jobs were advertised for various levels of security/cybersecurity
personnel. As per California Lutheran University (CLU), the US
Bureau of Labour Statistics has reported that cybersecurity job
growth will be 32% by 2028. Similarly, the Information Systems Audit and
Control Association have reported that 69 % of the world's cybersecurity teams
are understaffed and 58% unfilled positions. In the USA, it
takes on an average of six months or more to fill a cyber-security
position. A Cybersecurity professional will have a wide range of career
options across a wide variety of industries like finance, banking,
insurance, marketing and logistics, healthcare, travel and tourism, government
and defence jobs. An ethical hacker requires a high level of
adaptability and technical skills. In the USA salary
of a Certified Ethical Hacker, range from $35,160 to $786,676. As per a
survey of 2019, 57% of Certified Ethical Hackers earns $168,948 to $374,847,
with the top 43% making $786,676. A similar high salary is also offered to
cyber security professionals in other countries. Indeed,
cyber-security is a very special field, requiring special competence in
computer hardware, software and communication devices. Some of the common
categories of jobs are listed below:
•
Chief Information
Security Officer ( CISO)
•
Information security
analyst
•
Cyber-security
compliance security analyst
•
Software
developers/coders
•
Cryptographer,
Forensics expert
•
Ethical Hackers
Essential skills for a Security Analyst. The rapid growth of the internet and mobile
communication technology has given momentum to cybercrimes and to counter
those happenings, you need more cyber-security professionals. As
technologies advance very rapidly, ordinary cyber threats/crimes have become
cyber warfare, which requires a multi-disciplinary cyber-security team, for
protecting computing and communication assets. Managing cyber security and
combating hackers is a teamwork effort, where one key role is of a security
analyst. He /she works hands-on to understand security alerts and suspicious
activity occurring within their network and to protect their organization from
ensuing cyber-attack. This involves investigating security alerts,
system-log-sheets, establishing and managing threat protection systems and
responding to various incidents. Major technical skills are briefly
given below:
•
Networking. To
maximize damage to the targeted communication network, installing malware and
other cyber security measures are heavily dependent on computer networks. He/
she must have a full understanding of the OSI network model and network
protocols such as TCP/IP. A security analyst will be given key basic
information from network device logs to identify the source and destination IP
addresses, protocols used and other common networking information. You need to
know what each piece of information means and how it might impact your
analysis.
•
Security and Threat
Perception. A thorough understanding of
various cyber threats, their patterns and the behaviour of attackers. You should be
able to quickly examine the daily computer log and identify suspicious
activities. You should be able to identify the computer IP addresses that were
trying to contact and infect computers. The analyst could arrange for infected
computers to be removed from the network and cleaned up.
•
Documenting and
Communicating. One should have good competency
in communicating malicious activities clearly and expeditiously to the
higher up for an appropriate and timely response. A well-recorded document
helps as evidence during legal proceedings. For this, many open
source and community-based tools are available to security analysts.
Planning Career in Cyber Security. If you are looking for a career in Cyber Security, do
not hibernate, instead, take a plunge right now and build the required
skill-set. However, it is not possible for anyone to know every
aspect of cyber-security but you can choose your area of interest,
which could be Software Programming, Web Technology, Embedded
software, or Network Engineering or Hardware. Depending upon your present job,
your qualification, hands-on experience, capacity to attend part-time/weekend
training programs, you can make your decision. However, action
points that may help anyone interested to make a career in the cyber-security
field are very briefly given below:
•
Self- Study.
Do a Google search to ascertain market
trends and demand for cyber-security professionals. Carry out
a self-audit to check if there are any gaps in your qualification/ skill
set. Thereafter plan how to make up for that deficiency. Some common
points for self-study in own time and at own place are:
• Read
books, magazines/news sites and blogs and journals related to
cyber-security.
• Do
visit cyber-security websites regularly and browse these to check for the
skills required by employers and resources for learning required skills.
• Brush
up your knowledge about communication security, software security and
cryptography.
• Attend
security seminars/webinars, symposiums, conferences to learn what is new, make
friends and set up your network.
• Participate
in computer hacking contests.
• Contact
your peers who have been in this field.
•
Online- Courses.
•
Attend short fast-track
courses in computer programming and gain knowledge of system-level programming
and fault diagnostic
•
Go to Google Search and select
a good college/university offering cybersecurity and digital forensics
degree programs.
•
Learn and practice software
coding in programming and scripting languages like C++, PHP, Java, Python, Rubi.
•
Set up a dummy website and
practice various hacking tools available through open source.
•
Set up your own
cybersecurity lab using old PCs, a wireless router with a firewall and a
network switch. Invite a friend to join and practice hacking the computer server.
Try restoring the network which your friend has hacked.
•
Participate in
cyber-security contests organized by Government agencies and other
forums,
•
Register and
participate online cybersecurity certification course
through MOOC, Coursera, Google, Microsoft or Amazon
•
Google search on the
internet for the right institute/university for the right price to do
a Bachelor/Master's level degree in Cyber security
Networking and volunteering. Once you get a cyber-security certification, you should gain
hands-on experience by volunteering to work on cyber security projects.
