ITM437 Information Security and Technology module 1 - Case SOURCES OF SECURITY THREATS: HUMAN, NATURE, AND TECHNOLOGY FACTORS

INFORMATION SECURITY
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Introduction
Information security is the collection or assembly of all the necessary techniques that can be used to safeguard data and information of an individual or entity. The current information age has brought with it increased challenges to information security. More and more organizations and even governments are beginning to understand the high stakes involved in safeguarding their data. There are various sources of threats to information, such as human errors, natural and manmade disasters, as well as cyber attacks. Having a deeper knowledge of each will be helpful in understanding the kind of challenges being faced, and the subsequent strategies to keep safe.
Why is information security an important issue?
Globalization has ushered in an age where information is virtually the heartbeat of everything. The access to reliable, accurate and vital information can be the difference between success and failure, life and death. Businesses rely on such information to ensure that they remain afloat and competitive in this dynamic environment that has cutthroat competition. Individuals too need information to make informed decisions on various issues (Dell, 2014).The same applies to governments, which use information to plan for the present and the future of their citizens.
With this, however, comes the reality of information leakage. Vital or highly sensitive information might fall into the wrong hands, such as terrorists or criminals, people with ulterior motives. When such a breach happens, a lot of things are at stake. The security of a country, the business of an organization or even the wellbeing of an individual is all at the mercies of these negative agents. A hacker might use the stolen information to steal money from banks or personal bank accounts. For some, they sell the information to business competitors, who might need it to gain a competitive edge over the other, or even to sabotage the operations of the competitors (Dell, 2014).There are also those traitors, whose job is to spy and steal information, especially about the military, and convey it to another country. All these confirm how high the stakes are when it comes to data security.
It is also important to note that information security is not just about protecting it from external access. It is not just about protecting it from leakage. Sometimes, it is about protecting it from loss or lack of access. For example, a wrong move by the employees of an organization might result in the destruction of an individual source of data. Information security, therefore, is the single most important issue for any entity, besides management.
Sources of threats to information security
* Human errors.
Information is at risk from the same entities mandated to safeguard it. In an organizational setup, employees are usually easy targets for hackers, who simply do phishing. In phishing, an email or link is sent to one's computer requiring a particular condition to be done after opening it. Once these links are clicked on, a bug is released into the computer system, which steals vital information such as personal details and passwords. Employees often fall prey to this, since some of them a...