What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is a crucial, yet hidden part of our digital lives. It helps protect our private data from being hacked and used against us. Cybersecurity protects 3 major pieces of technology: networks, applications, and infrastructures. Network security protects us from unwanted individuals seeing into what we search and access on the internet, application security protects important companies like Amazon and Google from being hacked, and finally, infrastructure security protects systems like the traffic lights or the electricity grid from being compromised. All these things are important to protect, and we need systems to shield them from cyberattacks.
Who is Involved in Cybersecurity?
Many people work behind the scenes to help ensure that data held by companies is completely secure. They can be classified into 3 different groups: Red Team, Blue Team, and Purple Team. Although the names can seem silly, all three groups do serious work to help make sure a system is entirely safe.
It may seem counterintuitive to hire people to hack into your own company, but that's what many major companies do to keep their company safe from cyberattacks. These people are called Red Teamers and are hired to find any exploits in a given security system and report back to help the company fix any issues.
Attacking is important, but it's useless if you have no defense against it. Blue Teamers are people who work for the company and help maintain various security protocols to keep out the Red Team. The Blue Team is also responsible for fixing any vulnerabilities pointed out by Red Teamers during their simulations.
Last, but certainly not least, the Purple Team is in charge of orchestrating both the Red and Blue Team. They act as overseers and communicators between both teams and do everything from scheduling simulations to helping give feedback afterwards. None of these teams could exist without the others, and each one complements both of the others to make a whole cybersecurity team.
How can I get involved?
As you can tell, cybersecurity is an expansive and complex topic, and I can't explain it all in one article. However, if you're interested in learning more, there are many helpful websites like HackTheBox and the Codecademy Cybersecurity Course. They serve as great starting points, and maybe someday you'll be working in the field!