1.2 The importance of cyber security

Cyber security is like having a really good lock on your door to keep your stuff safe from thieves. But instead of protecting things like your toys or your bike, it's about protecting all kinds of important information that people might store on computers or online. This includes private information that can tell who you are (like your name and where you live), health records, secrets about inventions, money details, and even government secrets.

Imagine if someone didn't have good cyber security, it would be super easy for a computer thief (we call them cyber criminals) to break in and steal or destroy that information. That's why places like banks, hospitals, and companies need to have strong cyber security. It's like building a fortress around their information to keep it out of the wrong hands.

Cyber security has to keep getting better and smarter, just like updating your fortress with the latest security to stay ahead of the thieves. And it's not just big companies that need to worry about this; everyone should know how to protect their stuff online.

There's also a set of rules called the GDPR that tells organizations how they need to protect personal information, especially in places like Europe. With more people knowing about these rules and how often cyber attacks happen, it's really bad for a company's reputation if they let information get stolen. It's like if everyone knew your house was easy to break into, it wouldn't be good for your reputation as a safe housekeeper.

So, cyber security is super important to make sure all the important and private information is kept safe from cyber criminals who are always looking for a way to steal or damage it.