Information
security means protecting information and
information systems from unauthorized access,
use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or
destruction. The terms information security,
computer security and information assurance are
frequently used interchangeably. These fields
are interrelated and share the common goals of
protecting the confidentiality, integrity and
availability of information; however, there are
some subtle differences between them. These
differences lie primarily in the approach to the
subject, the methodologies used, and the areas
of concentration. Information security is
concerned with the confidentiality, integrity
and availability of data regardless of the form
the data may take: electronic, print, or other
forms.
Governments, military, financial institutions,
hospitals, and private businesses amass a great
deal of confidential information about their
employees, customers, products, research, and
financial status. Most of this information is
now collected, processed and stored on
electronic computers and transmitted across
networks to other computers. Should confidential
information about a businesses customers or
finances or new product line fall into the hands
of a competitor, such a breach of security could
lead to lost business, law suits or even
bankruptcy of the business. Protecting
confidential information is a business
requirement, and in many cases also an ethical
and legal requirement. For the individual,
information security has a significant effect on
privacy, which is viewed very differently in
different cultures.
