Information Security and Cloud Services
Cybersecurity, computer security or information assurance is basically the protection of networks and computer systems against information disclosure, theft or destruction of their information, or of the services provided by them, and of the systems’ utilities. It is essentially an ongoing effort by an organization to prevent and minimize the damage that would be caused in case of a breach of their systems. The main objective of such measures is to defend business assets, and the confidentiality of their information from unauthorized access. In this regard, it also seeks to protect the users of the network and prevent their information from being compromised.
As for the dangers that are posed by a severe cyber attack, they range from a simple system outage to a complete intrusion of the network. The latter is the biggest threat of all since it could lead to the theft of confidential corporate information, including sensitive data of its customers and employees. This, if coupled with a denial of service attack, could result in the crippling of a company’s operations. Similarly, the less severe types of cyber attacks are aimed at trying to obtain access to systems for malicious purposes, or to test the security of systems and programs before they are released. This is often done with the help of software programs that have been written to mimic various security measures, or may be used to perform what is known as a “worms” attack, which is used to spread viruses throughout a system.
In order to meet the challenges of this modern world, information security firms have developed a number of different approaches to protect corporate computer systems from various different threats. These include creating multiple layers of defense on the organizational network, developing response plans for every eventuality, and the use of protective measures such as the implementation of disaster recovery procedures in case of a major attack. Some other common methods that companies use include creating firewalls on all internal computer systems, controlling access to sensitive information and databases, and using protective measures such as identity management systems to monitor user activity. The use of cloud services has become more popular with the increase in Internet security threats.