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Cybersecurity: Moving towards non-traditional security
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a drastic leap in the way of life and way of communication between human beings, and its impact will extend to all areas of life, including agriculture, industry, trade, health, education, among others. This revolution revealed the sheer volume of advanced technologies that will contribute to its radical changes. There have been terms such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, machine learning, robotics, and other terms that reflect the new face of this revolution. These technologies bring immense benefits to humanity, like improving the quality of life, achieving economic progress, and so on. Nonetheless, have their challenges like vulnerability of the cybersecurity system, especially with the change of the security landscape, which in turn, leads to the emergence of the cyberwarfare.
Cyberwarfare is a new kind of warfare:
Cyberwarfare encompasses a wide range of parties, criminal networks, state-sponsored parties and different techniques. Cyberattacks and data breach may well be a part of the state parties’ broader efforts to develop the capacity to cripple governments and economies. Actually, cyberattacks can be considered a serious threat, since they seek to damage the physical infrastructure or access sensitive information. These security breaches have severely affected the confidence of Internet users. Hence, cyberattacks were recognized as one of the top risks facing the global economy today, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. Consequently, all entities have realized the necessity of having a secured cyber system.
Cybersecurity is a crucial concept nowadays due to its importance for states, organisations, as wells individuals. It entails “adversarial engagement” as it consists largely of protective techniques used to identify and thwart possible intruders, in addition to the inclusion of securing computer networks and the data from intrusion or malicious harm or disruption. In other words, people have to defend and protect their machines against probable attacks by other people using machines. We have many instances for attacks against cybersecurity systems globally. One of the most famous incidents happened when the data of around 50 million Facebook users was compromised in 2018. Additionally, in May 2017, 150 countries were hit by the “WannaCry” ransomware attack, causing financial damage to numerous institutions.
Assessing Cybersecurity globally:
The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) was developed to analyze the extent to which countries are committed to cybersecurity globally and raise the awareness on the different aspects of this topic. It measures many indices, including whether states have cybercrime legislation, national cybersecurity strategies, cybersecurity awareness campaigns, and cybersecurity professional training.
Source: Global Cybersecurity Index, 2018, ITU.
In conclusion, it is the responsibility of states, organizations, and citizens to acknowledge the necessity of having a secure cyber system, specifically in the era where technology is a significant part of our lives. Carrying out this responsibility requires extensive collaboration between public and private sectors to ensure the safety of cyber systems and efficiently utilize the advantages of this technology.
