In a general sense, security can be considered as a state of
freedom from a danger or risk. For instance, a nation experiences security when
it’s military has full strength to protect its citizens from a hostile force. This
condition of freedom exists because protective measures are established and
maintained. However, the presence of the military does not guarantee that a
nation will never be attacked. Attacks from powerful outsides forces might
attack at any time. The goal of national security is to be able to defend
against attacks and ensure that the nation will survive in the event of an
attack.
The term Information Security is
often used to describe the tasks of guarding information that is in a digital
format. The information is typically manipulated by a micro-processor stored on
a magnetic or optical storage device, and transmitted over a network. Information
security can be understood by examining its goals and how it is accomplished. First
information security ensures that protective measures are properly implemented.
Information security cannot completely prevent attacks or guarantee that a
system is totally secure. Rather, information security creates a defense that
attempts to ward off attacks and prevents the collapse of the system when an
attack occurs, instead information security is protection. Second, information
security is intended to protect information that has value to people and
organizations, and that value comes from the characteristics of the
information. The three characteristics of information that must be protected by
information security are: Confidentially
ensures that only authorized parties can view the information. Integrity ensures
that the information is correct and no unauthorized person or malicious
software has altered that data. Availability = ensures that data is accessible
to authorized users. Information security attempts to safeguard these three
characteristics of information.
