Cybersecurity Threats Are Growing — And Companies are Underprepared
As cyber threats grow more advanced, understanding cybersecurity risks is essential for aspiring IT professionals. The World Economic Forum reported an 8% increase in the cyber skills gap in 2024—with two-thirds of companies struggling to find qualified talent. That’s why students enrolled in programs like Campus’s Associate of Science in Information Technology (AS in IT) must learn to recognize and defend against common threats early in their training. Here's why it matters:
Why Cybersecurity Knowledge Is Essential for IT Students
Protecting Sensitive Systems and Data
In their future careers, IT students will manage and work with systems, networks, and sensitive data. An understanding of cyber threats is key to protecting sensitive information from breaches and misuse. This includes personal, academic, or company data.
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Building a Robust First Line of Defense
An awareness of cybersecurity threats is key to defending potential attacks. What does it mean to understand cyber threats? For students, it means being able to identify and respond to threats swiftly. IT students who know how threats operate can spot suspicious activities and respond accordingly.
Promoting Safe and Responsible Digital Behavior
IT students learn how to identify dangerous websites, use strong passwords, and avoid potentially risky only actions. Doing so can help them prevent financial loss, identify theft, and reputational damage. Also, learning about digital footprints and the long-term fallout from online behavior promotes responsible digital citizenship.
Gaining a Competitive Edge in the Job Market
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects cybersecurity roles to increase by 28% from 2016 to 2026. An understanding of cybersecurity threats prepares IT students for such roles. It provides a competitive edge in the job market and provides them with the skills required in many IT roles.
Adapting to Constantly Evolving Threats
Attackers are steadfastly developing new ways to exploit emerging vulnerabilities. Thus, IT students must stay apprised of existing threats so that they can effectively anticipate and defend against them. They must be ready to deploy formidable security measures and adapt to new challenges.
The Leading Cybersecurity Threats
There are a number of cybersecurity threats IT students should understand, including:
Phishing Attacks
These involve attempts to trick people into disclosing sensitive information such as financial details, passwords, or user names by impersonating trustworthy entities, typically via text or email. Those who are victimized can face unauthorized access to their personal and academic data.
Malware and Ransomware
Malicious software such as spyware, worms, ransomware, and viruses exist. And they can disrupt online activities or steal data. Some types of malware can even take control of your system, unbeknownst to the victim. Valuable data could be lost, and digital activities could be interrupted.
Social Engineering Tactics
These tactics trick users into sharing private information or clicking harmful links They are often what appear to be legitimate communications, texts, emails, or phone calls from what appear to be trustworthy sources.
Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks
These are attacks that are meant to disrupt and overwhelm network services, rendering them unavailable to legitimate users. Critical resources such as servers are typically targeted. As a consequence, companies can potentially lose money and have their reputation damaged. Attacks can also result in customer dissatisfaction.
Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
Here, bad actors intercept communication between two parties to alter data, eavesdrop, or impersonate one side, potentially resulting in compromised data integrity. They hack into connections or exploit vulnerabilities in network protocols, inserting themselves without the knowledge of the communicating parties into the data flow. Such interception can result in data manipulation.
Malicious Messaging on Social Media
With this cyberthreat, scams used through social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook seek to trick users into going to phishing sites or disclosing personal data. These electronic messages, which are designed to deceive users, can be delivered via comments, posts, messages, or even advertisements.
Mobile Malware and Camfecting
With widespread use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, cyber attacks have become more prevalent. Such attacks include what’s called camfecting, in which hackers access and control webcams remotely to invade privacy. This is done without the user’s knowledge or consent.
Best Practices for Cybersecurity Readiness
By implementing the following best practices, you’re creating a multi-layered defense against cyberattacks. In turn, this greatly lessens the risk of successful attacks and enhances the security of systems and data.
- Use strong authentication and access controls to block unauthorized access
- Regularly update and patch systems to fix known vulnerabilities
- Deploy firewalls and antivirus tools to detect and stop threats
- Encrypt sensitive data to maintain confidentiality
- Backup data securely to enable fast recovery
- Train students and staff to reduce human error
- Build an incident response plan to act quickly during a breach
- Monitor network activity and perform security audits regularly
- Restrict physical access to sensitive equipment
- Use spam filters to catch phishing and malicious emails
Launch Your Cybersecurity Career with Campus
At Campus, our Online Associate of Science in IT program is designed to get you career-ready faster, with hands-on training in cybersecurity, networking, and cloud computing. With embedded certifications like CompTIA Security+ and AWS Cloud Practitioner, you’ll graduate with credentials that employers recognize—and the confidence to step into high-demand tech roles right away. Ready to jumpstart your IT career?