Have you ever given a thought on how cyber security industry is going to evolve as time goes by? Absolutely something beyond your imagination. Do you see yourself as a part of this future? What are the challenges of cyber security now, and how are they going to change in future?
Cyber Security is amongst the most promising industries of today. Why does the number of cyber security job openings outweigh the number of qualified professionals in this field? And how can the presence of VPN software influence the course of a cyber security issue? These are only a small part of all the questions we’re going to answer. We will be discussing one of the most vastly growing problems in the world – the security of data and the realities of cyber threats.
So, if you want to be aware of the topic that everyone seems to be talking about, keep reading. find out how to contribute to the future of data security on your own.
Data Security, Hackers, and VPNs
The present situation in the cyber security industry is getting worse day by day. It reminds of a vicious circle, where we build better programs and longer passwords, while hackers work on better malware. But making your password more complex using longer nickname doesn’t work anymore. In real life, you can’t carry around 30-40 passwords for all programs and accounts you have on a daily basis. Even if you could, this wouldn’t be an ideal situation to prevent your private accounts from being hacked. Practice shows that people don’t bother about the passwords they have in so many cases. For example, one of a hundred passwords will definitely be the simplest combination of 1234 or 567. And you know what? These are exactly those combinations, which hackers check first.
But the rapid growth of cyber attacks and the huge number of data leaks have driven today’s biggest changes in the cyber security industry. We’ve become more aware of the data we receive, send, and store in the cloud. Big corporations, as well as smaller companies, have engaged in the process of facing the challenges the data security has now and may face in the nearest future. One of the reasons why this happens is the vast development of the technologies not only at the industrial level but the technologies we use on a daily basis. The fact that smart devices have gone further than a laptop, mobile or watch, connecting and communicating with each other, made people think about protecting the data, which they trust to those devices. All of these force the changes that happen in the cyber security space at the moment.
The Internet of things and the cloud technology, which are used both for personal and business goals, bring the awareness of having something more effective than a simple antivirus program. A Virtual Private Network, which was previously used for secure connection inside the company and the protection of databases, was brought to the surface. It was given a breath of fresh air. People started talking about a VPN as a new universal tool against hacker attacks and the malware they use. Over a couple of years, a lot of VPN companies appeared on the market offering free and paid services with a promise to protect whatever data you have only by using one VPN tool. So, what is actually a VPN? And is it a magic pill in the cyber security industry? Let’s find out.
VPN in Terms of Cyber Security
A VPN gained its popularity when the Internet users understood they had to actually protect everything on their devices. There are people who know you’re online at the moment. There are people who see what you’re doing while you’re browsing your Facebook page or doing some banking online, using a public network in your favorite restaurant. The moment you connect to a global net, you get an online identity. And that what your IP address is. Every computer, laptop, or smartphone gets a unique identifier the moment it connects to the network. There is no exception. It is not just a combination of numbers somewhere on the Internet. It is a specific identifier, which pinpoints your exact location in the offline world, in real time. The risk of getting your computer hacked by a professional or even an amateur hacker is high. But it becomes a lot closer the moment you connect to a public WiFi.
Why do we pay so much attention to a hotspot Internet and the open networks? The reality is that every person who has a laptop, a tablet, or a phone connects to a public network at least once a day. But how many of those devices are fully protected? Probably those devices are protected, which belong to someone who understands the risks of losing the data they have by keeping critical business files or work databases on everyday gadgets. The bad news is that there are a lot of small business owners who don’t even think about additional security tools except an average antivirus, working from different parts of the world without understanding that the whole WiFi session in a public place can be recorded by a professional cyber criminal.
So, how exactly can a simple VPN service help you in this situation? In fact, it is not about all those functions a VPN has, but about an encryption mainly. What you should definitely realize is that encryption works. Of course, a VPN is not the only way to implement encryption for your traffic. But it is by far the easiest way to do it on your own. A VPN doesn’t require any special knowledge or skills, to be installed on your computer at home or office. To make a long story short, one VPN service on your device transforms any readable traffic into completely unreadable data even for an experienced hacker. It creates an uncrackable tunnel for your data, hiding it from anyone else out there. Another pleasant feature of a VPN is how affordable it is. You don’t need to pay a fortune, or hire a professional IT developer, to get one. There are a lot of VPNs on the market, which offers the services of the same quality and similar prices. If you’re interested, check this site for more details about the current situation on the market of the VPN services.
But the security of your data and the affordable prices are not the only benefits of the best VPN.
Here’s what you get in a package:
- Traffic encryption;
- Data security;
- Complete anonymity;
- Bypassing Internet censorship;
- Free access to geoblocked and restricted content.
Usually, a VPN gets special attention from those who travel a lot. There are over 300 million hotspots everywhere in the world. And that number is only growing. Every day millions of people travel from one country to another, from one city to another, handling their devices and browsing the emails or social media accounts while waiting for a plane or standing in the queue. Of course, they are using one of those 300 million hotspots we’ve mentioned above. In other words, one hotspot is for almost every 20 people on earth. Some of them are banking online and some of them might be spying online. A professional hacker can get that precious info about the cards and passwords you have in less than a minute if your traffic is not properly protected.
