Cybersecurity has called for a greater level of protection and safety for businesses, and its application for online businesses is worth considering. However, the application of cybersecurity in the realm of online business has caused challenges as well. The following literature review has considered different perspectives of using it for online businesses. Cybersecurity is essential for online businesses, but they should work on supporting infrastructure for making it the most effective and useful.
Definition:
Cybersecurity is defined as the practice that has the prime objective to make computers, servers, mobile devices and systems, any kind of data and information, and networks safe and protected from any kind of online attack (Mohan et al., 2020). Online businesses are the ones that have their presence over the internet. They can have their entire business operations online, or they have mixed activities that are physical and virtual simultaneously (Wollenburg et al., 2018).
Utilities of cybersecurity in any online business and particularly within sectors:
Given the definition of cybersecurity, there are plenty of utilities for any online business. The most important utility of cybersecurity is for supply chain activities over the online interface (Pal et al., 2017). It is where different partners or members of the supply chain have to interact and share information (Ghadge et al., 2019). They always remain conscious of the safety and protection of their shared information. Blockchain technology and other measures can integrate well with cybersecurity to ensure extra protection and safety for all partners (Parn & Edwards, 2019). Similarly, cybersecurity is crucial for other activities that are related to measures from within the organization. Securing information safely for sensitive records regarding patents and copyrights is a challenge. Another challenge is to keep communication protected from any hacking activity because an intruder can get benefit from the information communicated online (Moinescu et al., 2019).
Another aspect of utilizing cybersecurity is concerned with businesses of different sizes. Large- and small-scale businesses require cybersecurity measures alike. Large corporations produce a large amount of information online, and they have to be concerned about the safety of every single point of contact (Dupont, 2017). But one should not undermine the need for cybersecurity for small scale organizations and businesses doing business online. They might be small, but they can act as the means to intrude into large partners working with them. Small scale businesses might not prioritize cybersecurity because they are more concerned about the growth of the business (Edwards et al., 2020). In this way, cybersecurity has a vast level of application for online businesses of different scales and working in different sectors. However, cybersecurity has contrasting views that have brought its advantages and disadvantages to the spotlight.
Advantages of Cybersecurity:
Cybersecurity has many benefits, and the top of these benefits is that it protects and saves data to go into the hands of unwanted individuals over the internet. Viruses, spam, spyware, and harmful programs flood online businesses. They are not useful instead; they aim at stealing confidential and sensitive information to use it for their objectives. Cybersecurity makes a firewall that stops the flow of this flood to keep entire activities of an online business safe and secure. As a result, data and information remain safe, and the business does not face the negative effects of harmful attacks. Data has become a competitive advantage these days as businesses create and share data to be ahead of the competition (Dedeke & Masterson, 2019). The purpose of cyber-attacks is usually to steal this data and information that grants competitiveness to an online business. Moreover, online businesses interact and make transactions with customers, and it is easier for attackers to get access to the information of customers (Parn & Edwards, 2019). As a result, hackers and intruders find a door at the back to cause harm to the overall online business. They can also have access to partners and businesses that do business with the online business. Thus, cybersecurity comes to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of the information over the online platform. These advantages have led cybersecurity to make online businesses safe and protected (Brisson & Savoie, 2018).
Disadvantages of Cybersecurity:
Researchers have found disadvantages of cybersecurity as well, but they are mainly related to its side effects. Cybersecurity measures put an extra load and weight on online systems and technological infrastructure. It makes the whole system slow and lazy in responding to commands. There is also the issue of configuration that firewalls might not configure effectively to the system (Shetty et al., 2018). It makes certain actions difficult to perform for the online business. Unavailability of certain features due to cybersecurity is its demerit that needs immediate resolution. Cybersecurity measures are not a one-time decision because consistent updates and modifications to the system are required. Absence to do this can expose the whole online business to cyber threats. But introducing cybersecurity measures makes system heavy that is its demerit (Kaja et al., 2019).
Conclusion:
The above literature review has presented contrasting views regarding cybersecurity. One comment for these contrasting views is that these contrasting views are natural. Any option has its pros and cons, but it is related to the implementation that causes advantages and disadvantages. There is a consensus that cybersecurity makes data and information safe and protected, which leads to greater competitiveness for an online business. Online businesses have to adopt cybersecurity measures irrespective of their scale and nature of business. However, slowing down the processing speed of systems and lack of configuration with firewalls is implementation-related disadvantages. An online business has to use a comprehensive and robust system to support cybersecurity measures so that systems might not slow down. The configuration issue can be resolved by having assistance from an expert. It makes clear that an online business cannot feel free after having cybersecurity measures. It has to develop a complete infrastructure that can provide a secure and safe business environment for the business. Therefore, these contrasting views should not worry about any business for these issues.
References
Brisson, M.-N.C. & Savoie, M.P., 2018. Cybersecurity Oversight and Strategy for Commercial Real Estate: Fundamentals of Cybersecurity Oversight and Risk Management. Real Estate Issues, 42(2), pp.1-4.
Dedeke, A. & Masterson, K., 2019. Contrasting cybersecurity implementation frameworks (CIF) from three countries. Information and Computer Security, 27(3), pp.373-92.
Dupont, B., 2017. Bots, cops, and corporations: on the limits of enforcement and the promise of polycentric regulation as a way to control large-scale cybercrime. Crime, Law and Social Change, 67(1), pp.97-116.
Edwards, N., Kiser, S.B. & Haynes, J.B., 2020. Answering the Cybersecurity Issues: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability, 15(4), pp.10-14.
Ghadge, A., Weiß, M., Caldwell, N.D. & Wilding, R., 2019. Managing cyber risk in supply chains: a review and research agenda. Supply Chain Management, 24(2), pp.223-40.
Kaja, N., Shaout, A. & Ma, D., 2019. An intelligent intrusion detection system. Applied Intelligence, 49(9), pp.3235-47.
Mohan, A.M., Meskin, N. & Mehrjerdi, H., 2020. A Comprehensive Review of the Cyber-Attacks and Cyber-Security on Load Frequency Control of Power Systems. Energies, 13(15), pp.3860-92.
Moinescu, R. et al., 2019. Aspects of human weaknesses in cyber security. Scientific Bulletin “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy, 22(1), pp.1-9.
Pal, O., Srivastava, V. & Alam, B., 2017. Cyber Security Risks and Challenges in Supply Chain. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science, 8(5), pp.662-66.
Parn, E.A. & Edwards, D., 2019. Cyber threats confronting the digital built environment. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 27(2), pp.245-66.
Shetty, S. et al., 2018. Reducing Informational Disadvantages to Improve Cyber Risk Management†. Geneva Papers on Risk & Insurance, 43(2), pp.224-38.
Wollenburg, J., Hübner, A., Kuhn, H. & Trautrims, A., 2018. From bricks-and-mortar to bricks-and-clicks. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(4), pp.415-38.
