The increasing frequency of cyber attacks and the staggering amount of cyber losses attest to the reality that cybersecurity is still an open, bleeding sore in the digital world. The scarcity of trained individuals in the field of ethical hacking poses a significant and deadly risk to both the virtual and physical worlds. And to believe that the widening gap between insufficient supply and high demand exclusively results in corporate losses is a naive assumption. A shortage of cybersecurity professionals endangers everyone on the planet, whether they are connected to the internet or not, because, let’s face it, hacking into a nation’s military servers, or any kind of cyber espionage, endangers the entire nation and, by extension, the entire world.
While people continue to ignore the world’s cybersecurity crisis and continue to create new technologies for the world (without adequate security measures in place, because those who are trained to create software are not always as trained to secure the software as one would like them to be), hackers rejoice in the fact that they are being served with new ways to penetrate into people’s computers. Sure, there are fundamental laws in place to protect users’ interests, and no programme or programme can be released in the market unless it passes those tests, but that doesn’t imply we should ignore the issue and go about our business as normal.
Underestimating the ability of world-class hackers is a bad idea. They surely have more motivation than those who choose to ignore the situation. There are an alarming number of companies whose cybersecurity departments are understaffed (not to mention, in some cases, non-existent), whose staff isn’t trained in defending against social engineering attacks, whose software hasn’t been updated and is riddled with bugs waiting for hackers to exploit them, and whose databases are vulnerable to attackers gaining unauthorised access. In a world where every aspect of our lives, from our financial data to our health records to our identities, to our social lives, to our political inclinations, to our most private conversations, and where multiple, vital, and foundational aspects of our society, from public transportation to democratic structures to administration and military intelligence, live on the wand, It becomes a requirement that is on the edge of becoming an emergency.
Even with an increasing number of students pursuing a career in cybersecurity and an increasing number of institutes offering CEH online training, there is still a lot of work to be done. Even a good cybersecurity standard, such as hiring penetration testers to make your technologies hack-proof, training your staff in phishing and social engineering in general, and regularly backing up your data, is no longer sufficient because it does not account for factors such as the security posture of your third-party service providers. Needless to say, cybersecurity is a continuous and time-consuming effort. Businesses cannot rely on standard security processes and then sit back and relax. In order to stay one step ahead of the hackers, they must take proactive measures and enhance their technologies and security policies.
Cybersecurity is an urgent need, and it will stay so for the foreseeable future. In reality, as long as the internet exists, cybersecurity will exist. And what the world needs is more people taking an active and genuine interest in protecting the digital world, learning security procedures, getting trained and certified in advanced security courses, such as the CHFI course, fighting to expose hackers, and making the virtual world a better place for everyone. More importantly, the world requires corporations, governments, international organisations, and individuals with the authority to take concrete and effective action to promote cybersecurity practises, education, and careers at the grassroots level, on a large scale, and as soon as possible, in order to provide our current and future generations with a less vulnerable and more secure world.
