Information Security vs. Cybersecurity: Their Connection in a Digitalized World

The fast pace of digital evolution creates and updates new forms of all aspects of the virtual world, including cybercrime. There are several laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity and information security, and failing to comply with them can have heavy, or even fatal, consequences.

The number of data breaches this year has already surpassed the total number of breaches in 2020 by 17%. There have been 1,291 breaches, compared to 1,108 in 2020. As far as individual cases are concerned, so far in 2021, nearly 281.5 million people have been affected by some sort of data breach.

Any organization that needs to protect themselves from such attacks needs a security program or strategy. For any program and strategy to work, every member of the organization should be aware of the nature and dangers of information security threats and cyber security threats, as well as their role in protecting the organization from them. 

Cybersecurity and information security are closely related and are often used interchangeably. In this article, we will briefly explain the following points: information security, cybersecurity, their common grounds, and their importance.

Information Security

Information security is the protection of organizations’ or individuals’ information, including personal data, business records, or intellectual property, by means of preventing any form of unauthorized access.

Information security is the foundation of data security. It is the first element to be considered by any organization that aims to develop a security program. Such programs cannot be effectively implemented without competent individuals. Consequently certification with ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security is a big competitive advantage.

An essential element of any information security program is the governance structure, i.e., a framework that ensures that the security strategies are aligned with organizational goals. Governance structure includes defining the organizational roles and responsibilities of every person in an organization. This aligns organizational goals with information security goals and facilitates teamwork. The PECB webinar “Information Security vs. Data Governance vs. Data Protection: What Is the Real Difference” elaborates on these three topics.

Information Security: Examples

• Procedural controls: Their main objective is to prevent, detect, or minimize security risks with regard to physical assets.
• Access controls: Their function is to verify access to information or network. Hence, these controls are used to establish restrictions on physical access to building entrances and virtual access.
• Technical controls: Their role is to provide automated protection to applications or information technology in general.
• Compliance controls: Their role is to ensure compliance with privacy laws and cybersecurity standards that enforce information security requirements to minimize security threats.

CIA Triad 

The CIA framework helps implement security controls and policies and outline the objectives of the organization’s security program.

This model comprises three elements:

• Confidentiality ensures that sensitive information is inaccessible to unauthorized people.
• Integrity ensures ongoing maintenance with regards to the consistency, accuracy, and reliability of data throughout its lifecycle. 
• Availability ensures that authorized individuals are able to access the information when needed. In addition, it ensures that the software and hardware are maintained as appropriate.

The CIA triad helps build a set of security controls to protect important information and create a culture of compliance. The PECB webinar “CIA Triad in Data Governance, Information Security, and Privacy: Its Role and Importance” presents these topics in more detail.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the protection digital information and equipment, including computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data, from malicious attacks. This can be done by implementing different processes, technologies, and practices.

Cybersecurity attacks are divided into three categories: cybercrime (targeting financial gain), cyberattacks (mostly political attacks), and cyberterrorism. According to Cybersecurity ventures, the global spending on cybersecurity will reach $1 trillion in the period between 2017 and 2021.

Cyberattacks can target organization, or even certain employees, especially employees that may not be able to detect or handle cyberattacks. Hence, the organization’s top management must build a culture of security awareness within the organization. This is done through training and awareness sessions, such as Cybersecurity Management Training. The training course would help individuals understand the processes that are vulnerable to cyberattacks and ensure that sensitive information within the organization is safe.

Cybersecurity: Examples

• Network security is used to secure networks against misuse, interference, unauthorized access, or other disruptions.
• Application security is the way that organizations detect, fix, and enhance the security of applications to protect data.
• Cloud security is used to protect the cloud-based infrastructure and systems through developing policies and procedures and implementing protective controls and technologies.
• Critical infrastructure includes tools used to provide security services, including virus scanners, intrusion prevention systems, anti-malware software, amongst others.

Information Security and Cybersecurity: Differences and Common Grounds

Cybersecurity is the protection of electronic assets, including, but not limited to, electronic information. Elements that fall under the protection of cybersecurity include servers, databases, endpoints, and networks. In simple words, cybersecurity deals with cybercrime, law enforcement, and cyber fraud. Information security, on the other hand, is the protection of information of any format of type of content. It aims information from unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or disruption.

The most important common characteristic of cybersecurity and information security is the protection of information. 

Information security is mainly focused to protect the CIA (confidentiality, integrity, and availability) of information. In cybersecurity, the primary concern is protecting unauthorized access. In both cases, it is highly important to understand the level of damage that unauthorized access can cause to an organization. For both fields, security frameworks with proper controls are essential in ensuring appropriate levels of security. 

While cybersecurity and information security may have separate teams responsible for each, such teams must coordinate in developing a common data protection framework. Information security teams should prioritize the data that will be protected, while the cybersecurity team can develop the protocol for data protection. 

How PECB Can Help

The risk of threats to the security of information increases daily. PECB provides training and certification services for professionals show in the fields of information security and cybersecurity. 

ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security training courses aim to develop the necessary expertise to integrate an information security management system (ISMS) based on the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001 and tailored to the specific needs and context of different organizations. 

Cybersecurity Management training courses elaborate on cyber threats and provide real-life solutions to phishing scams, cyberattacks, hacking, data breaches, spyware, espionage, sabotage, and other cyber threats. This certification will demonstrate that you are able to manage the organization’s cybersecurity issues.

About the author

Albana Iseni is a Product Marketing Manager for ISR at PECB. She is in charge of conducting market research while developing and providing information related to ISO standards. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her: marketing.ism@pecb.com.