Cyber attacks happens when the hackers gain unauthorized access to a system or a group of systems over a network and destroy the data contained there. The situation is extremely alarming because there is a hacker attack happening every 39 seconds and among the ones who are majorly affected are small business owners.
We are know that there are several means to stop cyber attacks like installation of an antivirus software, using a firewall, following the cyber security principles, keeping backups, regularly changing passwords etc. But, even after all those measures, cyber attacks might happen that can destroy the confidential data and paralyze a business.
The biggest question that comes in our mind is – how can we restrict such attacks from happening or can we build a system that can alert us if there are high probabilities of such attacks?
The answer lies in big data analytics and information security. There is no wonder that there is a an 18% increase in the demand of information security specialists. Let’s understand about them in detail and how it’s useful in preventing and defeating cyber attacks.
What is Big Data?
Very few people are aware of it but we are creating around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every single day. This means that around 45% of the data that exists in the world today has been created in the last 12 months alone. This is what we call as “big data”. This big data has been found to be extremely useful in restricting cyber attacks.
What is Data Analysis?
Data analysis is the process of examining and modeling data in order to extract useful information that supports in decision making. It involves mapping or tracing of the data from system to system in order to identify a potential problem.
The Combined Power of ‘Big Data’ and ‘Data Analysis’
Now, when we combine the power of both ‘Big Data’ and ‘Data Analysis’, we can do things that weren’t possible before. Data analysis helps to extract every bit of useful information out of big data to prepare patterns that can restrict the occurrence of cyber attacks.
- Data analysis helps in identifying both internal and external risks and alerts the decision makers of the organization about a potential fraud.
- Employee related security breaches can be stopped by adopting an employee activity monitoring program powered by big data and data analysis.
- Big data analytics is extremely useful in the use of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as it helps to monitor all the essential verticals required for the proper working on the IDS.
- Data analytics helps to identify threats without known signatures. Instead of just working to eliminate known cyber attacks, it understands the nature of various attacks so that the vulnerable processes might be fixed to stop future attacks.
- Data analytics measures the performance of the existing malware detection systems and helps to identify the systems that is providing the maximum value.
Conclusion
The complexities of IT networks have given rise to several new forms of cyber security threats. Companies can take the help of big data and data analytics to effectively monitor and restrict every form of cyber attacks before it can happen. Detecting threats is not enough, big data helps to drive actions and strengthens the existing systems and automatically restricts the access of systems that are stealing data. The future of cyber security certainly rests with the proper implementation of big data analytics.
