Cybersecurity Awareness

Information and communication technologies have become a core part of society. These drive innovation and industry, and are increasingly used to support governments and interaction between workers and members of the public. As these technologies have become more prominent, so too have the threats against them. Cyber-attacks, i.e., threats that leverage cyberspace, in particular, are constantly growing as attackers, hackers, fraudsters and other malevolent actors seek gains in finances, power, influence and recognition. Cyber-attacks can take many forms, and exploit a wide series of vulnerabilities. For instance, hackers may solicit the services of a botnet to conduct a denial-of-service attack on websites, as in the case of the Mirai botnet attack in 2016. While attacks that target technology can reap substantial rewards, attacks against individuals (at work or at home) are significantly more common and arguably much more effective. Phishing, for instance, is widely regarded as the most dangerous threat to users and organizations online, with some estimates suggesting it accounts for up to 90% of all security breaches. Equally, the reality of modern-day technology systems means that users can make small mistakes which have far-reaching impacts. For example, a government employee may mistakenly leave a USB drive contain millions of personal data records on the train during their commute, or staff at a healthcare provider may, in error, email sensitive patient records to the wrong address. Human error — either due to unintentional actions or badly designed humancomputer interfaces — has long been an important concern both in the safety and security fields.