Cyber security defined

What Is Cyber Security?

Cyber security consists of the processes, practices and technologies designed to protect networks, computers and data from attack, damage or unauthorised access. It is a broad field covering everything from the passwords that protect individual accounts to the national infrastructure that keeps power grids and financial systems running.

The word "cyber" refers to the digital and connected world - the internet, networked systems, devices, and the data they hold. As more of everyday life has moved online - shopping, banking, healthcare records, communications - the importance of protecting these systems has grown proportionally.

The Three Main Purposes of Cyber Security

Cyber security exists to serve three closely related purposes:

• Protecting networks - preventing unauthorised users from accessing network infrastructure, blocking malicious traffic, and ensuring that data transmitted across networks cannot be intercepted or tampered with.
• Protecting computers and devices - defending individual devices from attack or damage, whether from malicious software, hardware interference, or exploitation of vulnerabilities in the device's software.
• Protecting data - ensuring that personal, financial, medical, and operational data is kept confidential, remains accurate and unmodified, and is available to authorised users when needed. This is sometimes described as the CIA triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.

These purposes are interconnected: a breach of network security can lead to data theft; compromised devices can expose networks; and poorly protected data can be used to attack systems. Cyber security addresses all three simultaneously through a combination of technical measures, organisational policies, and user behaviour.