As more and more individuals, companies, and non-profit organizations enter the digital world, the increase of potential cybersecurity risks have also surged at an ominous rate.
We are not all condemned to suffer from illicit cybercriminal activity. Numerous private and public enterprises have financed expensive resources to fight back with. This article will discuss the key industries that are cyber-targeted and what they are doing to repel – and in some cases defeat – the online cyber-horde.
Online Financial Institutions and Online Banking
All major banks and online financial institutions employ online banking to augment their portfolio of products and services to operate more effectively and efficiently. Nevertheless, while online banking has driven revenue, profitability, and share prices, it has also introduced significant cybersecurity considerations. Research has shown that the finance and banking industry is one of the most targeted industries by cybercriminals. This disturbing trend more than implies that the banking and finance industry must finance substantial resources for:
- Cyber threat detection procedures, and
- Technical recovery procedures to prevent costly cybersecurity breaches from occurring.
To combat and deter cybersecurity incidents from occurring, banks and online financial institutions are pivoting towards technological solutions. And these solutions have already provided tremendous value to their internal business operations – Artificial Intelligence (AI). While such organizations have yet to fully tap into AI’s full potential, it will vastly improve the online banking cybersecurity landscape.
Financial institutions use AI to extend their cybersecurity defenses. In addition, it is relatively straightforward to enforce because AI is already present within integral parts of the banking business and with the same vendor(s) who supply the AI technology.
AI powered Banking cybersecurity measures and associated systems permit internal financial institution cybersecurity teams to safeguard their corporate networks. This will reduce data breaches and meet governmental compliance requirements. AI security applications are the key to making this occur as they improve existing cybersecurity measures, driving an agile and real-time responsive countermeasure
Healthcare
Nowadays, online digital healthcare resilience is a high priority, and healthcare institutions are discovering that they need to become proactive rather than reactive when dealing with cybersecurity risks.
Securing healthcare networks with proxy servers, firewalls, and DMZ devices will provide valuable online protection across the entire online healthcare supply chain. In addition, the latest resources and backing from both government and health agencies will subsidize these endeavors, making them even more attainable and accessible to implement.
Government Departments
Cybersecurity is not just a challenge within the private enterprise sector but for governments worldwide and their individual departments. Certain cyber news outlets are stating that it’s a vastly more prominent obstacle to overcome as the stakes are much higher. Public sector data security concerns not only apply to everyday citizens’ personal information, but sensitive information related to national security is also at risk. So, are our governments up to the task of providing blanket coverage cybersecurity?
The U.S. federal government operates a cyber defense operation across a variety of its agencies, with the National Security Agency (NSA) among the most distinguished departments. The NSA is involved in intercepting foreign cyberattacks while also engaging in offensive cyber programs against cybercriminals. The NSA has been criticized for upholding cyber vulnerabilities top-secret, however this process is self-justified as cyberattacks on Americans are nowhere as prominent as other countries have experienced over time.
In response to cyber-attacks, data violations, and public expectations, the U.S. government has changed its approach to addressing cyber threats and their associated risks. The government now uses four key strategies to guarantee its sensitive information and safeguard its critical infrastructure:
- Aggressive, proactive, and militant cyber threat sourcing and hunting,
- Improved and expanded usage and sharing of cyber security news and intelligence information,
- Persistent and ongoing security monitoring, with intense emphasis on perimeter protection and cyber news occasion lifecycle management,
- Mechanization and orchestration of cyber security operations.
Online Casinos
The global popularity of online gambling has paved the way for new online casinos to enter the marketplace. While wonderful news for the online punters, finding a certified and cyber-safe online casino operator might present a challenge.
Online casinos stay steps ahead of cybercriminals to avoid digital security breaches. However, this does present a challenge for online operators. Dedicated resources and technical teams must remain current with both cyber news and online security advancements. In addition, operators must implement measures to prevent security breaches such as DDoS attacks, SQL injection attacks, personal account takeovers, web-scraping, identify theft, and digital money laundering
Contemporary online casino operators utilize SSL that digitally ‘scrambles’ communication between the online player and the casino servers. If such network traffic was ever acquired, then cyber criminals will only see and read encrypted information – which would be incomprehensible and basically useless.
Every certified online casino is licensed by a respected regulatory authority, and these regulatory bodies demand the use of the latest digital security protocols. Accordingly, online players should verify the digital credentials of an online casino before signing up.
Conclusion
These are just a few, but the most prominent, industries that are typically targeted by cybercriminals. The first key measure towards assembling a strong cybersecurity digital protection strategy is identifying the most prominent threats and potential cyberattack methods. Once security system measures have been implemented, and through robust and systematic testing, administrators can minimize the security gaps and optimally govern their cybersecurity investments to safeguard their data.
