Cybersecurity is the protection of digital information systems (such as computers, network devices and servers) from unauthorised access, data leakage, modification or corruption. It aims to mitigate a cybersecurity incident by applying controls to make access infeasible or impractical. Cybersecurity does not aim to make a system completely protected but sufficiently protected that any corruption, leakage, modification or deletion would be too costly or impractical to carry out. Cybersecurity can be divided into three core areas: (i) managerial security which applies policies and procedures to limit unauthorised access; (ii) technical, which applies technical controls (such as firewalls) to limit unauthorised access and (iii) physical which aims to prevent physical access to underlying network infrastructure.
In small-office or home environments, a less restrictive approach to cybersecurity is followed. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home, small or home office networks are increasingly being targeted by cyberattackers seeking access to privileged information. Often, individuals or families do not have the financial means to buy expensive hardware or software solutions that could fend off such attacks. For this reason, some companies provide home users with free and paid security solutions that tend to be less expensive that their business counterparts. Still, disciplined behaviour by users can also be beneficial in preventing cyberattacks.
