What are the principles of cybersecurity?
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“If one spends more on coffee than on their IT security, they will be hacked,” is a quote by Richard Clarke. According to Sarker et al. (2020), cybersecurity has recently undergone significant changes in technology’s operations. According to Brar et al. (2018), “Cybersecurity deals with the security of the cyberspace from cybercriminals” (p.1). Cybersecurity is essential when using technology. According to Handa et al. (2019), cybersecurity applications when using machines are becoming more common as the use of technology has become mainstream. Brar et al. (2018) also stated that “the cyberspace constitutes all those things (hardware, software, and data/information) that are connected to the Internet/network; This is important to implement the cybersecurity effectively to protect the Internet system and the trust of people on this system from various cyberattacks” (p.1). If there is a defect in cybersecurity then there will be opportunities for cyberattacks which disrupt the internet connection. The three basic fundamental principles are also known as the CIA triad. The most crucial components of cybersecurity are the elements of the triad. Brar et al (2018) also stated that “the cyberattacks on the information and data on the Internet can affect these three fundamental principles of cybersecurity. So, there is a great need to setup cybersecurity to preserve these fundamental principles” (p.1). Cybersecurity is considered to be vulnerable to cyberattacks if it does not have the three fundamental principles. The three basic fundamental principles of cybersecurity include confidentiality, availability and integrity.
Confidentiality is one of the fundamental principles of cybersecurity. Confidentiality is the Ability to secure and protect data so that unauthorized parties cannot have access to the personal data. According to Brar et al. (2018), “In the present day, every person has confidential information like login credentials namely name and password, credit card information, and also a soft copy of personal documents which may be stored on the computer system or server or it may be on any device connected to the Internet which needs protection from Cyberattacks” (p.1). Sensitive information mustn’t be disclosed to strangers who can hack and use the information without the user’s authority. Everyone using technology should be assured that their data is not accessed without their authority. According to Dibaji et al. (2020), “the secure control of such wide-area power systems is considered in the presence of cyber-attacks that introduce threats that compromise their integrity and confidentiality” (p.2). The level of confidentiality measures taken depends on the level of importance of data. Brar et al. (2018) also stated that “the higher the importance of data, the higher the risk and therefore, serious measures are to be taken to protect the confidential information from cyberattacks to narrow down or eliminate the risk level” (p.1). There are various methods that can be used to protect data confidentiality, and they include biometric verification, data encryption, user awareness, and using strong user id and password (Brar et al., 2018). Thus, confidentiality is one of the fundamental principles of cybersecurity because access to confidential information must be restricted to an organization of authorized users only.
Integrity is another fundamental principle of cybersecurity. According to Brar et al. (2018), “integrity means protecting the information and data on the Internet from alteration by cybercriminals” (p.1). Integrity provides the accuracy of information and consistency on the network. According to Khidzir et al. (2018), sharing information on social media, for example, activities done, ideas and real time location could cause cybersecurity risks and integrity is essential. “These categories of risk caused severe impacts to the entire cyber community eco-system associated in digital social media that need to be managed and mitigated seriously” (Khidzir et al., 2018, p.1). The integrity of the information on the cyberspace can be secured and protected by taking the appropriate steps like, digital signature, user access controls, and file permissions. The bigger cyberattacks are a major attraction of security professionals. Brar et al (2018) also stated that “security professionals cannot underestimate the small cybercrimes, as the number of small integrity attacks on information can make a huge impact on the infrastructure of an organization, state, or country” (p.1). Cryptographic checksums are some of the information on the internet, and they ensure that integrity is preserved (Brar et al., 2018). Backup for the information must be maintained in order to recover the information and data from any tampering due to cyberattacks. Thus, integrity is another fundamental principle of cybersecurity to protect the internet’s information from cyberattacks.
Availability is another fundamental principle of cybersecurity. According to Brar et al. (2018), “availability is a security policy which ensures that any individual, employee of an organization (public or private), with authorized access, can use information and data on the Internet according to the specified access level by its organization” (p.1). People’s information should not be accessed by unauthorized personnel. “Server systems and computer systems must have sufficient capacity to satisfy user requests for access of information on the Internet, and the availability of information can be disrupted by cyberattacks, natural calamities, and environmental factors” (Brar et al., 2018, p.1). Thus, availability is another fundamental principle of cybersecurity because unauthorized personnel should not access people’s information.
In conclusion, cybersecurity is essential for protecting networks, systems, and programs from cyberattacks. The cyberattacks aim to assess and destroy sensitive information from users and extort money from them. Confidentiality, availability and integrity in cyber security are important so that unauthorized parties cannot acquire sensitive information and misuse it. Implementing effective cybersecurity measures is essential in order to protect people’s personal information.
Brar, H. S., & Kumar, G. (2018). Cybercrimes: A proposed taxonomy and challenges. Journal of Computer Networks and Communications, 2018.
Dibaji, S. M., Pirani, M., Annaswamy, A. M., Johansson, K. H., & Chakrabortty, A. (2018, December). Secure control of wide-area power systems: Confidentiality and integrity threats. In 2018 IEEE conference on decision and control.
Handa, A., Sharma, A., & Shukla, S. K. (2019). Machine learning in cybersecurity: A review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 9(4), e1306.
Khidzir, N. Z., Mat Daud, K. A., Ismail, A. R., Abd. Ghani, M. S. A., & Ibrahim, M. A. H. (2018). Information security requirement: The relationship between cybersecurity risk confidentiality, integrity and availability in digital social media. In Regional Conference on Science, Technology and Social Sciences (RCSTSS 2016) Theoretical and Applied Sciences (pp. 229-237). Springer Singapore.
Sarker, I. H., Kayes, A. S. M., Badsha, S., Alqahtani, H., Watters, P., & Ng, A. (2020). Cybersecurity data science: an overview from machine learning perspective. Journal of Big data, 7, 1-29.