Information security is a special state in which the user is assured that important data and the equipment that stores, processes and transmits them are protected. The integrity of data is threatened either accidentally or intentionally, by natural or artificial means. Data owners use different ways to protect their data, and IS specialists are constantly developing new strategies and tactics to shape, use and develop the information environment for the benefit of every user, from citizen to enterprise to government.
Information is protected at several levels: legislative, administrative (local acts of companies), procedural (user measures) and software and hardware (direct tools for data protection). Legislative solutions create a framework that defines the concepts of information security and the penalties applied to information security violators.
Information security objectives
Any public or private enterprise must ensure information security reliably and effectively. This is very important because technology is constantly evolving, and the scope of computers and other equipment is expanding. IS goals are shaped by the cybersecurity objectives of an individual company.
Data needs to be protected everywhere – from individual users’ resources to state-level portals. Besides providing direct security, every user should be provided with qualitative and reliable information, as well as legal support of working with data. That is why the main goal of Organization of Information Security Management is to create conditions that will provide high-quality and effective protection of important data from intentional or accidental interference. The latter can damage, delete, change or otherwise affect the confidential information. In business, information security is among other measures to ensure the continuity of business processes.
The more important the data, the more it needs to be protected. Constantly evolving IS tools track any changes to system code and attempts to tamper with the information repository. If little time and resources are devoted to cybersecurity, catastrophic consequences can occur in the form of loss of important data, infection with malicious codes, unauthorized access to the data bank, etc. The main task of IS is to limit such situations as much as possible and to foresee all potential dangers. The higher the reliability of a system, the lower the probability of a breach.
Types of control
The goals of information security can be achieved not only by following IS principles but also by implementing the necessary controls, which are divided into 3 main varieties. Physical control involves tracking the behavior of employees at their work computers, monitoring computing and household equipment. The latter includes heating and air conditioning systems, alarms, video surveillance, door locking, etc. Providing logical control, special technical tools are used: security software, firewalls, logins / passwords, etc. As part of the administrative controls, national legislation and standards adopted by the organization are applied. These standards define the framework that cannot be violated by businesses and individual users.
Information security objects
The objects of IS include any information resources that need to be protected from unauthorized access. These are various portals, where users are provided with unique information (analytical and system organizations working with information, including personal user data), official sites of mass media, local networks of companies. The objects of IS are also global systems that create, place and distribute data in the network, encryptors, legal assistance to users, special software and protection of intellectual property and proprietary information.
Ensuring information security
What exactly is the information security system struggles with? Threats that corrupt data, disrupt systems or steal sensitive information.
Threats at the national level
There are external and internal threats. The former include spying attacks by other nations, which steal various secrets and technologies. Also an external threat is the so-called “information war”, in which negative information about the state is spread online, misinforming the population and making it worse informed about the affairs inside the country.
Domestic problems require more serious provision of IS, because many threats can be avoided if we protect information resources with modern methods, continue to develop technology and make it available to ordinary users, as well as improve computer literacy.