4 Key IT Security Terms That Everyone Needs to Know

it security terms

If you’re not part of the technology industry, keeping up with all the latest advances, updates, and new security software constantly being released can be challenging. So here are four key IT security services Torrey Pines terms that everyone should know, no matter how far or little they understand technology. These terms can help you better understand your IT company and what they’re doing to keep your data secure now.

1) Threat

A threat is any potential danger that can negatively affect your company or business, including anything from a cyber-attack, an attack on the physical location of your business, or even a data breach. With the rise of hacking and technology in recent years, it has become more critical for companies to be proactive about their security measures.

You should make sure you have a plan of action if an attack or other threat occurs. Knowing who needs to be notified and what you need from your business or company to proceed as normal is essential. For example, do you need to hire a new IT consultant? Do you need to contact law enforcement? Make sure you have all these details mapped out ahead of time so there will not be delays when it comes time to execute your plan.

You should also ensure that you regularly check in on your current security measures and update them as necessary. This will ensure that you are prepared for any threat and will give you peace of mind that everything is being done correctly. 

Finally, ask for help from an outside source or company if you are overwhelmed by all these responsibilities. This can save you valuable time so that you can focus on growing your business.

2) Vulnerability

A vulnerability is a flaw in a system that hackers can exploit. A system’s vulnerabilities can come from design, implementation, or configuration weaknesses. Exposures are typically found by penetration testers who probe the system for flaws. Once identified, vulnerabilities are documented and assigned a severity rating. The exploitability of a given vulnerability depends on several factors, including whether the attacker needs some special access rights, what the consequences of exploiting it would be, how much information an attacker needs to execute an attack, and how easy it is to conduct an attack. The most serious security vulnerabilities are considered zero-day exploits because they’re unknown to everyone except their original finders; these are sold on black markets.

Vulnerabilities can exist either in hardware or software. Vulnerabilities in hardware (known as hardware vulnerabilities) generally consist of flaws in a system’s underlying circuitry and material. In contrast, software vulnerabilities are flaws that occur at higher levels of abstraction, such as programming errors or poorly designed interfaces. In addition, hardware vulnerabilities are more challenging to discover than software ones because they require access to a system’s design documentation.

Read More

Here’s How You Can Ensure The Security Of Your NFTs!

3) Security Breach

In computer terms, a security breach is unauthorized access or use of a system or network. This can be as benign as a phishing email or as infamous as a data leak. A security breach can happen anywhere: at home on your laptop, at work on the company servers, in transit over the airwaves, or even at an internet café. Therefore, one needs to know this key IT security services in San Diego terms to protect yourself and others from this severe threat.

A security breach is only sometimes immediately apparent. A data leak, for example, may only happen months or years later. The only way to prevent a security breach from affecting you is by implementing multiple layers of protection. By that, we mean encryption, firewalls, and employee training. Encryption scrambles your data into unreadable code before sending it over the wire. Firewalls help filter unwanted packets out of your network, making things safer for those inside and outside your organization.

 Employer training is essential as well. You must explain these four key IT security terms in an easy-to-understand way so that everyone involved understands how they can keep their data safe and secure. Investing in encryption, firewalls, and employee training will help you protect your data from cybercriminals and reduce any potential liability associated with a security breach.

Although implementing strong security measures can help prevent a data breach from occurring, it’s only part of what you need to do. The best way to protect yourself and your organization are by taking preventative steps before one happens. Implementing encryption, firewalls, and training programs will ensure that you’re ready for any eventuality in your company’s network or information technology (IT) systems.

4) Cyberattack

A cyberattack is any unauthorized intrusion into a system that disrupts its functioning or threatens the integrity of its information. These attacks are often perpetrated for political or financial gain and can come in many forms, such as malware, denial-of-service attacks, and phishing scams. Cyberattacks have been rising over recent years, with 2016 being dubbed the year of hacking due to high-profile incidents. Cybersecurity: Protecting computers from cyberattacks by securing their systems with passwords, encryption techniques, and other methods. With cybersecurity becoming an increasingly large part of our day-to-day lives, everyone needs to know about it. 

Data breach: – Sensitive data like credit card numbers and Social Security Numbers have been stolen from an organization’s servers through a security breach.

One of these attacks is a DDOS attack or Distributed Denial of Service attack. A DDOS attack happens in its most basic form when too much data is sent to a computer over an Internet connection. This prevents additional traffic from getting through and usually takes that server offline. Data breach – Second Paragraph: Many companies will make it easy for you to know if they’ve had any security breaches by issuing press releases and notifications on their websites.

It’s easy to think that cybercriminals have attacked only big companies like Target, Equifax, and Yahoo, but smaller companies are also often targeted. According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 61% of all cyberattacks were against companies with fewer than 1,000 employees. Data breach – Second Paragraph: These attacks can happen anytime during a company’s lifespan. For example, Facebook faced its first significant data breach eight years after 2004.

Every year there are more and more cyberattacks, with Verizon reporting that 1.8 billion records were breached in 2016. 

Data breach: it’s important to remember that a large part of running a business is data collection. For example, Google collects information about you whenever you search for something on their site. Likewise, Amazon uses your browsing history when recommending products to buy, and Facebook uses information from your profile to target ads at you.

Conclusion

The next time you wonder, what does it mean when someone says ‘cyber security? Or how does encryption work? Just keep these four key terms in mind.

Data breach: The unauthorized disclosure of information that a company or organization would prefer not to be publicized. 

Encryption: The process of encoding data so that it cannot be read by anyone who does not have the appropriate decryption key.

 –Vulnerability: A weakness in software or computer systems that a hacker could exploit. 

Ransomware: Malware that locks down files on a computer or network and demands payment for them to be released.

 –Hacking: The use of computing or network systems to cause intentional damage, gain unauthorized access, or disrupt services.

 –Crypto: A shortened version of cryptography. The process and systems allow you to securely store and transmit sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or passwords.

 –Cyber: An abbreviation for cyber security. The field of information technology focuses on protecting computer networks and systems from unauthorized access, disruption, or exploitation.

 –Malware: A shortened version of malicious software. Computer programs are designed to disrupt or deny operations, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private systems.

What do these terms mean, and how can they keep you safer online? Check out our other blogs for more information.