The problem
Cybersecurity attacks have seen a sharp increase since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. Such threats as hacks, scams malicious links, malware attacks and spam messages were reported in high numbers during this one-year period. More than 900,000 spam messages, 48,000 malicious links and 737,000 malware attacks have been reported since April 2020 ( Khan et al., 2020) . It is important to identify who is affected by the cybersecurity threats, current and prospective solutions and expected barriers to these solutions.
Who is Affected?
Cybersecurity threats are affecting individuals, businesses and institutions across the board. Government institutions, despite the high-level protective strategies they have in place, are also victims of these threats. Health care systems, individual businesses, personal assets and financial institutions such as banks accessible on the internet are affected by cybersecurity threats during this period of the pandemic.
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The Degree of Consequence
Issues like hacking can shut down or delay the advancement of businesses. All problems associated with these threats result in immense losses including information and money. Therefore, the degree of consequence as instigated by the problem ranges from the loss of a small amount of information, to huge amounts of data and billions of dollars.
Current and Prospective Technological Solutions
As an issue founded in technological advancement, cybersecurity threats are well-addressed through technological solutions. One of the foundational solutions is access controls and password security ( Reddy & Reddy, 2014) . It is the primary protective strategy used at the individual level to protect one’s information. Nonetheless, recent times have seen cybersecurity criminals bypass this strategy. Various software is in place to assure cyber protection at the individual and organization level. Such software are malware scanners which scan files and data any system to help detect harmful viruses or malicious code ( Reddy & Reddy, 2014) . Firewalls are also software used in protection against cybersecurity threats. They are a program or hardware that help screen and lockout viruses, worms and hackers. Anti-viruses are computer programs that identify, prevent and eliminate malicious programs, codes, viruses, worms and hackers.
Prospective cybersecurity solutions include the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is one of the organization cognizant of the place of AI in cybersecurity and spearheading advancements in the area. The organization identifies that AI has the potential to analyze massive amounts of data in short periods meaning that it can detect cybersecurity threats in real time. It also has the potential to predict such threats meaning that preventative measures will be put in place beforehand. User-behavior analytics (UBA) are also prospective solutions to the problem ( Sandar et al., 2019) . UBAs detect unusual behavior in organizations, one that is different from the normal user, especially when there is suspicion of a hack. Organizations can detect anomalies in user behavior and implement protective strategies. Many organizations are gradually shifting to cloud computing which allows them to store data without direct involvement by the user. Such a strategy would mean that any user, including hackers have no access to data.
Expected Constrains
Some constrains in cybersecurity include issues of ethics where there are questions on how ethical it would be to use such technologies including AI in cybersecurity. Ethical issues include the concern for privacy and issues of discrimination ( Siau & Wang, 2020) . Such technologies may be used to breach privacy and conduct unwarranted surveillance. Another constrain is the questionable accuracy of these technologies. Many of these technologies are currently being used in cybersecurity but people and organizations still experience threats and attacks. Therefore, many of these technologies do not seem as accurate as expected. Some of these technologies may not be easily accessed by everyone. Technologies such as AI or cloud computing may only be reserved for those who can afford and have them integrated into their systems.
Design challenge Variants
One variant to the design challenge is development and easy access to educational resources on cyberthreats and strategies for protection. Such resources are greatly limited, and this contributes to the spread of the problem. Another variant is that the identified strategies need to be simplified as many individuals may not understand the codes used to explain them. The third variant is planning, which will ensure early preparation when cyberthreats are concerned. It includes having strategies to deal with these threats before they can cause any harm for the individual or business.
References
Khan, N., Brohi, S., & Zaman, N. (2020). Ten Deadly Cyber Security Threats Amid COVID-19 Pandemic. https://doi.org/10.36227/techrxiv.12278792.v1
Reddy, G. N., & Reddy, G. J. (2014). A study of cyber security challenges and its emerging trends on latest technologies. arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.1842 .
Sandar et al. (2019). Fundamental Areas of Cyber Security on Latest Technology. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) , 3 (5).
Siau, K., & Wang, W. (2020). Artificial intelligence (AI) ethics: ethics of AI and ethical AI. Journal of Database Management (JDM) , 31 (2), 74-87.
