Everything About Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities and Risks You Need to Know

The cybersecurity vulnerabilities refer to the susceptible characteristics of a computer or other internet-enabled devices, network, and infrastructure and resources against potential damages caused by cyber breaches. Eventually, there are many components of cybersecurity vulnerability generating from numerous physical, economic, environmental and social factors such as from assets that are inadequately protected, from serious lack of awareness and information, from less or no risk preparedness measures, even from buildings and infrastructures that are poorly designed and constructed. As per the explanation of ISDR or UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the definition of vulnerability refers to the characteristic of the elements of systems or assets and communities that are independent of their exposure. In this context, the concept of vulnerability is broadly divided into four basic components or types such as physical vulnerabilities, social vulnerabilities, economic vulnerabilities, and environmental vulnerabilities.

The physical vulnerability refers to several aspects, namely density of population, remote locations, settlement sites, the materials and designs used for housing and other infrastructure. For example, if the system is set up in a wooden house that may not easily collapse because of an earthquake but is vulnerable to fire accidents. Similarly, the social vulnerability refers to lack of ability of societies, community and people to face and withstand disaster of attacks. This is further associated with the level of education and literacy of the people, the level of security and harmony in the community, presence of basic human rights facilities, level of good governance, proactive and progressive social and traditional customs, values, and ideological understanding of the people, and level of social equity. For example, in a flood or other natural disaster situation, some age group of people such as elderly and children as well as a physically challenged population are often vulnerable to protect themselves or evacuate as other people do.

The economic vulnerability refers to the economic status of people, communities and nations. The severity of vulnerability solely depends on the economic conditions of the people as well as communities and the country they reside in. The poor people or the communities, as well as the poor nations, are more vulnerable because they lack the necessary financial resources to build infrastructures and resources that can withstand disasters. Finally, environmental vulnerability refers to resource degradation and loss of or no natural resources that are necessary to rebuild the infrastructure after a disaster.