Unit 1

Information Security

Warm Up

1. What is information security?

2. Which spheres is it used in?

3. What means of information security do you know?

Reading

1. Read the text below and fill in the gaps in the following sentences.

1) In today's high technology environment .…………. are becoming more and more dependent on their………………

2) The threats to information systems from…………………… are increasing.

3) Without …………….., neither businesses nor the not-for-profit sector could function.

4) It is vital to be worried about information security because much of the value of a business is concentrated in ………………….

The Importance of Information Security

Information security is the collection of technologies, standards, policies and management practices that are applied to information to keep it secure.

But why is it important to secure information? And how should its security be managed? To start thinking about these questions, consider the following statements about information. In today's high technology environment, organizations are becoming more and more dependent on their information systems. The public is increasingly concerned about the proper use of information, particularly personal data. The threats to information systems from criminals and terrorists are increasing. Many organizations will identify information as an area of their operation that needs to be protected as part of their system of internal control.

It is vital to be worried about information security because much of the value of a business is concentrated in the value of its information. Information is the basis of competitive advantage. And in the not-for-profit sector, with increased public awareness of identity theft and the power of information, it is also the area of an organization’s operations that most needs control. Without information, neither businesses nor the not-for-profit sector could function. Valuing and protecting information are crucial tasks for the modern organization.

If information were easy to value and protect, however, you would be able to buy off-the-shelf information security management solutions. There are three characteristics of information security that make this impossible:

1) The collection of influences to which each organization is exposed varies with the organization: the information technology that it uses, its personnel, the area in which it does business, its physical location – all these have an effect on information security.

2) Information security affects every structural and behavioral aspect of an organization: a gap in a security fence can permit information to be stolen; a virally infected computer connected to an organization’s network can destroy information; a cup of coffee spilt on a computer keyboard can prevent access to information.

3) Each individual that interacts with an organization in any way – from the potential customer browsing the website, to the managing director; from the malicious hacker, to the information security manager – will make his or her own positive or negative contribution to the information security of the organization.

Thus information security and its management need to be examined within an organizational context.

2. Say if the following statements are True or False.

1) The public is increasingly concerned about the proper use of information, particularly secret data.

2) Valuing and protecting information are main tasks for the modern organization.

3) Information security doesn’t influence every structural and behavioral aspect of an organization.

4) Each individual that interacts with an organization in any way contributes positively or negatively to the information security of the organization.