Information Security - Application Supporting Statement - Outline Example

Information Security Degree The Opportunity According to a March survey conducted by Acumin Consulting Ltd. and SearchSecurity.co.uk (Condon, 2011), the Information Security Professional’s compensation continued to rise even during and after the recession. Those affected were just the beginners. The point of view of another organization that believes to be the “world’s largest education and career help desk”, DegreeDirectory.org, should be considered. It cites the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which estimated the salaries of various Information Security professionals.

BLS data showed their salaries as shown in the appended survey results. The prognosis is that in the coming years, the demand for people with skills and the Information Security degree will continue to grow by 16% based on BLS data. For those with only about one year experience, the average Pay Scale would be ?33,635. See Appendix. Urgency & Importance of Information Security Any person or organization using computers can easily lose in business without Information Security. Confidential information can be hacked.

Operating systems can be corrupted and files damaged. The moment computers are used, there will be threats and a need for IT Infrastructures that should have security strategies. There are many types of cyber crime including identity theft, password hacking, discovery of private information needed for competition, and many more. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 1995) listed many common, possible sources of security threats, namely, errors and omissions, fraud and theft, employee sabotage, malicious hackers, industrial espionage, malicious code, threats to personal privacy, and even loss of physical and infrastructure support.

Information Security must be part of the means to a company’s achievement of mission and goals. It must be cost effective. Responsibilities should be assigned to skilled IT Security personnel. And the strategies have to be periodically assessed. Failure to follow this protocol would be like doing big business without security guards ready to protect the business immediately when the criminals attack. And in all the procedures, Information Security professionals are needed. As more and more people use computers to access companies and private information whether for good reasons or evil intentions, the demand for IT Professionals with knowledge about Security will become urgent.

Works Cited Condon, Ron (2011). “Security salary Survey: Technical Skill in Growing Demand”. Acumin Consulting Ltd., March 16, 2011. Available @ http://searchsecurity.techtarget.co.uk/news/2240033441/Security-salary-survey-Technical-skill-in-growing-demand . Accessed May 17, 2011. NIST (1995). “An Introduction to Computer Security: The NIST Handbook”. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Special Publication 800-12, October 1995.

Appendix (Source:http://degreedirectory.org/articles/Bachelor's_Degree_in_Security_Management%3A_Online_Degree.html based on BLS – Bureau of Labor and Statistics Data; all data per year) (Source: Payscale.com)