As technology improves, so must the company’s digital security procedures. Hackers are finding more and more ways to intercept business private data.
Failure to construct a sturdy security architecture could be extremely costly for your business. In IBM's 'Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021', it is reported that £2.7-3 million is the average yearly data breach cost. Don’t let your business fall into this trap at the hands of cybercriminals.
This article introduces the concepts information security, network security, and cybersecurity, and why they are essential for businesses, both big and small.
Why are information security, network security and cybersecurity important for your digital workplace?
The need for a robust security infrastructure has grown along with the increase of cyber attacks in recent years. We all remember the recent data Facebook Messenger breach, which exposed the data of 533 million users.
However, cyber attacks do not only happen to large corporations. Smaller businesses are also at risk as cybercriminals will assume they have weaker security protocols and will be more susceptible to a breach.
Focus on three elements to enhance your business security – people, process, and technology. Train your team in cybersecurity trends and engage professional IT support with solid cybersecurity strategies; implement security through the processes your business uses such as strong passwords and access controls which involves technical solutions.
Alternatively, small business owners can also resort to a safe workspace to mitigate cybersecurity threats. Today’s flexible office space providers are a great alternative to offices where you have to set things up yourself. They come ready with enterprise-grade IT infrastructure, and are able to tailor customised IT solutions and advanced security setups to suit different business requirements.
Evaluate the IT Setup at your workplace. Read more about guarding against cybersecurity risks.
Next, let’s take a deep dive into the three seemingly relevant security concepts that has its own distinctions.
The CIA “Triad” of Information Security
In InfoSec, there are 3 tenets that make up the security model, they are known as the CIA Triad, which stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. These are the focus areas businesses look into when they consider mitigating potential risks in various parts of IT security.
Confidentiality measures are taken to prevent critical information from being accessed by unauthorised parties. It can involve segmentation of information based on who can and should access and by sensitivity of information.
Integrity involves ensuring that data is not compromised; in other words, it focuses on securing data from alteration or damage from unauthorised parties.
Availability is the component that refers to the consistent accessibility of information to authorised parties. This involves security architecture and technical maintenance that is designed to that purpose.
Important Components to Build Information Security
Here are 2 things you can start with when you are building a more secure workplace:
Governance Structure
The first thing you should start with your information security is a governance structure or framework. Having a governance structure in place ensures that your security policies align with your business objectives. You should think of your governance structure as the foundation of your information security programme. This structure defines the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of each person and ensures that you are meeting compliance.
Information Security Management Systems
An information security management system or ISMS is a set of guidelines and set processes to help organisations safeguard important information. By having a formal set of guidelines, businesses can minimise risk and can ensure work continues as usual in case of a security incident or a change in business.
ISO 27001 is a well-known specification for a business ISMS. The ISO 27000 is a set of standards that have been developed to help keep information assets secure. You can invest in reliable software like IT Governance or Data Guard to protect the information security of your business.
The Underlying Principles of Network Security
Network security is a set of rules and processes developed to protect the computer networks
and data using both software and hardware technologies.
When businesses choose to go remote for its employees, it gets a more challenging for IT professionals to mitigate user errors outside of the protected office environment. Remote workers can compromise network security from something as common as connecting to a public Wi-Fi at a café.
While it may not be in the job description of a non-IT or security personnel, everyone should have a working knowledge of security and its layers. On top of working with the IT team for your remote setup, here are a few aspects that would be good to understand:
1. Physical Security
First, there is Physical Network Security. This secures the physical aspects of your network and stops attackers or unauthorised users from being able to access your network through things like routers, cables or other physical tools.
2. Technical Network Security
Second, there is Technical Network Security. This secures the data stored on the network. It
protects both data and systems from unauthorised personnel, and it also protects against malicious activities from in-house employees. For example, firewalls can help filter unwanted traffic from entering your network.
3. Administrative Network Security
Third, there is network access control and change management tool. This includes how users are authenticated into the network, the level of access they have onto different systems, and how your IT team implements changes to the network with proper approval.
There are many tools you can use to protect your business network security from cyber threats. A tool you can use is Metasploit, a computer security project that provides information about security vulnerabilities and publicly available exploits, or the widely-used network protocol analyser, Nessus, which provides unlimited scans with memberships, and available for free trials before purchasing.
The Core Principle of Cybersecurity
Cyber security refers to the protection of systems that are connected to the internet from threats in cyberspace. It involves software, data and hardware protection that seeks to deter cybercriminals from accessing devices or networks.
When working in the office, cybersecurity rarely crosses the minds of employees. This is because the IT and security teams have laid a secure groundwork and they have their guards up at all times. In the absence of a protected office environment, remote workers can easily run into threats like malicious software, information leakage, as well as risks that come from using personal devices to work.
Having a remote and hybrid workforce is cause for companies to strengthen its cyber security policy. Work with IT professionals or start looking into the cybersecurity tools that will help keep the walls up between your critical information and uninvited parties.
H3: Cybersecurity Tools
There are a plethora of cybersecurity tools out there that can assist your digital workplace security systems. We’ll do a rundown of some of the best cybersecurity tools you can consider for your business:
Metasploit
Metasploit was briefly mentioned earlier and it’s worth circling back. The tool is useful to invest in for robust cyber security infrastructure. Metasploit identifies all new security vulnerabilities as they happen, and will be an advantage for round-the-clock security protection.
Kali Linux
Kali Linux is another widely used cybersecurity system and it’s an excellent penetration testing tool. The operating system includes 300 tools for cyber auditing. It uses various tools for organisations to scan their systems effectively for vulnerabilities.
Cybersecurity vs Network Security
It’s important to understand how cyber and network security differ from each other so that you truly understand how having these infrastructures in place benefits your business and how these are essential to creating a secure digital workplace.
Network Security is the measures taken to secure a computer network and data using both hardware and software systems. Whereas cybersecurity is the process of protecting your system from cyber attacks and malicious attacks.
Cybersecurity vs Information Security
People often confuse InfoSec and Cybersecurity. It’s commonly said that information security is the umbrella term and cybersecurity and network security are subsets for this.
Information security differs from cybersecurity because it aims to keep all information secure, both physical and digital, whereas cybersecurity protects digital information.
After learning about the concepts of cybersecurity, it is time to make sure your workspace is secure. Consider an alternative like a flexible office space so you do not have to set things up yourself. The serviced office comes ready with enterprise-grade IT infrastructure, customised IT solutions, and advanced security setups to suit different business requirements.