The White House is bringing in 30 other countries to help fight ransomware attacks. Counter-Ransomware Initiative meetings to start this Oct 2021. It has become crucial to protect people and online businesses from cyber-attacks that often happen right under the nose. With more companies on the internet, it becomes harder to keep track of all private information. To cope up with this, you can hire an IT guru, an expert in cyber security matters, to do it for you. Of course, cyber security involves the protection of electronic information, mobile devices, computers, networks, and servers from external attacks.

It serves as a security gate that makes certain information is not accessed by unauthorized personnel. It's a problem that is not solved at once. Due to the increase in cybercrime, it's of great importance to have cyber security in businesses or personal life. Consider the following types of cyber security measures that any organization needs to implement if it has crucial businesses on the internet.

Application security: This cyber-security measure uses hardware and software to handle external threats that arise when developing an application. It's a must-have security measure that you adopt to protect your systems. Due to the use of networks, accessing and adopting a security measure is of great importance. Firewalls, encryption services, and antivirus programs are significant types of application security. It prevents any unauthorized access to the company systems.

Critical infrastructure security: This comprises a physical, cyber system that can be relied upon. Traffic lights, shopping centres, electricity, hospitals, and water purification are examples of critical infrastructure that need to be protected. Any organization with responsibility for critical infrastructure should fully understand the vulnerabilities and how to protect them. The security of this infrastructure is always of great importance to the well-being and safety of the whole society.

Network security: This is another measure of cyber security that is characterized by external threats of the network system by people with malicious intents. It ensures the security of the internal network by inhibiting unauthorized access to any system. Security teams usually use machine learning to monitor network security which detects and alerts them to threats and abnormal traffic. Implementation of procedures and policies is done regularly to prevent modification, exploitation, and unauthorized access to the network system. Logins, passwords, and application security need regular protection.

Cloud security is an improved software-based security tool that monitors and protects cloud resources data. The provider of such cyber security measures constantly creates and implements new security tools to ensure the company's data is secured. Many people believe the storage and control of data in a physical server are more secure. Still, it has been proved that accessibility matters more than control through cloud security. It's like a traditional data centre with minimal risk of security breaches but without the cost and time of maintaining enormous data facilities.

Internet of things security: This refers to various critical and non-critical physical systems such as printers, Wi-Fi routers, security cameras, televisions, and sensors. Consumer devices, analytics, data centres, networks connectors, and embedded systems; these are the primary technology of the internet of things market.

The devices are regularly sent in a state that offers no security; this makes them vulnerable to threats and poses a significant challenge to users. When a study was recently done, it was found that security is the most significant barrier to the adoption of great IoT devices. It was also seen that many businesses are willing to buy these devices if the security concerns are addressed. This makes vendors invest in studying the security challenges so that they can apply strategic resolutions.

Operational security is a measure that refers to the process of managing risk in all the internal securities. It usually employs numerous management officers as a backup strategy in case the data is compromised. To keep business and personal information secured, this security measure ensures the workers are well educated to practice it.

Overall, cyber security is a never-ending encounter that one should devise solutions to cope with in future. It reduces the loss and damage of security breaches when some critical infrastructures improve their cyber security posture. This is among the advantages your organization will enjoy when cyber security is introduced. Hence, the subject is so complex that one needs to acquire knowledge from different disciplines, including engineering, political science, information technology, organizational behaviour, and political science, to understand it.

These days cybercrime can take place in different forms in the digital environment. Such offences cause physical or mental harm or tarnish the victim's reputation; it's done using computer networks and services such as mobile networks and the internet. The crimes can be divided into two major groups: computer as a handle and as a target. Using a computer as a target requires specific high expertise to penetrate through the systems. Such things are not expected due to the coordination and expertise needed.

These crimes mainly depend on computer malware, viruses, and denial of service attacks. Using the computer as a tool does not need much expertise to commit since the attacker depends on human exploitation. They are often ubiquitous in society. The following are types of unethical cybersecurity crimes that use a computer- either as a tool or a target:

Cyberstalking and online harassment are usually seen on social media platforms in comments, posts, or direct messages sent using any channel. Cyberstalking is the type of harassment that focuses on a single person- with good or bad intentions. The cyber-stalker usually monitors the victim by looking at the relationship between their family members, colleagues, or employers to continue with the stalking activity. They threaten their victims to release personal information about them in the media, either in the form of pictures, videos, or audio. These crimes damage the victim's mental state where most of them end up committing suicide. To protect yourself against such cases, you should report to the relevant authority of the platform you are being stalked on; you can do this by using live chats, emails, or any other available means of communication.

