Cyber Security

Just a few months ago, the US government announced the formation of a new ‘Cyber Command’ – a division of the country’s defence ministry that focuses exclusively on safe-guarding the country from potential ‘attacks’ over the internet. This is an inevitable development that will likely be followed by other countries worldwide, as a major security leak or case of online espionage could have catastrophic effects, not just for a country itself, but around the globe.

But it’s not just at a high-profile, governmental level that such vigilance is needed. The internet is becoming more and more integrated into our daily lives at a rapid speed. Mobile phones let us access the internet, send and receive emails and check social networking sites from anywhere at any time. The internet has also become even more important for businesses, some of which function entirely online and rely solely on the internet for their survival. All businesses, particularly large-scale global financial institutions, could experience disastrous problems if unauthorised users gained access to their systems, confidential information or employee’s personal details.

In response to this growing situation, cyber security is becoming an increasingly more important and relevant specialisation within the IT employment field, leading to a range of new employment opportunities being created across the globe. In an era when all businesses must understand that online security is critical to their operations, many companies may decide that internet security is not something to be dealt with by a general IT manager, but something that should be handled by an employee whose sole focus is to ensure the security of the company’s systems. Click here to see how NCC Education could provide you with the path to becoming part of the next generation of IT experts!

Internet security is something that must be considered at a personal level too. Every computer needs to have up-to-date and comprehensive protection software installed: you can find a list of recommended free software in our previous article on internet security. But in addition to installing the appropriate software, internet users need to remain vigilant and use common sense.

Many of us use Facebook, whether just to send occasional messages, or to keep up-to-date with our friends’ statuses and movements. However, Facebook has become the latest way for spam to be spread through the internet. Users are tricked into ‘liking’ or sharing messages with their friends, which when clicked take the user to an unrelated website, often generating revenue for the company who created the message.

For now, the companies spamming Facebook in this manner are relatively harmless, if a little unethical and annoying. However, how long will it be before such messages are planted to lead users to sites containing malware and viruses? Facebook offer advice in helping them stop such spam here.

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Categories: Technology (Articles)

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