The Importance of Information Protection
Information protection ensures that the personal data of individuals is secure and is not accessible to malicious parties like hackers. It is an essential human right that has been enshrined in law in dozens of countries. Protecting personal data privacy can boost the economy by helping people feel secure with their credit card details and home addresses. This confidence motivates them shop online, sign up for more informational services and interact with businesses.
Information security is a set of methods and procedures that are designed to prevent unauthorised access, modification or loss of information, whether it be in storage or transmission. It covers both operational and technical aspects, ranging from the design of systems architecture to information governance, including security audits and policies.
For instance, password-protected data help protect against unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data. Encryption, which is a method of securing data so that when it is in the wrong hands, they won’t extract any value without a key to decrypt it can also help maintain the confidentiality of data. It is important to take inventory of all devices that could have sensitive data stored on them from file cabinets to employees’ homes laptops, mobile devices and flash drives.
Information security is typically a element of an organization’s assurance program. Together, the goal of the CIA triad is to balance protection of confidentiality, integrity and availability while allowing effective policy implementation without compromising productivity. MIT’s revised Written Information Security Program is an articulation of this concept which classifies Institute research and administrative data based on the level of risk it poses.