Introduction
Technology is an integral part of the daily lives of individuals around the world. It has improved communication, facilitated business efficiency, and advanced national security (Maurer, Kim, Kim, & Kappelman, 2021). The Internet, in particular, is an unlimited source of knowledge (Zadeh, Jeyaraj, & Biros, 2020). However, this progress is coupled with numerous challenges as technology also enables malicious users to accomplish their schemes from remote locations. Indeed, abuse can be executed in any country, and this is why dealing with these problems necessitate an international approach (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). The setbacks would be mitigated if stakeholders from various countries found a way of merging technological expertise, legal frameworks, and social intelligence in a bid to address cybersecurity issues.
Critical Issues Pertaining to Data Safety
Information security breaches are mostly targeted at organizations rather than individuals. Hackers are motivated by greed, resentment, espionage, or just the enjoyment derived from being able to disrupt operations (Maurer et al., 2021). The harm resulting from unauthorized access leads to revenue loss, damaged brand reputation, as well as trade secrets and intellectual property. It is upon the cyber security team to devise the ways and means of sealing the loophole which could be exploited by attackers (Li, 2018). However, foolproof solutions are unattainable and, therefore, the alternative is to respond to compromises as quickly as possible.
It is imperative to be informed about the most probable risks facing the sector in which a particular organization operates. In October 2020, for instance, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned American hospitals of a possible synchronized ransomware attack (Turton, 2020). Some healthcare organizations heeded the warning as others failed to do so. When the University of Vermont Medical Center was breached in December 2020, its President said that the organization was losing at least $1.5 million a day, and it was expected to suffer losses amounting to $63 million by the time the problem was successfully addressed (Dyrda, 2020). In addition to being proactive, there should be an international effort toward dealing with cybersecurity threats.
International Attempt to Address Cybersecurity Issues
There are no geographical barriers to adding information to the Internet, and this is advantageous. Nonetheless, hackers are also in a position to stage attacks from the comfort of their homes and from remote regions of the world (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). Over the recent years, there have been allegations that attackers from China, Russia, and Iran have accessed IT infrastructures in the US, both private and public (Collier, 2020). The US government has so far been unsuccessful to convince these international partners to enhance their efforts to curtail the cybersecurity issues (Maurer et al., 2021). This is particularly because their legal frameworks vary, and it may take a lot of time to harmonize the laws. As this is being sought, technology-based solutions should be explored.
The Technical Approach to Addressing Cybersecurity Issues
It is impossible for human beings to always be monitoring the IT infrastructure for breaches. An attack may, for instance, happen after office hours or when one is taking a break. This is why it is important to automate threat detection. In case of an attempted intrusion, an alarm may be raised and prompt the members of the security team to address it in time (Li, 2018). The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in regard to achieving the desired level of security is indispensable.
The challenge with AI, nonetheless, is that it only responds to the predicted threats. Any emergent issue which may not have been contemplated when it was developed may be undiscovered until it has already caused significant derailment (Zadeh et al., 2020). Automation does also have the drawback of reducing the level of alertness as the human security team may feel that adequate measures have been taken to notify them in case of a problem (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). This is not the case as warnings are only associated with the pre-defined risks.
The use of AI in medicine is controversial because of its inability to be creative. If the machines encounter an unforeseen circumstance, they can easily fail to perform as expected (Li, 2018). The few AI infrastructures which are relatively reliable tend to be quite expensive, and only a few organizations can afford them (Zadeh et al., 2020). Therefore, this solution is unreliable on its own, and hence it should always be complemented by another strategy (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). Indeed, technology-based solutions to the threat of intrusion must be considered to be supplementary and not a replacement for the human factor.
Effectiveness of Social Intelligence in Solving Cybersecurity Issues
The use of social skills basically refers to the application of the knowledge of the self and others in preventing hacking. The most important thing while applying this strategy is to determine what one would do had they been planning an attack (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). Such understanding is particularly important while testing the system for reliability against any possible penetration (Maurer et al., 2021). The members of the security team must do all they can to anticipate the opportunities which could appeal to unauthorized parties. It is also important to understand the kind of hurdles that could dissuade a motivated offender. While this approach is relatively effective, combining several solutions is encouraged as it has a higher rate of success than using just one of them.
The Multipronged Solution to Cybersecurity Issues
It seems to be impossible to prevent cybersecurity challenges as new ones are always being discovered. Solutions which worked a few months ago may be obsolete, and hence an organization must perpetually be innovative (Maurer et al., 2021). Even so, success could be unattainable if the legal frameworks are not improved to facilitate proportional justice (Li, 2018). Offenders are being incarcerated for as little as one year, and this is inadequate punishment (Zadeh et al., 2020). It is also an insufficient deterrence, and this is why individuals are hardly discouraged from accessing and/or obtaining information illegally.
Technological expertise and an improved legal framework must be coupled with social intelligence as well. It is imperative to appreciate the fact that hackers often research and plan prior to executing their plans (Li, 2018). They use social media profiles, in-person visits, and websites to gather relevant pieces of information. Therefore, the internal stakeholders must be careful not to display any confidential information publicly (Zadeh et al., 2020). During penetration testing, the security team should ponder the kind of strategies an intruder may use and hence seal those loopholes in advance (Dawson & Thomson, 2018). The use of various approaches in addressing cybersecurity issues increases the success rate in regards to preventing unauthorized access.
Conclusion
The most effective strategy to address cybersecurity problems is by incorporating as many methods as possible in this process. No approach is adequate on its own, and this is why technological expertise should be coupled with social intelligence while at the same time exploring the possibility of overhauling the legal framework. Technology is indispensable, and hence rather than abandoning it due to possibility of getting hacked, organizations should always keep up with the trends. By updating their systems, firms and governmental agencies can continue to reap the benefits which come with the use of IT.
References
Collier, K. (2020). Russia, China and Iran launched cyberattacks on presidential campaigns, Microsoft says. NBC News. Web.
Dawson, J., & Thomson, R. (2018). The future cybersecurity workforce: Going beyond technical skills for successful cyber performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 744. Web.
Dyrda, L. (2020). The 5 most significant cyberattacks in healthcare for 2020. Becker’s Healthcare. Web.
Li, J. H. (2018). Cyber security meets artificial intelligence: A survey. Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering, 19(12), 1462-1474. Web.
Maurer, C., Kim, K., Kim, D., & Kappelman, L. A. (2021). Cybersecurity: Is it worse than we think? Communications of the ACM, 64(2), 28–30. Web.
Turton, W. (2020). U.S. hospitals warned of hacking threat amid ‘coordinated’ ransomware attack. Time. Web.
Zadeh, A. H., Jeyaraj, A., & Biros, D. (2020). Characterizing cybersecurity threats to organizations in support of risk mitigation decisions. E-Service Journal, 12(2), 1–34. Web.