Due to the world going digital, small or big both businesses rely on the internet for work. With the non-stop evolution of technology, people often spend more time surfing online than they used to do years back. Having a digital image in the market is crucial for this era. But just like a coin has two sides, technology also comes with threats and the biggest threat is cyber-attacks, due to which cyber security and information security came into the picture.
Cyber Security v/s Information Security
The main difference between cyber security and information security is that cyber security is the protection program of a system from information leaking, theft, or any type of threat: whereas, information security is the practice of securing the information from unknown access, leaking, modification of the data, the extermination of the data, etc.
Cyber security is the application of processes that helps to protect a computer system or a network from any kind of cyber threats or attacks. The goal of cyber security is to reduce the number of cyber attacks and protect cyberspace from unauthorized access or exploitation of the computer or the network and technologies.
Information security also known as InfoSec; is preventing the information from any kind of damage by diminishing the risks. Information security is a part of information risk management that prevents or reduces the percentage of unknown or inappropriate access to the information or illegal use, information leaking, erasing, modifying, corrupting, or deflating the information.
Comparison Table Between Cyber Security and Information Security
| Parameters of Comparison | Cyber Security | Information Security |
| Definition | It is the process of protecting data from unauthorized attacks. | It is a practice to ensure that the data is safeguarded from every kind of threat. |
| Applied to | It is applied to digital information. | It is applied to both digital and physical information. |
| Threats | Cyber security only deals with cyber attacks | Information security deals with every kind of threat. |
| Mentality | Cyber security works to secure the data. | Information security works to fix the problem. |
| Professional’s priorities | Professionals are concerned with the prevention of active threats. | Professionals create policies and procedures and are responsible to ensure the CIA. |
What is Cyber Security?
Cyber Security is the activity that defends the servers, mobiles, networks, data, and systems from harmful attacks which range from businesses to personal devices. Cyber Security is also known as electronic information security and is often divided into a few categories which include: Network security which is a practice of protecting the network of a system from invaders which can be a targeted attacker of devious malware.
Application security is the practice of protecting software and devices from threats. A weak application is designed in a way to give access to the data it is meant to protect. Fortunately, the protection begins in the designing stage, before the device is installed to use. Information security preserves data’s privacy and integrity in both storage and transit.
Operational security consists of the process and decisions made for managing and protecting the information assets. Business continuity defines the response of the company to a cyber security incident or any kind of event which can cause loss of data. End-user education states the most random factor for cyber security ie people. Anyone or a hacker can install a virus into a good working system. Teaching everyone to delete any anonymous mails, not plugging unidentified USBs, etc. is important for the security of any company.
What is Information Security?
Information security is not only about securing part but also preventing the system from unauthorized access, malpractice, information leaking, the extermination of information, etc. The data can be both physical and electronic and can be anything like your personal details, biometrics, data in your cell phones, etc. Therefore, it spreads out to various areas of research such as cryptography, cyber forensic, social media, etc.
The programs of InfoSec are created around 3 objectives known as CIA which are Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Confidentiality is protecting the information and not disclosing it to any suspicious or unauthorized individual and process. Integrity means maintaining the data’s accuracy rate and completeness which means that it cannot be modified in an outlawed way. Availability is making the data available whenever it is required.
Other than the CIA, there are other principles too that regulate the programs of information security. These programs include the principle of non-repudiation which means one part is not applicable to deny receiving the message sent by the other party, nor the sending party can deny the sending of messages. Authenticity is another prerequisite of non-repudiation which means the person trusted to protect and control the data is responsible to the authority if it is lost or misused.
Main Differences Between Cyber Security and Information Security
- Cyber Security’s top priority is to protect the data and assets whereas, information security’s top priority is to ensure that the hardware, software, and other systems remain in proper function.
- Cyber Security is responsible for the risk posed by the end-users whereas information security is responsible for hardware, software, and other new technologies.
- Cyber Security looks after the controls to make sure that they work as it is designed whereas, information security puts the control in place.
- Cyber Security works with the “secure it” mentality whereas, information security works with the fix-it mentality.
- Cyber Security stays updated with the new threats and developments that are created daily whereas information security stays updated about the new hardware and software.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Today, information security and cyber security are very important because of the huge amount of data that is stored by organizations and litigation threats if not protected properly from unauthorized access. Cyber threats have always been around for many years and have drastically grown at an expanding rate in recent times.
Though it is crucial to understand cyber security and information security, the important part is to take some action. Businesses that can be small or big are both equally vulnerable to getting attacked by these threats, so understanding the proper need and use of these terms is crucial for every organization.
References
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ICS-04-2017-0025/full/html
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404813000801