Cybersecurity, computer network security, or digital information security is essentially the protection of computer networks and systems from malicious attack, either intentional or unintentionally, by hackers or anyone else with malicious intent. Cybersecurity is comparable to the physical safety of a building or a home. If you leave a key under the doormat, the thief can break in and take the key. They do this not because the doormat is locked, but because they know that if they are able to get into your house, they will be able to get whatever they want. While a doormat alone will not prevent theft, a home with a doormat but no alarm system is likely to be robbed very quickly. Likewise, cyber security prevents the theft of proprietary or confidential information from a company’s computer systems.
There are several types of cyber Attacks and acts of cyber offenses which may constitute a cyberattack. These include data theft via hacking, data mining, broadcasting stolen messages or broadcasting fraudulent activity, sending spam, attacking networks of communication such as email, instant messaging, internet telephony, faxing, and Voice Over Internet Protocol, interfering with network traffic including VoIP, and any other action which results in unauthorized access to a system or a network of systems. The primary objective of the US government is to protect American sources of information from being compromised by cyber criminals and international terrorists. One of the most common techniques for gaining unauthorized access to a computer system is malware. Malware is a specific type of software program designed to corrupt or delete files, record internet usage, or transmit any sort of false data, such as credit card numbers, bank account information, or passwords.
There are two primary methods for securing a network: prevention and protection. Prevention measures are always the best option for preventing an attacker from getting into a system. Protection measures are employed once an attacker has already entered a system to stop malicious activity before it can do much damage. A good example of prevention measure for protecting against a cyber attack is firewalls which prevent hackers from gaining access to a network and server.