Cybersecurity 101: understanding the basics for better protection

With the explosion of digital attacks, businesses of all sizes are facing growing threats that can jeopardize their data and reputation.

To protect ourselves effectively, it’s essential to understand the threats we face and the methods of defense available.

Here’s an overview of the fundamentals of cybersecurity, based on current threats and best protection practices.

The main cybersecurity threats

Today’s cyber attacks are varied and sophisticated. Here are the main threats facing organizations:

Ransomware: An attack that encrypts your data and demands a ransom to restore it.
Phishing and social engineering: Manipulative techniques to trick victims into revealing sensitive information.
IoT vulnerabilities: The Internet of Things often exposes weak points in network security. Read our article on this subject.
Supply chain attacks: Hackers target your partners to gain access to your systems.
AI-powered threats: AI is used to automate attacks and bypass defenses.

These threats are evolving rapidly, and companies need to constantly adapt their protection systems to stay safe.

Credit: ByteByteGo

The foundations of any cybersecurity strategy rest on three key principles: confidentiality, integrity and availability, known as the CIA trio.

Confidentiality: this involves limiting access to data to authorized persons only. This is essential to protect sensitive information such as personal or financial data.
Integrity: to ensure that information is not altered or modified, thereby guaranteeing its accuracy and reliability.
Availability: this means that data and systems must be accessible when needed, without interruption.

These three pillars form the basis of any effective security policy, and must be rigorously applied to protect data and systems.

To guard against threats, it is essential to implement robust defense mechanisms:

Secure internal network: using VPNs or network segmentation to limit access and protect internal communications.
Physical protection of devices: Security also involves protecting physical infrastructures, by preventing unauthorized access to sensitive equipment.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): this method enhances account protection by requiring multiple validation steps to access systems.

These defenses reduce the risk of attack and limit damage in the event of intrusion.

Numerous frameworks and models exist to help companies structure and strengthen their cybersecurity strategies. Here are some of the most common:

NIST: A widely used framework that helps organizations assess and improve their security measures through five functions: identify, protect, detect, respond and recover.
Zero-Trust: This model is based on the idea of never trusting a default connection, even if it comes from inside the network. It imposes continuous checks on every action.
Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture: This distributed model, promoted by Gartner, offers extensive and adaptable protection for complex environments, by securing each access point individually.

These frameworks enable system security to be structured according to the needs and size of organizations.

An effective cybersecurity strategy cannot be based on a single tool. It must integrate several layers of protection through different components:

Hardware: Includes firewalls, VPNs and other network security tools to protect hardware infrastructures.
Software and services: Solutions such as intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus and risk management services, which strengthen digital defense.
Employee training: Raising awareness of cybersecurity is paramount. A trained employee represents a first line of defense against phishing and social engineering attacks.

By integrating these elements into a solid cybersecurity ecosystem, companies can protect themselves against modern threats.

If you’d like to receive support for your company’s cybersecurity needs, contact us today.

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