Cyber security has never been more important than it is today. The technology that is used to keep us safe online is rapidly evolving and expanding propelled by online businesses’ ever-growing need to acquire your personal data. Millions of websites across the globe are now doing more than they ever have before to keep your online data safe. Companies like oddschecker, not only have , but do so in a safe manner, asking for identity verification to protect your information from unauthorized access. Other companies such as Revolut are also part of the growing shift in security, using award-winning security systems to keep your card details safe.
The Early 1900s
Our story begins long before the technology to build the internet was even invented. A time when free thinkers and scientists, such as Nikolai Tesla, had the dream that one day such an idea as vast and wild as the modern internet would one day exist. Tesla referred to his idea of the internet as a ‘world wireless system’ — a remarkable prophecy considering that’s essentially what the internet is as we know it today. Other thinkers also toyed with the idea of an internet-like mechanism. But there was a long time to wait before it would actually come into being.
January 1, 1983
On New Year’s Day 1983, the internet was born. Or at least, that’s the date that is considered the official birthday of the internet. Though after almost four decades, the internet as we know it today is radically different than the one established in the early eighties. In fact, I’d say even computer scientists Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn, who are credited with creating the internet, couldn’t have imagined the universal necessity that their product went onto become. Initially, the internet began as a new communications method, which would allow different computers on different networks to ‘talk’ to one another through a universal language.
Everything changed, however, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. This is when the internet began to resemble the invention we know and love today. It was also here that the internet became more popular with the general public as a way of storing information and communicating with each other.
2022
Now everything’s different. Everything’s changed and continues to change on a daily basis. Gone are the days of dial-up internet. Gone are the days of unaesthetic websites, the days when your parents would shout at you to ‘get off the internet’ because they had to make a call. Bebo and MySpace are almost extinct. And MSN messenger is just a distant memory. However, that being said, there is now more on the internet than ever before. And that volume of content is only going up.
We use the internet for just about everything these days. In fact, perhaps we do use it for absolutely everything. Most of us use the internet at work, we use it to talk to friends and family through Facebook and WhatsApp. We share photographs on Instagram. We entertain ourselves with YouTube and Netflix. We use online based apps to find friends and to find love. We use Spotify and other platforms to listen to music and podcasts. And we use Amazon and online grocery stores to do our shopping. Of course, everybody is different, but 99% of us use the Internet in one way or another every single day. Like I said, it’s a long way from 1983.
As a result of our perpetual reliance on the Internet, there’s now more need than ever before for strong cybersecurity. We share our lives on the Internet. We save our passwords on the Internet. The internet, as fantastic as it may be, knows pretty much all of our personal data. Our appearance, our birthdays, our likes and dislikes, our addresses. Everything. With that comes a stronger need than ever for security, and that is why cyber security continues to grow and adapt with the many changes the internet goes through on a day-to-day basis.
Changes in the way businesses operate
The past few years have seen huge changes in the way our day to day lives operate with the bulk of our work lives becoming fully home-based. As most of the world have been working from home, there has been a global boom in cloud-based services as well as a massive acceleration in the need to keep employees safe on the net while situated in their home offices. It’s believed that the shift to the cloud is one of the most significant when it comes to an increase in cyber security.
There has also been an abundance of non-technological trends when it comes to cyber security such as a growing focus on organisations improving their cyber security skills within the company. There’s also a demand for securing supply chains to ensure businesses are working properly and to block cyber-attacks through supply chain weaknesses.
But it’s not over yet
Thankfully, while cyber security will have to continue to evolve for as long as the internet exists, everything seems to be going in the right way. More and more websites have a dedicated focus to keeping users safe online. Countless sites are committed to keeping your personal data safe and to making sure that you are the only person able to access your files. This can be seen through the growing use of two-factor authentication, and other smart technology such as Facebook’s ability to recognise devices that are unlikely to be yours to protect you from others accessing your account, and of course FaceID on Apple products.
While we need to remain vigilant and sensible on the internet, it’s certainly reassuring to see the plethora of companies, organizations, and general websites that are looking out for our online safety too. This is particularly true given the amount of time we spend online every day and how much we have started to rely on the internet for the most basic of tasks. Imagine trying to watch TV now without the internet? It just wouldn’t happen.