Cybersecurity: Protecting Businesses From Data Compromise - Essay Sample

Introduction

As information technology has become essential to business and commerce, it has also become a target of a cyberattack. Companies need to ensure their systems are not compromised in any way, and their communication is secure. For safety, companies develop critical systems that are highly reliable to enable its use with confidence. Like other systems, any that collects, processes, and stores data is potentially vulnerable to compromise. Sony fall a victim of this when it experienced a cyberattack in 2014. Its critical system constituted of the business-critical system and mission-critical systems.

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Network, the second constitute of a company's information system, also plays a significant role in supporting critical business functions by enabling access to an important set of data. Sony had different types of network systems, including communications network, the internet, which is both wired and wireless, business, and administration networks.

The other most valuable asset to a company's information system is its data. Companies store a large amount of these data for reference or analysis. Sony had different data stored there, including; financial data, health data, credentials, personally identifiable information, and payment card data.

A business-critical system is a management system that has a specific function in an organization to deliver its service effectively. It comprises of crucial information, including customers accounting system such as customer payment details. Although its failure does not lead to the complete shutdown of an organization, it impairs the organization's services resulting in considerable economic loss. Mission-critical systems are systems majorly responsible for the execution of essential functions of an organization. Its failure may lead to an organization's inability to carry on its operations.

Networks involve the linking of two or more systems that share resources, allow electronic communication, and enable an exchange of information. The linking may be through satellites, waves, cables, or the internet. It provides a path to share data files, resources, and communication.

Data is a finding, information, or statistics collected by an organization for reference or analysis. These data make it easy for both employees and management to accomplish their work. It helps the management and the leaders to make decisions based on statistical numbers and facts.

A business-critical system, network, and data are the most essential in an organization's ability to function and accomplish its mission. A business-critical system is necessary as it contains the overall management structure of a company. Network aids in the relay of information from either management to workers or organization to its customers. Data is important, too, as it provides an organization with the information it requires for production to accomplish its mission

The 2014 cyber-attack against Sony targeted its data. After the attack, the hackers indicated that they had lots of information about Sony that they held, and if not paid a particular amount of money, they would release them. They later released massive amounts of data that contained confidential personnel information.