Thag dipped the sharp edge of a stone into a spit and charcoal mixture, pressed it against the cave wall and drew a picture of himself running from a stampede—and one of the first infographics communicating safety and security was born.
As likely descendants of Thag, we no longer run from the woolly mammoth, but we do interface with our own real threats. In today’s data and information-laden world, Internet security issues threaten to tip the balance of our sanity and safety. A sobering, but necessary, illustration from Unisys shares that concerns regarding Internet security are growing fast, threatening to eclipse financial, personal and national security.
The above tidbit is the infinitesimal tip of the data and statistics available on how freaked out we are as a nation about data mining, phishing, e-mail security and a host of other modern-day woolly mammoths. But who has time to read the white paper? Dipping into data streams is like fishing with your bare hands. No thanks! Luckily infographics make the complex and crazy content that is Web 2.0MG easily digestible for the eyes.
Can information be beautiful?
In a letter-riddled nutshell, "infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge." When complex information needs to be filtered through our maxed-out brains, data chieftains use talented designers or infographic resources to make lofty concepts accessible. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.
When it comes to Internet security, we need help. Words have lost their impact, and we need to be told the story of our collective safety ignorance in fairy-tale panels until we get it. The following infographics offer what data journalist David McCandless calls a "landscape we can explore with our eyes." Hopefully, after seeing the pretty pictures of our peril, we’ll be in a better position to let "the dataset change our mindset."
1. BYOD: The SMB Mobile Threat
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a rapidly growing new trend among allowing employees to bring personally owned devices to the workplace and use them. This infographic provides a handy look at various factoids on the growth of BYOD, common BYOD trends and growth rates, and threat risks that IT professionals tend to see with a BYOD policy.
2. Socially Engineered Attacks
Social media in the workplace can be both a godsend that provides employees with much-needed time to decompress, as well as a productivity-sucking waste of time. Learn how IT professionals are protecting their businesses, the information they believe is at risk, and some of the top concerns businesses deal with over social media.
3. BYOD: The Impact on Employees
Along with the business side of BYOD policies, it is important to consider employee concerns over such a policy. For example, company access to personal data tops the list of employee concerns with mandated security apps. In fact, nearly half of all workers would stop bringing their personal device in if a mandated security app was required! Read on for a better glimpse into employee concerns and to see the BYOD Bill of Right, intended to help bridge the gap between company requirements and employee desires.
4. Malicious Mobile Apps
More mobile devices are accessing networks than ever before, with over 88% of SMBs supporting tablets and/or smartphones for their company. Get a glimpse into the dangers of malicious mobile applications, such as what mobile malware does, and the ways that IT professionals and Webroot is responding to these new threats.
5. Ransomware Threats
The rise of ransomware attacks has been all over the news lately. From WannaCry to CryptoLocker, new forms of ransomware have been springing up at an incredibly rapid pace. Nearly 1 out of 3 IT professionals has experienced a ransomware attack at their organization, and 2 out of 3 know someone who has. With this ransomware threats infographic, learn about the points of access that pose the most threat for ransomware attacks, and the top protections IT pros are using today to keep themselves and their organizations safe.
