When people suggested I write an article about cybersecurity, I thought about how I could make it sexy. So, I did what I normally do when the task seems hopeless.
I asked AI for help.
Here’s what it generated using some prompts related to ‘sexy cybersecurity’:
I trust that you’re now sufficiently turned on to cybersecurity. Especially after seeing that last one.
Well, what about if I told you that 47% of UK micro businesses and 58% of small businesses experienced a cyber attack in 2023? Or that each major attack cost an average of £2,240?
My god, it’s full of scams
The Internet, that is. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your business is too small to be affected by a major cyber attack.
In the digital world, software can be automatically copied an unlimited number of times, and every copy is perfect. Combined with the distribution mechanisms of the Internet, you can see why malicious software is such a problem. Bad actors don’t need to target anyone in particular, they just need to release their malware online and wait for it to find you, or for you to come across it.
My god… why?
So cyber threats are a thing and they can happen to you. But what do the bad actors want and how are they acting on it? Well, it usually comes down to money, and there are a number of ways they’ll try to extract this from you.
Ransomware will encrypt all of your data and claim to unlock it only if you pay a ransom. Other malware will attempt to collect enough personal information to convince your bank that they’re you, so they can withdraw your money. Tech support scams try to convince you that there’s something wrong with your computer, and that you need to pay them to fix it. And some malware will run in the background of your device to mine for cryptocurrency.
And, of course, some people just want to watch the world burn.
Checkboxes won’t keep you secure
In my experience of IT, there’s a checkbox culture around cybersecurity that’s usually enforced by people who don’t really understand cybersecurity. Whilst ticking boxes is protective for legal and insurance purposes, doing so won’t necessarily protect your devices and data (because lawyers and actuaries don’t really understand cybersecurity either).