24 Nov What aspects of cybersecurity can we be thankful for?

The improvements in cybersecurity

In the US, Thanksgiving means different things to different people. But often, it’s a time to reflect and show gratitude for what we have or accomplished over the previous year. In the spirit of the holiday, we can look at how cybersecurity has changed and consider its improvements. Though the cybersecurity platform has dealt with numerous challenges in the past several years, it’s getting better.

Better cybersecurity discussion

One great aspect of cybersecurity is how it’s entered mainstream discourse. That is to say, there is awareness of cybersecurity as a concept, including majority threats like ransomware. Before, cybersecurity and its concepts were considered something only experts could handle or discuss. Now, people are aware, and this will help with its continued development and defense.

Improved defenses against ransomware

In general, ransomware remains one of the biggest threats towards enterprise and personal systems. It’s most commonly delivered via phishing scams and social engineering emails. If you read anything by us at Bytagig, then you’re familiar with its dangers.

Though no perfect solution exists for ransomware as of yet, methods for dealing with it are dramatically improving. Identifying ransomware gang behavior, understanding how ransomware infects systems, and creating a culture of proactive defense are just a few ways we’re hitting back on ransomware.

A concentrated global effort

Part of fighting against ransomware and improving cyber defense, in general, isn’t just a single-nation cause. Because cybersecurity threats originate for different reasons, it’s important countries abroad work together to establish cybersecurity policies to better curtail how threats occur. The good news is, we can be thankful nations are indeed coming together and recognizing the threat posed towards digital defenses.

Remote work flexibility

The adoption of remote working solutions puts cyber defense on rush. And for a while, there were obvious critical flaws in remote models, which required adopting secure infrastructure which just wasn’t there yet. Today, though, remote environments are finally reaching a comfortable level of security and flexibility. Staff better understand good defense strategies and have the resources to protect themselves and create security alerts.

Accessible security options for everyone

Here’s one big thing to always be thankful for: great security options at no cost. In the earliest days of the internet, anti-virus options were typically paid services. “Free” variants existed but mostly scams. If you don’t remember, scan websites would claim to “scan” your PC for spam, only to actually inject the malware and create a false flag alert for the user.

But today, you have an arsenal of free anti-virus options at your disposal. And while yes, many of these options have paid versions, they are not necessary for basic protection. Practicing good security means common virus threats are a thing of the past, whereas before, spam and malware plagued the web.

While you enjoy the end of the year, think on what you’re most thankful for. What aspects of tech, cybersecurity, and/or IT have you felt improved over the