The protection of information ensures that the personal data of individuals is secure and is not accessible to malicious parties such as hackers. It’s an essential right that’s enshrined in law in dozens of countries. In the end, ensuring privacy of personal data can help boost economic growth by helping consumers feel safe with their credit card details and home addresses. That trust helps them shop online and sign up for additional informational products and generally engage with companies.
Information security is a set procedures and practices designed to guard against unauthorized access, modification or loss of data whether it is stored or transmitted. It encompasses both operational and technical actions, from the design of systems architecture to information governance, including security audits and policies.
For instance, password-protected documents can protect against the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data. The encryption process, which encrypts data so that even should it fall into the wrong hands, they can’t extract any value without the proper decryption key is also a way to ensure confidentiality. It is essential to keep track of all devices that might have sensitive data stored on them, from file cabinets to employees’ home mobile devices, computers and flash drives.
Information protection is typically a component of an organization’s information assurance program. Together, the purpose of the CIA trifecta is to balance protection of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, while allowing for effective policy implementation without compromising organizational productivity. The MIT’s revised Written Information Security Program is based on this concept of separating Institute research and administrative information in accordance with its risk.
