Anyone who has owned a computer for any length of time knows the importance of using security software to protect the equipment from a viral invasion. Many businesses, corporations and organizations have become victims of hackers over the years. Cybercriminals infiltrate devices connected to the internet to obtain personal information, steal funds or interfere with operations. The Internet of Things, or IoT, keeps growing exponentially. As such, Cybersecurity must be able to keep up with the need to provide protection.

Communities across the country have become more and more connected. At one time, households needed to merely make sure that their computers were safe from cyber-attacks. Today, smartphones, smart appliances and smart home systems are also vulnerable to infiltration. Digitalized medically implanted devices, medical facilities, public utilities and military weapons systems are all likely to become victims of a cyber-attack. Cloud storage is also vulnerable.

Initially, cybercriminals manually attacked a site. However, as technology advanced, the tools that hackers use have advanced as well. Hackers are now able to create bots or networks of bots that scan websites in search of vulnerabilities that enable them to gain access. For this reason, cybersecurity must keep up with the demand for protection.

Personal Security Tips

Individuals might consider using a different VPN that transmits a signal from different locations, which keeps your location private. Use WAP2 encryption for home Wi-Fi modems. If a current modem does not allow the encryption option, consider purchasing a new router.

Download a keyboard scrambler, which encodes everything typed on a keyboard. Websites often require passwords that span at least eight characters consisting of lower case and uppercase letters in addition to one or more characters. However, astronomical creations are often too hard to remember. If possible, consider devising a password consisting of a complete sentence, which naturally contains a capital letter and a period at the end.

Implementing Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence equipped with learning capability may serve as the ideal tool to thwart unwanted cyber-attacks. The programs are able to assess data many times faster than a human operator. They can be written to recognize and prevent attacks. Algorithms need programming that has the ability to locate vulnerabilities and learn how cybercriminals attempt to gain access. In this way, AI would serve as a snarling watchdog that would alert device users and simultaneously block attacks.