A web developer’s ultimate goal is to not only develop a website or an app that is aesthetically and functionally stunning but highly secure as well. Cybersecurity is inevitable and no end-user would want to have an app that could breach or compromise their data security and integrity (no matter how useful the app is). With hackers and middlemen working on creative ways to explore vulnerabilities, it is on developers like us to take charge and be a step ahead of them.

Adaptation of large-scale web applications at a wider level in several multi-faced industry verticals like healthcare, banking, intelligence services and others has exposed them to massive data breaches. Despite increasing awareness about security, complex threat vectors continue to put organizations across the globe under attack.

Over time technologies evolved and now things that seemed to be not possible several years ago become the reality. Now you can order food, services, and basically anything you need online, and pay for it without leaving home. No surprise here, that cash payments are becoming a relic of the past. Along with wireless payments like Google or Apple pay (that still require assigning a banking account or card i.e. physical currency), the cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are getting widely used.

With the onset of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, cybercriminals started looking for opportunities to threaten the already suffering businesses through malware, ransomware, and social engineering attacks. Amidst this public health crisis, a new remote working culture evolved as remotely connected workplaces had to adapt rapidly to a greater digital threat emerging online.

The network of interconnecting devices to exchange data popularly known as the Internet of Things is evolving rapidly in the fast-paced industry of technology. However, advancement in IoT has also taken a toll on security. IoT Systems strive to enhance productivity, efficiency, and flexibility but also invite uncalled risks to the network. IoT Security stands as the need of the hour for secure and holistic development.

Companies with a presence on the internet and widespread networks are increasingly being targeted by malicious code writers. There’s ample evidence to suggest hackers and Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups routinely run campaigns trying to snare employees, contractors, etc. to steal data or hold it for ransom. Simply put, cyber threats and cyberattacks are on the rise.

Businesses have known for a long time that there always are weak links in security, especially mobile security. The worse part is not that businesses get affected by these security issues, but the fact that public awareness is terribly low on how vulnerable this can be. The man in the middle attack has been one of the most exploited ways hackers have tried and managed to steal information and money.

According to a seminal Clark School study, a hacker attacks a computer with internet access every 39 seconds. What’s more, almost a third of all Americans have been harmed by a hacker at one point or another, and more than two-thirds of companies have been victims of web-based attacks. A 2020 IBM study showed that the total cost of data breaches worldwide amounted to $3.9 million, which just may sound the death knell for many businesses affected by breaches.

It is imperative for any national security agency to diagnose, identify, and address the possible vulnerabilities within their defence system to avert exploitation of the nation’s security.

In the times when data breaches and cybersecurity incidents have become everyday news, the world requires entities which can enhance thought leadership in the field of cybersecurity. And thankfully, there are some bodies which are exactly working to strengthen the privacy and security culture in the cybersecurity landscape.