Foundations of cyber

Hey friends

Today’s study was about Cybersecurity Foundations

honestly, it gave me a lot of clarity. If you're someone trying to make sense of what cybersecurity is, or you’re just starting your journey (like me), I hope this gives you a simple, clear path to follow. Nothing too complex, just the essentials that we should all understand in the beginning.

What is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity basically means protecting systems, devices, networks, and data from cyber threats.From our personal mobile phones to massive corporate servers — everything needs security. Cybersecurity ensures that hackers, malware, or internal mistakes don’t cause harm.

So, it's not just about "hacking" — it’s about preventing damage.

Why Is It Important?

Every company, big or small, runs on data today. If that data gets leaked, stolen, or lost:

The company could lose money,People might lose trust,There could be legal issues and Work could shut down

That’s why cybersecurity is no longer optional, it’s a necessity.

What Are We Defending Against?

Cyber threats come in many forms. These are the ones I studied today:

Malware – viruses, ransomware, spyware

Phishing – fake emails or texts to steal info

Social engineering – tricking people into revealing secrets

What Makes a Good Security Plan?

This part helped me understand how professionals build defense strategies:

1. Assets – What are you trying to protect? (Data, devices, people)

2. Threats – Who could attack? (Hackers, errors, malware)

3. Vulnerabilities – Where are your weak points? (Unpatched systems, no MFA)

Think of it like setting up your own defense system after analyzing where the danger could come from.

Frameworks vs. Controls,

So basically:

Framework = plan

Controls = tools/actions to follow the plan

At first, this confused me. But here’s what I understood:

Security Frameworks = Guidelines or blueprints for how to secure a system (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA)

Security Controls = The actual things you do (e.g. use passwords, encrypt data)

Ethics in Cybersecurity

This hit me differently. When you study cybersecurity, you’re not just studying tech — you’re studying responsibility.

We deal with real people’s data. So we need to:

Respect privacy

Follow laws

Never misuse knowledge

Even as students or learners, ethics is our foundation.

How I’m Studying This

If you’re also doing the Google Cybersecurity Certificate or planning to — here's what I did today that helped me:

Watched the module and made notes in my own words

Broke down every term I didn’t understand

Googled + asked ChatGPT to simplify concepts

Made a quick visual to help me revise

Learning this way felt stress-free but effective. I wasn’t rushing. Just understanding.

Final Thoughts

Cybersecurity isn’t scary. It just needs you to stay curious and consistent.

If you don’t understand something today, you’ll understand it tomorrow — just keep going.

Let’s grow through this journey together