Cybersecurity is the work of protecting data, information, programs, systems, networks, and devices from unauthorized or malicious access and use by external sources on the internet.

Cybersecurity programs and policies must consider the interplay of people, processes, and technology in order to support the knowledge transfer of established practices regarding the shared responsibility of protecting data and information. An appropriate cybersecurity approach will implement layers of protection that account for the various devices, networks, programs, and data that an organization aims to protect.

The difficulty and criticality of effective cybersecurity methods and procedures continues to grow rapidly as organizations utilize more devices and utilize more complex networks to deliver their products and services.

Organizations today put policies and procedures in place to protect their systems from external access, along with clearly defined steps to follow in the event of a data breach – including how events such as these are communicated with customers and users in a timely manner. Any company that processes or stores customer data in the cloud is susceptible to breaches, which can be very extremely costly, and many times unrecoverable reputationally.

Cybersecurity is particularly important for organizations that work within and serve regulated industries like finance, insurance, and healthcare.