Without you, there cannot be a cyber-attack. With you, there will be a cyber-attack. That is because you are connected to millions of other people through your interactions online. How do I know? If you are not surfing the internet for information, you are shopping on an e-commerce site. If you are not checking your email, you are receiving an email. If you are not taking a MOOC, you are listening to music online. You are the in on the internet!
Therefore, the work of a cyber security expert is straightforward. Stop the cyber attackers from carrying out their nefarious activities. But the best cyber security expert cannot stop you from acting stupidly online! What is your responsibility? How can you stop these attackers? I do not know. But I know you have the power to stop these cyber rats. Know about their activities so that you do not become a victim. Well, knowing is not enough. You need to act on the knowledge you have acquired.
For instance, if you understand the phishing trick but deliberately click any bait, you have acted unwisely. You have empowered the cyber rats. You have given them the power to attack you, fleece you and, invariably, you are keeping them in business! Here is bad news. You cannot stop a cyberattack.
On The One Hand
Dr Obadare Adewale, founder and CEO of Digital Encode, a cybersecurity expert told me recently that a release from Checkpoint pointed out that the next plague to hit the world will be a cyber pandemic. How will it happen? “Connectivity is on the rise. We have moved from 2G to 3G to 4G. We are surfing the 5G highway now. The more the speed of the internet, the more cyber attack we will have.”
However, he asked you not to panic because of the impending pandemic. Do the right thing. Cyber security is the state of the well-being of your information security assets. This well-being, he explained, starts from your phone. How do you connect on your social media? Have you installed anti-virus on your phone? Laptop? Desktop? Wi-Fi? Do you have a licensed software? Each time you download a file on the internet, you are exposing your files. ‘’If you do not patch your system, there is no patch management for stupidity,’’ he told me.
On The Other Hand
A successful cyber-attack can lead to substantial data loss. And theft of proprietary, employee, and customer information. I am sure you know that hackers can use digital weapons like malware, botnets, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt your business operations. Please, do not act stupidly on the internet.
In The Long Term
In its April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report, the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has revealed that financial institutions worldwide lost $12 billion to cyberattacks in the last 20 years. The report said out of the $12 billion, $2.5 billion was lost between 2020 and the first quarter of 2024.
The IMF has therefore raised concern over the rising incidents of cyberattacks on financial institutions globally. This may affect your confidence in the economic system. It may also destabilise economies. Attacks on financial firms account for nearly one-fifth of the total, of which banks are the most exposed.
Incidents in the financial sector could threaten financial and economic stability if they erode confidence in the financial system, disrupt critical services, or cause spillovers to other institutions. Those are the words of the IMF.
In The Short Term
IMF said financial institutions in advanced economies such as the United States are more exposed to cyber incidents than firms in emerging markets and developing economies. Please, do not act stupidly. That is how you can stop cyber attackers from striking you.
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