What Are the 7 Types of Cybersecurity? A Beginner’s Guide for 2025

Prevention is better than a cure – the mantra of a few professions, but certainly one that is highly relevant to cybersecurity.

With infrastructure attacks happening everywhere and new ransomware groups on the rise, it feels like every business – big and small – is on a constant deluge of attacks.

Protecting yourself both at home and at work is essential, but it’s also a complex task. So, where do you start?

Techopedia outlines the seven types of cybersecurity, which cover everything from protecting your network and applications to safeguarding your devices. If you cover these seven areas, you are most of the way to a secure environment.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 7 Types of Cybersecurity You Need to Know in 2025
3. 6 Essential Cybersecurity Controls
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs
6. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 7 Types of Cybersecurity You Need to Know in 2025
3. 6 Essential Cybersecurity Controls
Show Full Guide
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs
6. References

7 Types of Cybersecurity You Need to Know in 2025

Think of cybersecurity as digital armor protecting your data and systems. Here are the seven key types of cybersecurity.

1. Network Security

Network security effectively kickstarts good cyber hygiene. It includes the policies, tools, and practices for protecting computer networks: everything from data integrity, confidentiality, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation (where someone cannot deny the validity of a fact).

This covers everything: your simple home Wi-Fi networks to sprawling corporate infrastructures — because a breach in network security can provide an entry point to significant threats.

2. Cloud Security

Most of us use the cloud every day, whether we email, shop online, or watch Netflix at night.

So cloud security, effectively protecting data in a cloud environment, is an essential type of cybersecurity that involves securing data, applications, and infrastructure associated with cloud computing.

As we know, more companies are shifting their operations to the cloud to achieve more flexibility or cut costs — the reasons vary. While a few companies have returned to on-premise data storage (“Cloud Exit“), the cloud is here to stay.

3. Application Security

Application security is about developing, adding, and testing security features to prevent cyber threats like unauthorized access and modification – think systems or software development lifecycle (SDLC).

This type of cybersecurity is crucial, as its vulnerabilities are frequently used as gateways to valuable data.

Implementing security measures at the software level includes authentication, authorization, encryption, logging, and application design.

In an industry where 83% of software applications have been found vulnerable on first inspection, focusing on application security is more than necessary — it’s a constant need.

4. Information Security (InfoSec)

InfoSec protects data using the five pillars of information security: confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation.

It’s a continuous defense strategy that encompasses the processes and tools designed to protect digital and physical information from disclosure, alteration, disruption (DAD), unauthorized access, inspection, recording, or destruction.

5. Endpoint Security

Endpoint security refers to securing the various endpoints, or user devices, that connect to the network, such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.

This side of cybersecurity is critical because each device connected to the network creates a potential entry point for threat actors.

They can often include anti-malware software, email filtering, and firewalls, all working with endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems to shoot down the spread of threats in a reactive and proactive manner.

6. Infrastructure Security

The Colonial Pipeline hack of May 6, 2021 — which saw interrupted fuel supplies, leading to panic buying, long queues, and scenes of chaos — demonstrated that infrastructure risks are real. Techopedia highlighted 10 infrastructure attacks in 2024 alone.

Infrastructure security encompasses the collective measures taken to protect the essential systems and assets that society depends on, including power grids, water purification, traffic lights, shopping centers, and hospitals.

This type of security covers both physical and cyber. Physical safeguards to protect a physical perimeter include barriers, guards, and secure facilities.

7. Operational Security

Operational Security, or OpSec, focuses on the processes and decisions made to manage and secure data assets. This includes identifying critical information, performing threat analysis, and developing plans to mitigate or contain risks.

Operational security also involves ensuring employees follow proper procedures to prevent data leaks or security breaches, often through awareness training and strict policy enforcement.

Implementing operational security measures includes overseeing who has access to information, how it is stored and transmitted, and how organizations respond to potential security incidents.

6 Essential Cybersecurity Controls

In addition to implementing the seven types of cybersecurity defense, securely configuring control measures can reduce your attack surface and protect against common vulnerabilities that attackers often exploit.

These essential control measures include:

The Bottom Line

Understanding and applying the seven types of cybersecurity – and keeping them correctly configured – keeps the business show on the road (and it is just as important at home).

But never allow complacency to creep in, as cyber threats continue to advance, strong defenses are mandatory rather than an option.

Remember: Hackers constantly refine their tactics, so companies must stay ahead with robust security measures.

FAQs