Internet fraud is the process of asking people to send money by promising that their money will double within a short period- it's a major characteristic of fake investments companies. They mostly used to take place during the days of the traditional mail, faxes, and telephones- it has widely spread due to the modern internet services. How does it work? Typically, a person may be given a reward, after which a lengthy procedure is dictated to follow using an active account- this is where the bonus is to be deposited.

Once you follow those steps, any money in your report will be deducted without you knowing; sometimes, they may end up blocking it temporarily until you visit the service provider. Listing fake jobs and asking for money is another common fraud where one is asked to pay paperwork costs. To defend yourself against such tricks, think twice about what you are being told- find out if it's true or false. Don't trust people who call and offer you attractive deals and don't pay anything in advance.

A phishing scam is another attack that tricks unsuspecting users on social media platforms to give away their personal details. These crimes are done by impersonating trusted and popular products, by building websites and creating fake social media profiles to attract users. They produce look-alike sites that make it difficult to differentiate which is genuine and which isn't. The websites even have places where you can fill forms with your details to receive some supposed discount. From a business point of view, these scams try to imitate potential suppliers. To be secure from these kinds of scams, pay attention to verified social media accounts, domains, and names when browsing on the internet. The application of common sense is very vital against any scam.

Identity theft is like a phishing scam that exists in two forms. As a tool used to commit a crime, the criminals have improved their reach, making it easier to use due to the scope of the internet. The impersonation of a person characterizes it; the criminals promise not to do anything evil to anyone but aim to access your account and payment method that you may have saved on the website. By accessing your invoices and payment methods, they can purchase things on your behalf. The most inexpensive way of securing your identity online is by sharing little information about yourself. Always keep an eye on all online accounts activity and report anything that looks suspicious.

As you have seen, these crimes take place in many forms, which are not new and are becoming more widely spread with the spread of the internet. It's of great importance to keep in mind that these crimes happen in our personal and professional lives; therefore, you should always keep your eyes open to detect them well before they happen.

Whenever world leaders speak, who will not take heed? Yes, during the much- touted world energy Summit, the top six dealers in the industry spoke up. They assured us that by the turn of the year the overall cost of oil would stabilize and everyone would cheer up. Indeed, the leaders assured the world that the era of oil accidents and spillage is now truly over. Things would soon be great, the gurus authoritatively announced.

At the summit, some of the keynote speakers were brokers and leaders who are highly respected within and without the oil industry. These leaders did not mince words. They clearly indicated that the oil business and industry had gradually fallen back into a safe zone, which is marked by greater equalization. This news of stability in the oil sector was greeted with jubilation everywhere.

Further, the leaders indicated at the summit that higher interest rates were now less anticipated. They said that the world supply of oil would soon exceed the expectations in the following few months. Interestingly, most of the dealers who attended the summit seemed to agree with the overall position of the world business and industry leaders.

At the same time, experts in this matter noted that the only way for the oil business to stabilize well was to ensure the rebalancing of the essential elements of oil business was properly done. The world oil supply and demand levels would need to be properly equalized for everything to turn out well. Unless this was done, the leaders predicted that stakeholders should expect lots of instability going forward. They noted that the pattern of good tidings was, however, beginning to be clear.

The business participants, to illustrate their point, noted that the Brent raw petroleum, which is the benchmark universally, had already hit a high by producing oil worth $43.58 a barrel. It is interesting that the organizations that participated in this summit collectively exchange a daily supply of oil to care for the needs of approximately 1/5th of the world’s population. The gurus were confident that the two-year value breakdown was already well set on its way.

When contacted, some leading dealers expressed a guarded optimism about the evolving fate of the world oil industry. They said that unless something happened fast, the bad fortunes of the past years would soon be back. By the time the third quarter ended, they said, the world oil supply and demand would reach the much-sought-after intersection.

Who can blame these leaders for not being completely optimistic about the world’s economic fortunes and the oil economy in general? Notably, past optimism with regards to these matters were not vindicated in the final analysis. It would take quite a few days, months or years for the world fortunes to change drastically, against all expectations. Yes, the vagaries of the economic weather can never be overstated.

