Security of Information in Commercial or Business Organizations

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Information security in commercial or business organizations

Information security within a commercial or business organization is involves an act that is concerned with information protection of the information systems from people who have no authority over the system. The main purpose of information security is restricting access to unauthorized users, information disclosure prevention, disruption, perusal and destruction.

Topic 1: definition of terms such as technical, human and physical information assets which are at potential risk in a business or a commercial organization.

There are several assets which are at a potential risk in a business or a commercial organization. These assets are classified into three major categories that that is; human, technical and physical information assets.
Human information assets

The human information assets within a business or a commercial organization are the most important assets among the three assets. Humans are like a backbone joining the vital capabilities concerned with sustaining an organization. Human information assets within an organization are basically divided into two major categories that is; employees and non employees.

Employees

This involves the organization's staff members as well as managers, especially the ones who are assigned roles dealing with knowledge management for example, an executive manager, a software developer, a system manager, and a security administrator among others. Generally, they are the 'go-to' people within an organization.

Non-employees

People under this group are either, temporarily working for an organization, special advisors or specialist contractors. An example of this group of people is the person who understands the physical Information Technology environment maintenance. An organization's suppliers and the partners to the organization are also examples of non-employees.
Both the employees and the non-employees form part of an organization's information asset which is at potential risk.

Physical information asset

Physical information assets are generally any tangible information asset within an organization. They are further divided into infrastructures which support IT, control IT environments and IT hardware. Some examples include devices used for storage and computing such as lap tops, computer rooms, and water alarms.

Technical information assets

These are information assets in an organization which have the ability of assisting in the processing of information. Moreover, technical assets assist in creation, output generation, input storing and data storage. Technical asset plays a big role in the identification and valuing of an organization's processes.

Question 2:
Define and describe the terms 'integrity', 'availability', and 'confidentiality' in relation to information security protection of information assets in organizations (either business or commercial). That is, what is it about these assets which make them valuable so that they need to be protected?

The integrity, availability and confidentiality of an information asset have to be protected through information security. Information security ensures that the integrity, availability and confidentiality of any information asset is upheld at all costs regardless of the form of the information asset for example, electronic or in a print form.
An organizations' information such as employee details should be confidential to the organization in context only.

In case an information asset falls in the hand s of a competitor, the organization's security will be breached which may result to drastic end results for example, business loss. In addition to that effect, an organization may become bankrupt in case a competitor obtains the information about it. An organization's confidential information asset protection is termed as both an ethical and legal requirement.

Confidentiality, integrity and availability are the basic principles of an information security. Confidentiality involves the prevention of information disclosure to ...