Cyber Security : Home User's Perspective

Abstract

Cyber security is important to understand for home users. New technology allows for new cyber threats to emerge and new solutions must be considered to counter them. Nearly every device is connected to the Internet and this opens new possibilities and threats to cyber security. This Bachelor's thesis explores the different aspects of cyber security and suggests solutions to different cyber security issues found.

The different aspects of cyber security under research here include personal privacy, mobile devices, personal computers and online services. Each aspect is analyzed for potential cyber security issues and solutions are presented on the basis of the analyses.

The cyber security issues and solutions are presented with the home user being in the focus. This means that the issues discussed will avoid difficult technical terms and provide explanations when necessary. Exploratory research is used as the main research approach through literature review of relevant literature and articles.

The findings in this Bachelor's thesis indicate that there exists no perfect protection against cyber threats. Protection is not only technological as the human component is equally important. Human vulnerability is often exploited by modern cyber-attack. These threats are mitigated by both personal action and technological solutions. There do exist threats that can compromise cyber security without human interaction but the human is most commonly the culprit of the incident. The criminals behind these attacks are highly skilled and able to fool most home users into compromising their cyber security.