3 Main Objectives of Cybersecurity

Introduction

As technology advances, so does a company’s reliance on digital services and networks. We all, directly or indirectly, rely on the security and integrity of online systems to protect our personal data and business operations. Cyber security is of utmost importance today, as we all know that cyber attacks can cause significant losses to individuals and organizations.

When we talk about the purpose of cyber security, it is simply to protect data and systems from unauthorized access or modification. In this blog, we discuss the goals of cybersecurity and the steps you can take to protect your important data from attackers.

Before we get into the details, let us first understand the purpose of cyber security.

Objectives of cybersecurity

Below, we have mentioned some objectives of cybersecurity.

• Prevent data breaches and identity theft by protecting sensitive information from hackers, cybercriminals, and other malicious actors.
• Ensure business continuity and resiliency by reducing the impact of cyber attacks on your organization’s operations, reputation, and finances.
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements by adhering to cybersecurity governance, risk management, and compliance standards and best practices.
• Promoting trust and peace of mind among customers, partners, and stakeholders by demonstrating commitment to cybersecurity and data protection.
• Promoting innovation and competitiveness by enabling the secure use of new technologies and digital services.

Let’s now understand the different objectives of cybersecurity.

Objectives of Cybersecurity

The primary objectives of cybersecurity is to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and systems. These are also known as the CIA Triad and form the basis of all security programs. In addition to the CIA’s three goals, there are several other important cybersecurity goals and objectives. We consider all cyber security objectives in detail. Let’s get started!

Integrity

Integrity simply means ensuring that data and systems are accurate, complete, consistent, and have not been modified by unauthorized parties without the prior permission of the user. The two most important aspects that are always needed in information and processes are reliability and trustworthiness. Honesty is very important to maintain both of these aspects.

Integrity can be compromised by various cyberattacks that indirectly modify or delete data. Integrity can also be compromised by random errors leading to data corruption. There are several measures that can be adopted to achieve sustainability. Some of them are:

• Implementation of access control systems
• Use of encryption technology
• Applying a checksum or hash
• Backup and restore
• Conducting audits and reviews

Availability

Availability simply means ensuring that data and systems are accessible and functional whenever authorized parties need them. With the help of accessibility, you can maintain the continuity and efficiency of your operations and services without delays or wasting time. It can also be compromised by cyberattacks, resulting in the loss of data and systems or the denial of access.

Interruptions and rejections can also be caused by random failures that cause downtime. Cybersecurity measures you can take to achieve availability include:

• Implementing redundancy and diversity.
• Using load balancing and failover techniques.
• Implement patch management and configuration management processes.
• Perform testing and validation procedures.
• Establishing a Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Confidentiality

Privacy is also one of the objectives of cybersecurity, ensuring that data and systems are protected from unauthorized disclosure. It is one of the most important in terms of maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of information and processes. Like anything else, it can be compromised by various types of cyber attacks, leading to the theft or leakage of important data.

In some cases, an accidental breach may result in data leakage. Below, we suggest some cyber security measures to ensure privacy.

• Implementation of encryption technology
• Use of authentication technology.
• Application of approved technology.
• Using firewall and network segmentation techniques
• Implementation of risk assessment and classification procedures.

Access Control

Access control is about ensuring that only authorized parties have access to data and systems based on their roles, privileges, and requirements. It is necessary to implement the principle of least privilege. In other words, this means that only minimal access should be given to users, i.e., only those who need to perform a specific task. Access control can also be compromised by cyberattacks that bypass or exploit access control mechanisms.

In some cases, accidental mishaps, like granting access to the wrong person, may raise questions about the security of your data. Cybersecurity measures to achieve access control include:

• Implement identity management processes
• Using password management tools
• Application of multi-factor authentication technology
• Adopt a role-based access control (RBAC) or attribute-based access control (ABAC) model.
• Implementing access review and audit procedures.

Authentication

Authentication is one of the key objectives of cybersecurity. This is to ensure that the user or device is who they say they are. This is extremely important wherever you need to verify the legitimacy and accountability of users and devices. Authentication can also be compromised through various cyberattacks (spoofing) to pretend that you are a genuine user.

Sometimes, accidental issues may occur, such as allowing unauthorized or unauthenticated users to access data or applications. Cybersecurity measures you can take include:

• Introduction to Biometric Authentication Technology
• Using token-based technologies
• Apply knowledge-based techniques.
• Adoption of certificate-based technology
• Performing verification and validation procedures;

Encryption

Encryption ensures that data is transformed into an unreadable format or pattern that can only be decrypted by authorized users. This is one of the most important factors that helps protect the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of your data. Encryption can also be compromised by various cyber attacks that destroy or crack encryption algorithms or keys.

Accidental matters, such as the loss or leakage of encryption keys, can also affect data security. Cybersecurity measures include:

• Implementation of symmetric encryption technology
• Use of asymmetric encryption techniques
• Application of hybrid encryption technology
• Adopt a key management process
• Perform encryption tests and evaluation procedures.

Compliance

Compliance is about ensuring that data and systems comply with laws, standards, regulations, and policies. This is an important purpose that helps maintain the readability, accountability, and responsibility of data and systems. Nevertheless, compliance can be compromised by various types of cyber attacks, potentially violating or circumventing compliance requirements.

If an accident occurs, non-compliance may also result in penalties and sanctions. Cybersecurity measures you can take to achieve compliance include:

• Implementation of governance framework
• Use of risk management processes
• Implementing control framework
• Adoption of audit framework
• Implementation of compliance training

Incident Response

Incident response means ensuring that data and systems are prepared for cybersecurity incidents, detect, analyze, contain, mitigate, recover from, and learn from them. This is one of the most important cyber security goals. Incident response is essential to minimize the impact and damage of a cybersecurity incident and restore normal operations and services to data and systems.

Incident response can be compromised by malicious attacks that disrupt or thwart incident response efforts or by accidental events that can delay or worsen incident response outcomes. To enable incident response, cyber security measures include:

• Implementation of an incident response plan.
• Using incident detection tools
• Applying incident analysis techniques.
• Adopt incident prevention strategy
• carrying out incident resolution activities.
• Implementing incident recovery procedures.

Security Architecture

Security architecture simply ensures that data and systems are designed, developed, deployed, operated, and maintained securely. It is important to integrate security across the entire data and system lifecycle. Security architectures can also be compromised by carrying out various types of cyber attacks that exploit design flaws and sometimes implementation errors.

Accidental events can also create vulnerabilities in data and systems. Some cybersecurity measures you can take to get your security architecture in place include:

• Implementation of security design principles
• Use of security development techniques
• Application of security testing tools and techniques
• Adoption of security implementation practices
• Performing safety maintenance activities

 Frequently Asked Questions

What are the objectives of cybersecurity?

The objectives of cybersecurity are to protect data or systems from any unauthorized access that can further lead to modifications as well as stealing them.

What are the 3 main objectives of information security?

The three main objectives of information security are:

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Availability

What are cyberattacks’ goals and objectives?

The aims and objectives of cyber-attacks are Cyberattacks seek to either steal or compromise sensitive data from devices, networks, or computer systems.

What are the objectives of cybercrime and security?

Cybercrime and security aim to prevent and respond to attacks by attackers with the aim of reducing or completely preventing the damage caused by cyber incidents. It requires a combination of organizational structure, people, processes, technology, and collaboration.

In Summary

Cybersecurity is a complex and dynamic area with many goals, as we have experienced. The objectives and goals of cybersecurity are designed to protect data, systems, and networks from cyber threats while ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Cybersecurity also includes access control, authentication, encryption, compliance, incident response, security architecture, and auditing.

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