Possible options are:
•
Join LinkedIn groups on security
•
Attend local cyber
security group meetings and events.
•
Connect with peers playing
cyber-games and practice hacking.
•
Collaborate with a team (at
work/college) on a cybersecurity project.
•
Offer to help your professor or
employer with security-related tasks.
•
Volunteer to do IT security
work for non-profits or charities.
Career transition from IT Jobs to
cybersecurity jobs. It is easier to
move from an IT job to a cybersecurity job. You need hands-on experience in one
or more of the following IT jobs:
•
Computer software
programmer /developer.
•
Software Systems
Analyst /Designer.
•
Database Administrator.
•
Network Engineer
/Administrator.
Boost up your CV. The recruiting organizations are looking for a
judicious mix of technical skills and soft skills plus
hands-on experience in cyber-security related jobs:
•
Technical skills. The candidate should have good knowledge of networking,
systems administration, database management and web applications. He/she should
know about networks, server equipment, DBMS. Based on your present
qualification and proficiency in IT field, you should include the needed
skillset from the following common list, to fill the gaps in your CV:
§
Operating System &
Databases management
§
Windows, UNIX and
Linux Operating systems
§
MySQL Environments
§
Programming and coding
§
C++, Java, Python, Scala, Ruby
§ Assembly language and Embedded software
§
Networks experience in
the followings:
§
System/Network
Configuration.
§
TCP/IP , computer
Networking, Routing and Switching
§
Network protocols and
packet analysis tools
§
Firewall and intrusion
detection/prevention protocols
§
Proxy Server and VPNs
knowledge
§
Special Achievements.
This may include Cyber-Contest awards or awards on a contest of Ethical Hacking
§
Cisco
Certified Network Associate ( CCNA) or Microsoft ( MSCSE) with
knowledge of Routing and Switching
§ Soft Skills. The candidate should know
what and how to effectively communicate to the customer/vendor or channel.
Some basic traits are:
·
Good communication skills
·
Good team member.
·
Security consciousness.
·
Positive attitude
to work as a useful member of a team
·
Passion to solve complex
puzzles and problems
·
Good report writer and presenter
Getting Hands-on Experience
Your best source of information about
cybersecurity job is the people who are already involved/ employed in this
field. To have a quick take-off –
•
Evaluate the pros and cons of a
cyber-security job in government, private, non-profit, start-ups.
•
Check job requirements
and talk to your peers, alumni and mentors to seek advice.
•
Ask your present and
past professors for referrals.
•
Interact with fellow
hackers, senior students.
•
Find projects related
to cyber-security to gain your technical skills.
•
Decide what kinds of
cyber-security Certifications you need.
Creating professionals for Cyber Security Jobs. With widespread awareness and the need to have an effective
cybersecurity system, there is a great demand for highly competent cyber
experts. Trends certainly show that we will need more and more security
analysts in the coming years. Although employers offer a very lucrative
pay package, career advancement and an appealing work environment to lure
cybersecurity professionals, there are not enough qualified and competent
professionals to meet industry demand. This is not only a shortage but also
difficult to retain cybersecurity experts. Those who have
good experience and knowledge in the cyber-security field tend to quit and team
up to start their own services.. They snatch away good cybersecurity
professionals to run their services. This shortage of cybersecurity
professionals is not only in the USA but throughout the globe. Fortunately,
many leading universities and colleges are imparting basic training on
ethical_ hacking in their curriculum. However, they do not provide the
real-life experience, needed by the industry. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
or Industry-Academia Partnership is another important part of the solution to
train young professionals to join this new exciting and highly paid profession.
Working together with universities, corporations and other organizations to
develop a skills-ready workforce, can help to combat cyber threats.
Cyber Ethics for Cyber Warrior. Despite the continued number of attacks on military civilians
and civil –infrastructures, there are no clear agreed ethical norms. Of
late, there have been some efforts to evolve new standards/norms.
Some agreeable norms/ethics for cyber warriors are;
•
Cyber-attacks should
not be launched against civilians or civilian infrastructure
•
Cyber-attacks may
be planned and directed towards military targets but must ensure no/ minimum
collateral damage to civilian property.
Summary. Cybersecurity is
a highly software-based technical field, using various algorithms and
statistical tools to control cyber warfare/cybercrimes. This
requires a flexible and adaptive algorithm that can silently and smartly
monitor various networks and respond adequately and well in time. Cybersecurity
management needs a holistic and collaborative approach at the national and
international levels to tackle this monster. All nations must remain
vigilant and share timely information for the appropriate remedial
measure. Many academic institutions, government task forces, research
scholars are engaged to mitigate cyber threats. Various financial institutes
and service sectors like insurance and banking are adding more security
features in their computerized system for safe transactions and to avoid fraud.
Likewise, service providers of Could Computing, Big Data and Payment
Gateways are continuously working on providing enhanced safety, security
and privacy for user data. It is expected that by 2025, it will be possible to
accurately evaluate and validate cyber-security measures of an information
system. This will help for assurance of safety, authenticity,
integrity and accessibility of information
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