Cybersecurity Solutions

With the continuous rise of technology, the implementation of Cyber Security is important to protect their users from cyber attacks. According to csoonline.com, in 2020 63% of companies have stated that their data has been leaked and compromised due to security breaches (Fruhlinger). Also, 94% of cyber attacks intent to install malware was delivered through phishing sent through emails. Cyber Security presents many different kinds of risks such as “data breaches, loss of intellectual property, financial fraud, etc.”(Mendsaikhan). According to Mendsaikhan, some approaches that have been put into use is automated threat detection sequence (Mendsaikhan). Mendsaikhan speaks about implementing a “knowledge-based approach” to counter cyberattacks (Mendsaikhan). This approach to preventing cyberattacks will install a system that will intrude your system to gain access to your web-based information. This will allows users to be aware of the security leaks that their network is vulnerable to. With the growth of our dependence on technology, it has found a way to make its way to our electric grid.

According to the scientific article constructed by Matthew David Smith and Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, they state that with smartly operated electrical grids it will promise to deliver benefits to consumers such as increased efficiency, reliability, and more of a choice for consumers to choose from (Smith). Although this is a revolutionary step forward in our future, with our electrical grids utilizing more technical aspects it brings major concerns to the security risk it can pose to consumers and our government. An approach that can be taken by cybersecurity teams to fight against the security risk is to employ the multinode bandit model or (MNB) (Smith). This model described by Smith and Pate-Cornell is a way for cybersecurity teams to learn about unknown success rates that attacks could use to manipulate their network by also protecting the network from known threats and also about newer unknown threats (Smith).

In the journal “Security Protocols Against Cyber Attacks in the Distribution Automation System by I.H. Lim and more published by the IEEE Xplore, they go into detail about how the different types of cyber threats and ways they protect themselves. They speak out about DAS networks which are distributed antenna system that is used to provide wireless service to areas. A way that a DAS network can be attacked is by DOS or Denial-of-service attack (Lim). This attack makes the servers by generating excessive loads to the server resulting in exhausting all of their resources. To fix and stop the attack would be to reboot the server (Lim). Another type of attack that malicious users can use is called “eavesdropping”. “Eavesdropping” attacks are when hackers collect users’ traffic data and learn about the system by analyzing traffic patterns (Lim). When done hackers can learn every information about you through your personal computers such as name, phone number, credit card numbers, social security number, and more. Users can protect themselves by implementing different cybersecurity protocols. One security protocol that they can take is to download a creditable anti-malware software. By users using anti-malware software, it will be able to alert them to potential security threats from suspicious download links and websites. Also, they will be able to identify any corrupted files that can be security leaks within your computer. For many home users that receive their internet from an internet provider such as example Verizon or Spectrum, the router they give you has basic protocols and security to protect you such as firewalls which are used to secure your connection from your personal network to the internet.

According to Shrobe, et al, “As our societies move from a world where interactions were physical and based on paper documents, toward a world that is primarily governed by digital data and digital transactions, our existing methods of managing identity and data security are proving inadequate.  Large-scale fraud, identity theft, and data breaches are becoming common, and a large fraction of the population has only the most limited digital credentials” (Shrobe, et al., 2018. p. 4).  Through our research, we’ve discovered multiple solutions that users can implement in their everyday lives.  These include solutions for personal computers, IoT devices, mobile devices and network devices. 

 Individuals are usually the weakest links in cybersecurity.  Educating people on cybersecurity is important because most people do not take precautions with their personal computers and networks simply because they are unaware of how to.  Cybersecurity experts recommend several solutions for keeping data and computers safe.  Firewalls have largely been used to block cybersecurity attacks by filtering network traffic to detect suspicious patterns.  Individuals are usually the weakest links in cybersecurity.  In order to prevent cyberattacks, users should update their passwords regularly and use a long mix of numbers, upper and lowercase letters and symbols.  Individuals should also avoid using the same password for different accounts.

    Another way to prevent cyberattacks is to keep all software, browsers and operating systems up-to-date.  It is also important to frequently back up information to a second hard drive as computers are susceptible to ransomware attacks, which can leave an individual’s data inaccessible.  Individuals should refrain from opening links and attachments in emails or text messages that are not from other known users.  If an individual needs to download any files or applications, they should only be from trusted websites.  Securing networks is also another important way to protect our online data.

Source:

Fruhlinger, J. (2020, March 9). Top cybersecurity facts, figures, and statistics. CSO Online. https://www.csoonline.com/article/3153707/top-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics.html 

Mendsaikhan, Otgonpurev. (2020). Quantifying the Significance and Relevance of Cyber-Security Text Through Textual Similarity and Cyber-Security Knowledge Graph., 177041-177052. https://ieeexplore-ieee-org.citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9207885 

Smith, David Matthew. (2018). Cyber Risk Analysis for a Smart Grid: How Smart is Smart Enough? A Multiarmed Bandit Approach to Cyber Security Investment., 434-446 https://ieeexplore-ieee-org.citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=8302529 

Lim, I.H. (2010). Security Protocols Against Cyber Attacks in the Distribution Automation System., 448-454 https://ieeexplore-ieee-org.citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5299213&tag=1

Shrobe, H., Shrier, D. L., & Pentland, A. (Eds.). (2018). New solutions for cybersecurity. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com