What is Information Security?
Information security is a set of practices intended to keep data secure from unauthorized access or alterations, both when it’s being stored and when it’s being transmitted from one machine or physical location to another.
The basic principles of Information Security are:
Confidentially
Authentication
Non-Repudiation
Integrity
Information security measures
Lets view some information security measures in a big-picture way:
Technical measures: These include hardwares and softwares that protect data i.e everything starting from encryption to firewalls.
Organizational measures: These include the creation of internal units dedicated to information security, as well as making infosec, a part of the duties of various staff in every department.
Human measures: These include providing awareness training for users on proper information security practices.
Physical measures: These include controlling the access to office locations especially, data centers.
Why Information Security is required in a business.
Organizations nowadays invest heavily in building the reputation as well as technical skills to cater to the ever changing need for the market just to get an extra edge, alongside strengthening their portfolio to offer different technologies in the market.
Accurately securing a business from physical and data threats can help minimize risks from thefts or physical violence. Some menaces like violence in the workplace, corporate surveillance, identity theft issues and privacy prerequisites necessitate confirmings a business is safe on numerous fronts.
The core areas of Information security requirements:
Protecting the functionality of organisations:
The administrators in organisations must set policies for their organisation to operate in compliance with the complex, shifting legislation with efficient and capable applications.Enabling the safe operation of applications:
Organisations are under immense pressure to acquire and operate integrated, efficient and capable applications. The modern organisation needs to create an environment that safeguards applications using the organisations IT systems, particularly those applications that serve as important elements of the infrastructure of the organisation.Protection of the data that organisations collect and use:
In an organisation, data can be in two forms i.e either in rest or in motion. The motion of data signifies that data is currently being used or processed by the system. The values of the data motivate hackers to steal or corrupt the data. This is essential for the integrity and the values of the organisation’s data. Information security ensures protection of both data in motion as well as data in rest.Safeguarding technology assets in organisations:
Organisations must add intrastate services based on their size and scope. Organisational growth could lead to the need for Public key infrastructure (PKI) an integrated system of software encryption methodologies. The information security mechanism used by large organisations is complex in comparison to small organisations. Small organisations generally prefer symmetric key encryption of data.
Some pointers to maintain Information security in the long run.
Threats and vulnerabilities must be evaluated and analysed. Which means establishing and implementing a number of control measures and procedures to minimise risk, and carrying out auditing to measure the performance of controls.
Maintaining Backups – For any file, it is important to have at least two copies stored in different places than the original file, i.e. outside the company environment.
Continuously making the users aware of what data is critical and what data needs to be protected.
Implement risk mitigation and identification systems to ensure all the risks are identified in line with information security and other aspects of quality.
Finally, information security awareness is a very important practice for all small, medium and large companies. It will help to protect company data by preventing threats and vulnerabilities.
One of the most important mottos of science fiction says “The future is now,” but this is a future that everyone has a responsibility to build. Although a simple message, it is one that requires an organisation’s commitment to recognizing safety as an indispensable factor in the invention of the future.
