Information technology is rapidly transforming towards a digital era. With huge paces made in broadband internet through wireless and wireline technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine-to-machine (M2M) learning and internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity in networks has taken over all discussions across industries, like never before. Cybersecurity has been a widespread priority since the latter half of the '90s, when the dot-com boom brought the world online. More than 20 years later, we have witnessed an explosion in the number and severity of cybercrimes over the course of just a few years.

Cybersecurity attacks in Nepal reached its peak in 2017 when 58 different governmental sites were hacked by a group of hackers. They leaked customers' information and citizens' information, creating a threat to the general public as well as governmental organisations. Likewise, around a year before, Nepal government's main server again faced cyberattacks, shutting down a large number of government official websites. More than 400 Nepal government websites went down for hours, disrupting services and inconveniencing thousands of passengers at Kathmandu airport, exposing the vulnerability of the gov.np domain to hacking.

Hackers appear to have targeted the government's only central data bank at the Government Integrated Data Centre (GIDC) with a 'Distributed-Denial of Service' attack, possibly from abroad, and knocked out most government ministry websites, including the database of the Department of Immigration as well as Passports. Likewise, we often encounter news of hacking cases of Facebook, Instagram and bank account where hackers benefit from personal information and money in some cases. The Cyber bureau of the Nepal Police looks after cybersecurity-related criminal cases and is overburdened by the increasing number of cases day by day.

Human interaction through email by cybercriminals remains the most dangerous hacking techniques, largely because it relies on human error rather than technical vulnerabilities. It's a lot easier to trick a human than it is to breach a security system.

A study report conducted by PwC UK revealed that over 75 per cent of targeted cyberattacks start with an email. Phishing is one of the top causes of data breaches, followed by the use of stolen credentials and ransomware. Phishing and email impersonation continue to evolve to incorporate new trends, technologies and tactics. Hackers try to entice individuals with unbelievable amounts of prize, lottery, gifts and influence for leaking secured data and hack the bank account or ask to deposit cash in the intended bank account, and once this is done they fly away.

Not all hackers are motivated by money. They simply want to make a point – social, economic, political, religious or ethical. They leverage website defacements, ransomware, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and leaking confidential information. Hackers just need data, no matter the source. They keep on looking for vulnerabilities, and they steal data wherever found, not just from government sites.

Cybercriminals can get around security systems by hacking less-protected networks belonging to third parties that have privileged access to the hacker's primary target. One major example of a third-party breach occurred at the beginning of 2021 when hackers leaked personal data from over 214 million Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. The hackers were able to access the data by breaching a third-party contractor that was employed by all three companies and had privileged access to their networks.

Most of us might think Cloud would become more secure over time, but in fact, it has been proved that this is not the case. As per a recent IBM study report, Cloud vulnerabilities saw a 150 per cent increase in the last five years. According to Gartner, a renowned management consulting company, Cloud security is currently the fastest-growing cybersecurity market segment due to the rapid increase in the use of Cloud-based services.

The future of cybersecurity is like a journey into the digital world, where there are both challenges and new ideas. As we rely more on technology and everything gets connected, it's super important to keep our digital stuff safe. Here, we talk about what's coming up in cybersecurity, like new threats and cool technology, and how we can protect ourselves online. At a time when hackers are getting smarter, knowing about cybersecurity is crucial for everyone, whether as a person, a business or government.

As an individual, the most important security measures to take are keeping one's passwords and other information secure; avoiding the use of unprotected hotspots or Wi-Fi networks; not believing in unexpected gifts and prizes for which you had never approached; and use of anti-virus or a comprehensive internet security solution to protect your system from attacks.

For organisations and government, one of the big things in the future of cybersecurity is using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology. These smart algorithms can look at lots of data and find patterns or strange things that might mean there's a cyber threat. This helps organisations to locate and stop cyber-attacks quickly before much damage can be done.

Another thing we'll see more of in the future of cybersecurity is blockchain technology. Blockchain is a super secure way to store and move information because it's not controlled by one central authority. This makes it really tough for cyber bad guys to mess with it. That's why blockchain is getting more popular, especially in industries like finance, healthcare and government, where keeping data safe is very important, and any breaches can cause a huge problem.

Acharya is a telecom expert and former managing director of Nepal Telecom