Whether you protect your company's network or simply run a single computer online, security is an important issue. How much do you need to be concerned? This article covers the nature of the technology and the risks, giving you an overview of basic security issues and attack prevention.
Introduction
In the modern cyber age, anyone who has poked their head out from under a rock has heard about the major concerns regarding network security. The majority of people do not know much more than that their network should be protected or else they will be “hacked.” In reality, cyber-crime is not nearly as prolific as the media would have us believe; not many people actually experience a direct hacking attempt. Hacking is also on the decline as new technologies are developed which makes protecting networks of all sizes more feasible.
With that being said, network security is still a very large issue. Although the actual number of intrusions into a secured network is relatively small, the damage which can be caused by such intrusions is nothing short of devastating. In theory, if someone is able to break the security of your network and gain access to your computer, they could steal any of the sensitive data that you store there. Some people do not leave any of their private information on their computer, but these people are becoming fewer and further between. Most people have some form of credit card number, bank account information, and even social security number on their computer, often without even knowing it.
Although the risk to you as an individual from network intrusions is high, intruders pose an even greater risk to global corporations and governments. You might think that such grand entities are smart enough and possess sufficient resources to ward off any attempts readily; in reality, large organizations do thwart hackers most of the time. However, in 2001, a citizen of the UK successfully gained illegal access to the United States military network and broke into 92 government computers, causing $700,000 in damages. This intrusion, and attacks similar to it, has shown the modern world that it has much to fear from cyber crime. Moreover, it makes it clear that the technological world must focus a great deal of attention on developing methods of preventing network intrusions.