That’s why we’ve mentioned that true travelers appreciate VPN services even more than those who run the business online. When you travel around the world, it is difficult to stay away from public WiFi spots, which are almost everywhere. If you’re in a rush and you need to do some banking operations very fast or check your accounts immediately, you don’t really have time to think about the security of the hotspot you’re connecting too. Having a VPN installed allows you to forget about this issue forever. All you need to do is just click a «Connect» button in a VPN before going online via a free network. So, why to ignore a VPN if using it is incredibly easy?
If you’re reading this article in a coffee shop without a VPN, you’re probably being tracked right now without knowing it. And if you’re reading it at home without having a VPN, you’re probably being monitored too. But not by a hacker. At home, your traffic can be easily monitored by your Internet provider if you don’t bother protecting the information about what websites you check, read, and visit.
To make a long story short, in the age of digital development, almost anything can be tracked. Where are you? Who are you? Who are you communicating with? What websites do you like the most? What information do you get your emails? While some hackers use this kind of information to blackmail other users for the sake of money, others sell the information they have to the companies, which are interested in analyzing and using it for their marketing goals. In both cases, increasing the level of protection for your data is crucial, especially for the future of cyber security, which so many experts are talking about.
Also, read: Easy Steps that Protect Your Website From Hackers
The Future of Cyber Security
There have never been the times like now when so many aspects of our lives are connected to the devices we have. People are tracked 24/7 all over the world, the moment they connect online. You have a smartphone, you have the Internet, you can be tracked. You have a tablet, you have the Internet, you can be tracked. You have a smartwatch, you have the Internet, you can be tracked. The situation is the same with every mobile device you have, and you can’t change it. Wherever you go online, the technology starts tracking you. But what you can really do is to hide the actual information, which is going to be tracked on the network. So, protect your browsing experience, if you care about the security of the data you have.
Forecasting the future of cyber security, many experts agree that we should build improved algorithms to find those programs built by hackers, which are constantly becoming smarter and smarter. And we’re probably going to see a lot of innovations in that area during the next few years. The strategies of cyber security won’t be so long-term as they are now. The models of cyber security must adapt to the pace of modern business development. It will be something mobile and quick enough.
The highest risks are for the digital economy, which is said to have great opportunities as well for the next couple of years. The stability and security of it depend on the innovations of entrepreneurs, technologies, and the business community. But this is only under conditions of the highest level of data protection, which we should start thinking of right now. The economy and cyber security are two different notions, which can’t be divided into two separate parts in 2018. They should work together, as they become more and more dependent on each other. Probably, in the near future people will think about the economy is the context of data security too. This means the approaches we have in cyber security today should be massively improved and developed at the same pace as the technology is developing now.
The next important thing is to make sure that every person who connects to the global network is fully aware of the risks his/her data face and the things he/she can do to improve the situation in the industry globally. Data security is no more a governmental question only. It is the risk every Internet-user faces every day, every hour, every minute, and every second. If you have even the simplest VPN services, you already do a lot for cyber security in global terms.
If you run a business online, then you have a certain customer database and maintain certain financial operations that should be hidden from the third parties. In this case, having a VPN ensures that all of that private and financial data, which belongs not only to you but your customers as well is protected too. The absence of cyber security information actually hurts businesses, which influences the economic situation in wider terms than one company or one market only. So, to reach that potential the economy has, we should think about data protection first of all. Everything is digital now. So, experts from all fields and industries without exception should start taking VPNs, data security, and online monitoring in terms of the global economy.
The future of cyber security will go far away from the limits it had before and even the limits it has now. If now it is more about personal data security and the recommendations of having a VPN only, in future it is going to acquire bigger measurements and global terms, being present in every business, company, industry, etc.
What you have to understand clearly is that cyber security is not about the risks of private information being exposed or the money you have been stolen from the card by monitoring the passwords and nicknames. Cyber security has different sides of the problem when the information is not protected enough. Not only the businesses or the governmental organizations risk losing the precious information they have if the quality of the cyber security system is low enough. Keeping up with the times, developing the data security models along with the development and growth of the technologies we have is important. Any kind of information can be compromised if stored in an inappropriate way. So, think twice before placing vulnerable data on the cloud without having a tool, which is powerful enough to protect it from professional malware and cyber attacks.
Bottom Line
Summarizing everything mentioned above, we can clearly state that having a simple VPN tool is a necessity rather than an additional option in the era of digital development. So, pick one for yourself and have no doubt that your data is fully protected no matter where you’re connecting from and what internet provider you have. Increase your protection against DDoS attacks and get free access to the content you like. Choose a service with a higher number of servers for a faster connection.
Maggie Wong is an online writer whose main interest is discovering and making reviews of the latest tech news and innovations related to real tech topics. Through simple-written articles, Maggie tries to explain and discuss digital related stuff, from Internet security to the future of technical development in the way, which is interesting and enjoyable for people with any level of technical knowledge. She writes comparison articles about popular VPN services and the tips and tricks on how to use them at home or on the road.
A Digital marketing expert with a passion for all things digital. With a wealth of experience in the field, can excel at crafting and executing data-driven marketing strategies that drive results. Also, loves to travel and explore new things.
