Information security helps ensure that personal information remains private and out of reach from shady actors like hackers. It is a fundamental human right that has been incorporated into the law of dozens of countries. The end goal is to ensure that personal virtual board room data privacy boosts the economy by helping customers feel secure with their credit card numbers and home addresses. This confidence encourages them to shop online, sign up for more informational services and engage with companies.
Information security is the set of practices and procedures designed to protect information from the unauthorized access, modification or loss, whether in transmission or storage. It covers both technical and operational aspects, ranging from system architecture design to information governance, which includes security audits and policies.
For instance, password-protected files protect against disclosure by unauthorized parties of sensitive data. Encryption, which muddles data, so that even if it ends up in wrong hands, they cannot extract any value without the proper decryption key can also help maintain confidentiality. It is essential to keep track of all devices that could have sensitive information stored therein, from file cabinets to employees’ home computers, mobile devices and flash drives.
Information protection is typically part of an organization’s overall information assurance program. Together, the aim is to balance the protection of information’s confidentiality, integrity and accessibility (known as the CIA trifecta) while allowing for effective policy execution that doesn’t compromise productivity of the organization. MIT’s revised Written Information Security Program is built on this idea, which classifies Institute research and administrative data according to the risk level.