IT security has changed significantly since the beginning of the 21st century. Information technology has expanded to include numerous subsets with technology’s evolution. These subsets include programming, engineering, safety, analytics, and a lot more. IT is not only limited to searching the web using keywords, neither does it focus only on clunky computers.
The information aspect of information technology is far more than obtaining sensitive data and protecting it. IT systems are now capable of processing complex queries, predicting future events, extrapolating data, and even advising officials. Because of this wealth of knowledge, it has led the cybersecurity field to expand.
Different Types of IT Security
There may be six or even more different types of cybersecurity depending on which experts you ask. Each information technology experts has their own categorization. But with the network expansion with the cloud and other new technologies, more types of internet safety measures will emerge.
For the most part, cybersecurity is classified into three broad types: Network, End-Point, and internet security (under the cybersecurity category). The other various types of IT safety measures can usually fall under these 3 types.
Network Security
To put it simply, network security refers to the interaction between various devices on a network. This includes the hardware and the software. According to the SANS institute, network security strives to protect the underlying networking infrastructure from unauthorized access, destruction, or improper disclosure, misuse, modification, malfunction, thereby creating a secure platform for users, computers, and programs to perform their designated critical functions within a secure environment. The major goal of network defense is to prevent unauthorized personnel or device access.
For maximum network safety, start with the configuration. Make sure that all device configuration includes reasonable preventative measures. Next, secure a detection system. Detection software analyzing logins could check for irregularities. Lastly, set up a response protocol for and when a breach occurs. This will hopefully minimize the damages to the network insecurity and ensure smooth communication.
Common methods of network protection include:
Two-factor authentication
Application whitelisting
End-to-end encryption
To help ensure the utilization of best practices across industries, using a security framework such as NIST’s cybersecurity framework is a huge advantage. When setting up or improving security operations, you should set some guidelines to follow.
End-Point Security
End-point security is another key to information technology security that focuses on the devices involved. It is very important to verify that only authenticated devices can access the system or data. To simplify it, end-point security targets security threats from a device-level viewpoint (example: tablets, laptops, and mobile phones). Each new connection on an entity’s network extends the threat intelligence field.
End-point protection software may include the following:
Privileged user control
Application controls
Data controls
Intrusion detection
Encryption
Encryption is responsible for ensuring the integrity of data being transferred, while application security controls protect against dangerous downloads on the user’s end. Security departments typically install such software on the company’s server and not only in the device in question. When a security update takes place, the central server pushes the update to all end-point devices, thus ensuring a certain level of security uniformity.
Having a central sign-in page allows enterprises to track who logs on and tracks any suspicious activity.
Internet Security
Internet security tends to fall under the name of cybersecurity. It is responsible for the transit of information. For example, you send an email, while the message is in transit, a third party sweeps in and takes it before the message is delivered to its intended recipient. Such hijackings are just one of the many examples of crimes regarding the internet. In this case, encryption serves as one method of defense that makes any stolen information significantly useless to the perpetrator.
Some forms of encryption and authentication commonly used by businesses for their online platforms are SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and TSL (Transport Layer Security). TSL and SSL create public and private keys when interactions with customers take place. They ensure the integrity of the data processed during transactions. Sites using SSL and TSL encryption methods usually have ‘https’ in the address bar along with a small lock icon.
Other common internet safety measures include:
Firewalls
Tokens
Anti-malware/Spyware
Password Managers
To widen your protection perimeter, take the time to build secure defense in layers (e.g., multi-factor identification and encryption) at every level of the cloud. If not building a company/internal cloud, cloud providers also offer different protective measures and surveillance tools.
Understanding different sectors of cybersecurity helps greatly when your organization tries to establish a strong defense against intruders. Like most defense strategies available, the plan will differ depending on the resources available.