Information and System Security - Essay Example

As a career choice, there are many ways of gaining entry into the field. It offers many areas for specialization including Information Systems Auditing, Business Continuity Planning. Information security is the ongoing process of exercising due care and due diligence to protect the information, and information systems, from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, destruction, modification, or disruption.

The never-ending process of information security involves ongoing training, assessment, protection, monitoring & detection, incident response & repair, documentation, and review. In recent years identity management has become increasingly important, especially in the financial services, healthcare, and government industries. Why identity management has emerged as a growing business and IT priority is no mystery. Obvious drivers include the need to protect one's intellectual property, data brand value, and customer loyalty from the potential damage wrought by electronically-based fraud and theft; the desire to cut technical support costs, increase productivity through self-service and enable integration across disparate platforms.

Less obvious reasons, but equally important, including the challenges presented by changing environments, such as mergers, outsourcing, federated systems, and global infrastructures, as well as industry and government regulations such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley act. The dictionary defines hackers as, "a talented amateur user of computers, specifically one who attempts to gain unauthorized access to files on various systems." (Webster's pg. 610) In other words, a hacker is a person who creates programs that infiltrate your PC and steal valuable information.

It's hard to put a face on a criminal when he works miles away from you but is still just as effective as any other criminal. Thanks to Hollywood and the young group of kids that crowd the Internet; hackers have almost been made out to be artist-like. The movie "Hackers" makes its characters seem like misunderstood geniuses looking to express themselves. The Internet community doesn't help debunk the idea when in chat rooms and message boards you'll find its contributors immortalizing them. Hackers do more than just create programs to steal files.

"Many notorious hacks were not feats of programming, but masterful psychological ploys" (TLC, 2006). Hackers play on people's fear of viruses to cause damage to their PCs. Hacker hoaxes can be just as bad as getting a virus. For example, an email in 2002 was sent out warning people about a virus that may be on their computer (TLC, 2002). The email instructed them to delete a certain file on their hard drive because it's a virus but the file was actually vital to running Windows and deleting the file would make Windows crash.

Internet security should be a high priority on every person's list that owns a computer. It makes sense since the majority of PC owners use their computers to hold valuable information, rely on it for their work, and count on it as a tool for everyday life. An attacker could potentially destroy your computer and all the information saved within it. Even worse, that information could possibly be used by someone else just like a thief would steal your belongings from your home to sell. Prevention has come a long way in addressing the issue of hackers but everyday hackers are coming up with new ways to attack your PC.

The Internet is a great thing. It's not perfect but even its imperfections shouldn't deter your desire to explore the vast wealth of information that makes up the Internet. Being aware of risks and taking steps to protect yourself will ensure that you can explore the Internet without fear.