In this forum, the Mercuria CEO estimated that the average costs stood at under $30 per barrel as the year started. He said that this had boosted the world oil health, leading to greater venture reductions. The CEO explained that the fact that oil prices had already fallen to about $28 barrel was an indicator of better days ahead. He said that this was, indeed, a good sign for the fortunes of crude oil because the future costs typically fell faster than the present costs.

At the summit, the head of the Glencore Oil expressed a point of alert to all stakeholders. He said that the world supply and demand factors were expected to change in the next half of the trading calendar. Regardless, the refined stockpile of items were noted to have generously expanded ever since the costs started tumbling downwards, falling from the initial price $100 per barrel earlier in the year.

The CEO explained that it was necessary for things to improve within the industry. For this to happen, however, he reminded the stakeholders that an expansive stockpile of the commodity would have to be worked through but the signs did not seem to be good. A major battle lay ahead.

The world’s leading autonomous dealer told participants at the summit that the business sector was fast moving towards a superior level of parity. Further, he said, the world’s top makers of the product would probably discover the consent to halt the yield in the following few weeks of the summit.

Today, we are blessed with plenty of new technological advancements that were a pipedream just a few decades back. But, as you may guess, new technology inevitably comes with risks and curses. Just look at the recent high-profile ransomware attacks by REvil group hitting one million systems resulting in the largest-ever ransom demand of $70 million. In fact, we need to understand the risks that come with the blessings of modern technology. Get ready, it will not take long before you start dealing with big challenges that come with the advent of new technological advances.

For instance, you must be aware of the frightening term ‘malware.' However, are you also familiar with the term ‘ransomware'? Well, this is a kind of malicious software that is used to encrypt data on a computer or smartphone.

What next? What if those who designed this technology suddenly demanded a ransom before you could regain access to your computer, smartphone, tablet or other device? Isn't such a prospect frightening? Well, you are not just reading some entertaining fiction here. No. This has already happened.

In 2015, a report by the Intel security showed that the incidences and rate of installations of ransomware were taking alarming dimensions. The rates had frighteningly increased by a whopping 26% in just 12 months leading to the release of that report.

How much does this smart racket rake in for the clever culprits? The FBI reported that the criminal gangs that initiate ransomware attacks were raking in a whopping $150 million every year from their dirty game. The FBI said that there were at least six million known attempts to install such malware on several computer systems spread across the world.

The report by the FBI did not, however, give an estimate on the overall value of the damage suffered by victims. Notably, most attacks by the ransomware racket involve not only a ransom demand but also real threats of damage or data leaks if the victims failed to pay up. What kind of threats were spewed out in the attempt to extort money from innocent victims in the cyber space?

If you are a respectable business owner, for instance, the racketeers would threaten that if you failed to pay the money demanded within a certain time frame, they would viciously send adult messages to all your customers, thus ruining your business. Alternatively, they would send graphic pornographic material to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Lately, the criminals are seemingly able to do this using innocent Microsoft word documents.

Why is this crime steadily growing? This practice is escalating because the software used by the gangs can be obtained easily online. Moreover, it is cheap. Further, the practice has been boosted by the entry of bitcoin payment into the fray. Why? You can pay the criminals while they remain incognito. This is because bitcoin payments are essentially so; the one receiving the money remains anonymous and virtually untraceable. This situation has helped not only the malware peddlers but also several other forms of cybercrime.

Who are generally targeted? Well, the so-called ‘soft targets'. These are typically small network or individual computers with relatively low levels of protection. In simple terms, these are vulnerable targets. Often, these kind of businesses don't even have protection in form of a firewall. But there is some good news in relation to this. You can easily get an effective protection for your computer to deal with such potential or real threats. What can you do about this immediately?

Simple. Carry out a backup of your whole computer system at least once every three months. As a suggestion, you can do this every month for a business computer. You can do this every three months if you are dealing with a personal computer. In case a ransomware attack occurs suddenly, it will become easy to deal with it. All you have to do is restore your computer immediately by means of such a backup. Doing this, you will defeat the ransom schemes instantly. At this point, the threats are rendered impotent. You, however, need to take further steps and do more to enjoy complete protection.

Make sure you report such subtle or direct attacks to the authorities. Unless they get informed of what goes on, they will have little chance to either catch the criminals or develop systems and issue advisories on how the criminals work.

Make sure to use a reputable software for antivirus besides installing a firewall. You can easily defeat incoming malware and ransomware just by putting in place these two systems. You may also purchase cyber insurance for business to deal with these kinds of cybercrime.