With more and more people using the internet to carry out basic daily tasks that were once done in person, such as banking and shopping, then the need for secure systems and technology has never been more essential.
Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing markets within the technology and security sectors, due mainly to people understanding more about the rise in threats to their privacy and security online.
This of course means that there will be a huge increase in jobs available for those who wish to pursue a career in cybersecurity, so if that’s you, but you’re still not sure if this is the right career path for you, then keep reading to find out why cyber security is more important now than ever.
A Breach Is Expensive Business
As a business that operates online, which to be honest, most people do today, then the cost of having a breach of data can be extremely costly. Of course, it depends on the type of business they are.
A multinational bank that holds very sensitive information about their customers, such as mortgage details and bank account numbers is going to be hit much harder than a family-run bakery in your local town.
When customers buy anything from a business or even do something as simple as signing up to a mailing list for marketing purposes, this is data that the business holds on them and they have a legal and moral obligation to ensure it’s used correctly and held safely away from hackers.
In the UK, the average cost of a data breach is around £20,000. However, even if this is just a drop in the ocean for them, the damage to their reputation can be far more costly - especially in the age of social media.
Hackers Are Becoming More Sophisticated
If we look back 20 years, the hackers we think about are some college kids in their parents’ basement. However, nowadays, hacking is completely different. In fact, there are even full organisations dedicated to hacking into security systems around the world. Even the government isn’t immune from these.
It seems like for every step that a company takes to protect themselves against a hacker or for every new anti-hacking programme that’s created, the hackers come along with something more sophisticated to make it harder to beat them.
So, hiring more dedicated people into cyber security is so important these days to help continue the fight against these hackers and keep people and their data protected.
Regulations Are Tighter Than Ever
Over the last few years, GDPR has been making waves across the business world. The often-confusing regulations brought in by the European Union to help protect people’s personal data online is just another thing that shows how much people are really starting to take this seriously.
As mentioned above, when so much of our daily lives are now being conducted online, it only makes sense to want to protect the most sensitive data that we’re giving out to companies.
So, even if it’s not just criminals that businesses need to protect their customers against, over the next few decades, we’re going to see even more tighter regulations to help ensure that we can keep up with fighting the battle against hackers and those who want to steal and do bad things with our personal data.
A career in cyber security is not only one that will be interesting, but it’s a lucrative one, because companies take this seriously now more than ever as you can see from the examples above, and is a career that will never be lacking in exciting opportunities as the market continues to grow.