We're going to start with cybersecurity basics.
We begin with the question, what is cybersecurity?
Now, there's a definition out there
that computer security, cybersecurity, or information
technology security is the protection of computer systems
and networks from information disclosure, theft, or damage
to their hardware, software, or electronic data
as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services
they provide.
That's a lot.
Let's break it down.
So we are protecting information.
That could be personally identifiable information,
health care information, financial data,
intellectual property, business secrets,
or business operations.
All of these things we want to keep secured.
We don't want them public unless we make them public.
And we're protecting them from criminals, competitors,
insider threats, or just general malicious actors.
How do we begin?
We have this thing called the CIA Triad.
It has been used as a model to describe cybersecurity.
And it moves.
It's not an isosceles triangle.
It's not an obtuse triangle.
It moves and fluctuates with the needs of the business.
But at all times, it remains a triangle.
So let's dig into this.
We have confidentiality.
This is maintaining for your eyes only.
Your information only gets shared with whoever
you see fit needs it.
Now, it could be public information.
And in that situation maybe that side of the triangle
reflects that.
If it's very secret information, then you
want that included as well.
Then we have integrity.
Integrity means that only authorized changes occur.
The information that you put into the system
is the same information you get out of the system.
If you save something, you want to come back and know
that it is the same.
If you send something, you want to know
that what is received at the other end
matches exactly what you sent.
Now, this is a big piece of cybersecurity
that we don't think about.
But think about all of the implications
that go around that.
And, finally, we have availability.
You have information.
And even if it's kept secure, you have it for a reason.
Perhaps it's to get your job done.
And in that situation, then it needs
to be made available to the proper people
when they want it.
Similarly, if it's publicly accessible,
if you want it publicly digested,
then it needs to be out there and available for that as well.
In this, it is a balance.
You balance integrity, confidentiality,
and availability to meet business needs.
And that is cybersecurity.
There's this concept of defense in depth.
So depending on what you're securing, how important it is,
and what's going on behind it--
you don't just want to put something
in a security in one way, rather.
We build-- just like old castles,
we build up many different layers of protection.
So your house, your room, perhaps, maybe you've
got a gate.
Maybe you've got a security camera.
Maybe you've got a lock to your door,
If you're in an apartment building,
there's probably a lock on the front door.
Then there's a lot to your apartment.
And you might have a lock in your bedroom.
And if you have important files, you
might keep those locked away too.
Your computer, itself-- you might lock that.
And certain files on your computer
might be stored behind a password as well.
You've built in your own defense in depth,
your own layers of protection.
That is cybersecurity.
And that is what we build into cybersecurity on an enterprise
level as well.
We've talked about this before.
A lot depends on the business needs.
You could have a small company, a large enterprise organization
that spans the globe, or perhaps it's
a semi-large organization like a hospital.
There could be many different pieces and players
in the organization.
And depending on what they need to secure,
how they need to secure it, how they need to make it available,
will really shape what they're going to do with cybersecurity.
A lot of it comes down to risk management.
It's a business, so money plays a big factor.
How much will it cost to secure something [? versus ?] what
is the cost going to be if we poorly secure it?
It can come down to insurance.
It can come down to possible lawsuits,
in the case of a breach.
It could come down to loss of revenue
if intellectual property is lost.
All of these things go into what we call risk management.
And it's not just cybersecurity that's part of risk management.
All business decisions in an organization
will be mixed into risk management.
Are we going to put out this product?
Are we going to run with this marketing campaign?
What is the cost-benefit analysis?
That's a normal part of business operations,
and cybersecurity is included in that.
So while we, as cyber practitioners,
might have this idea that a certain level of security
is required because we think that that's safe,
risk management plays the ultimate factor
in the organization.
Understanding all these basics, we're
going to then jump into some frameworks.