What is cyber security?

Cyber security protects computers, networks and data from unauthorised access and attacks. It involves network security, identity management, data protection, application security and incident response.

Cyber security is the protection of computers, mobile phones, networks, websites, software and digital information against unauthorised access, damage, theft or disruption.

It matters to individuals, businesses, governments, the police, hospitals and other organisations that rely on digital systems.

Cyber security is not just about stopping hackers. It also involves preventing mistakes, detecting suspicious activity, responding to attacks and recovering safely afterwards.

The main areas of cyber security

Network security

Protecting the connections between computers, servers and the internet. This includes firewalls, secure network settings and detecting suspicious traffic.

Identity and access security

Ensuring that only authorised people can access systems and information. Examples include strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and access permissions.

Data security

Protecting personal details, financial records, confidential documents and other information from theft, alteration or accidental loss. Encryption and secure backups are important measures.

Application and website security

Preventing weaknesses in websites, mobile apps and software from being exploited. This includes secure programming, testing, updates and correcting vulnerabilities.

Monitoring and incident response

Identifying unusual behaviour, investigating potential attacks, containing damage and restoring systems after an incident.

Common cyber security threats

Threat	What it means
Phishing	Deceiving someone into revealing a password or clicking a dangerous link.
Malware	Software designed to steal information, spy on users or damage systems.
Ransomware	Malicious software that locks or encrypts files and demands payment.
Unauthorised access	Someone gains access to an account, computer or database without permission.
Data breach	Confidential information is accessed, stolen or disclosed improperly.
Cyber espionage	Secretly obtaining information from governments, businesses or individuals for intelligence purposes.
Denial-of-service attack	Flooding a website or service with traffic so legitimate users cannot access it.

These threats can overlap. For example, a phishing email might steal an employee's password, which an attacker then uses to enter a company's network and steal customer records.

The five principles of effective cyber security

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describes five core functions for managing cyber security risk:

Identify - understand which systems, information and services need protection.
Protect - put safeguards in place to reduce the chance of an attack succeeding.
Detect - recognise when something suspicious or harmful happens.
Respond - contain the incident and investigate what happened.
Recover - restore services and information safely, and learn from the incident.

A practical example

Imagine you operate a website that stores customer details and manages bookings.
Identify: Determine what information the website holds and which systems support it.
Protect: Use secure passwords, multi-factor authentication, software updates, restricted database access and encrypted connections.
Detect: Monitor login attempts, unexpected database queries and unusual changes to files.
Respond: Restrict access, investigate the incident and prevent further data theft.
Recover: Restore clean backups, correct the weakness and review what went wrong.

Good cyber security reduces risk, but no system can be guaranteed completely secure.

What is cyber security?

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What is cyber security?

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