Information security, more commonly known as InfoSec, refers to your overall security strategy for protecting your organization’s most important data, from digital assets to physical media. Depending on your industry, even human speech can be a part of your InfoSec, requiring policies to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, use, or alteration.
Essentially, any information your organization uses must be safeguarded from various threats. Your InfoSec must be both comprehensive and hybrid, considering the ever-evolving IT landscape and leveraging robust tools, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), managed detection and response (MDR), and data backup and recovery software, among others.
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Why is InfoSec important?
Data is arguably the most valuable asset in any organization. With some experts labeling data as the “new currency” in this digital age, it has become all the more important that your organization takes proactive measures to prevent your data from being stolen or misused by threat actors.
Keep in mind that hackers are always trying to exploit vulnerabilities in your organization. Contrary to popular perception, criminals are not particularly picky about who they threaten. Even if your organization is “small” or “not well-known”, it can still be a target—especially if you don’t have a robust InfoSec framework in place.
Take note that over 6 billion known records were breached across more than 2,000 publicly disclosed incidents in the first half of 2024 alone (USA Report 2024). This number is only expected to increase in the future.
Even today, businesses of all sizes across all industries are victims of data breaches. Let’s look at some of the most recent ones:
- On June 26, 2024, Jollibee, one of the leading fast-food chains in the Philippines, reported a data breach that would affect 11 million customers. (ABS-CBN).
- CSO Online reported a possible data breach of around 33TB from the Federal Reserve on June 25, 2024.
- A threat actor, IntelBroker, claimed to hack Apple in a data breach incident. (Forbes).
- The National Cyber Security Centre released a statement following the recent ransomware attack of Synnovis.
- TicketMaster confirms a data breach that compromised the personal details of 560 million customers. (BBC).
Why are data breaches so dangerous?
Data breaches are more dangerous than you think. In addition to suddenly making sensitive information public and available for sale on the black market, data breaches can have multiple ripple effects on your organization.
The most damaging one of all is the sudden loss of customer trust. Stolen intellectual property will make your clients and stakeholders less confident in your products and services. In this modern age of social media, poor customer trust can manifest in dozens of negative reviews, significantly impacting your brand’s visibility and reputation.
These negative reviews can also lead to regulatory fines or legal penalties. Regulatory policies, such as the GDPR and PCI DSS, require you to protect your customers’ information. Failure to do so will result in hefty fines.
For example, noncompliance with GDPR policies can be subject to administrative penalties of up to 20 million EUR (as of this writing). This, combined with the cumulative loss caused by the breakdown of customer trust, could lead to bankruptcy or even the complete dissolution of your business.
Simply put, your InfoSec strategy is foundational to your operational success.
The principles of information security: The CIA triad
Information security has been practiced for decades, building on the CIA triad principles set in the 1970s. This triad is considered the standard for information system security and risk mitigation.
Confidentiality
Your InfoSec strategy must prevent unauthorized access to organizational data and prioritize privacy. To meet the changing demands of your information, confidentiality includes a continuum of strategies, including data encryption and multi-factor authentication.
Integrity
All your data must be complete, accurate, and not tampered with. Data integrity prevents dirty data and corruption and involves your overall data governance plan. Your InfoSec framework must include strategies that prevent criminals from altering data in any way.
Availability
Access controls are essential here: Availability dictates that information must be readily available to authorized people, often through an access control list that changes as necessary depending on the initiative you are planning.
What should be included in your information security?
- Application security. This covers any software vulnerabilities in various applications and APIs.
- Data backup and recovery. Consider developing a disaster recovery plan that helps your IT team backup and recover any lost data.
- Cloud security. This focuses on safeguarding cloud environments and third-party applications in a shared environment.
- Cryptography. Ensure that information is secured through codes. You may also want to consider digital signatures.
- Physical/Infrastructure. Prevent data corruption caused by compromised physical devices.
- Incident response. This may include proactive IT support in the event of a threat.
- Vulnerability management. It’s vital that your IT team can immediately detect and remediate any vulnerability.
An essential factor in any InfoSec strategy is patch management.
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Common information security threats
- Botnet. Botnets are networks of compromised devices infected by malware, usually controlled by a single malicious entity.
- Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS). DDoS attacks interrupt or paralyze your network by flooding it with fake internet traffic.
- Insider threats. Insider threats are people within your organization that exploit their authorized access to harm your systems.
- Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. MitM attacks interrupt your communication or data transfer to steal sensitive information.
- Spear phishing. Spear phishing is a targeted and calculated attack to steal data from vulnerable individuals.
- Ransomware. Ransomware attacks encrypt personal information and prevent access until a ransom is paid.
How NinjaOne strengthens information security
NinjaOne is trusted by 17,000+ customers worldwide for its ease of use, flexibility, and comprehensive features that supplement any InfoSec plan. Its Ninja Protect offers all-in-one ransomware protection, response, and recovery in a single pane of glass.
If you’re ready, request a free quote, sign up for a 14-day free trial, or watch a demo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the difference between InfoSec and cybersecurity?
InfoSec covers all forms of information, including physical data. Cybersecurity, on the other hand, is focused on all forms of digital information. As such, you can consider cybersecurity to be a subcategory of InfoSec.
2. What is an information security management system (ISMS)?
An ISMS is a set of policies for managing sensitive information in your organization. It helps minimize risk and ensure business continuity. It is highly recommended that you consider an ISMS in your InfoSec strategy.
3. Does my team need to be certified as part of my InfoSec strategy?
It is unnecessary for your team to be certified, but it is definitely an advantage. Given the ever-evolving IT landscape, you may want to consider these top IT certifications for IT professionals to maintain your competitive advantage and augment your information security.
