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What Is IT Security? Essentials of IT Security Explained
IT security is vital for protecting systems, data, and networks. Explore strategies, critical domains, and career opportunities in protecting information assets.
Brien Posey
September 16, 2024
7 Min Read
IT security is the practice of protecting IT resources like systems, data, and networks. The field is broad and includes various subcategories or domains.
The core principle of IT security is the implementation of processes and tools to protect IT assets from unauthorized access, disruption, destruction, modification, and other harmful activities. IT security professionals focus on preventing such incidents and formulating incident response plans to guide an organization during a security breach.
IT security is essential in the digital age because nearly all systems are connected to the internet, either directly or indirectly. This connectivity makes them vulnerable to constant attacks. A successful security breach can cost an organization millions of dollars in cleanup costs, lost revenues, and regulatory fines.
The Types of IT Security
Given the complexity of IT security, experts often divide it into various categories. This approach allows IT security professionals to concentrate their efforts on specific areas.
Network security vs. IT security
Network security and IT security are closely related but distinct. The primary difference is that IT security is a catch-all term relating to the entirety of an organization’s IT infrastructure. In contrast, network security is a subset of IT security that focuses squarely on protecting an organization’s network.
These differences are significant because they determine the types of threats each field addresses. Network security professionals typically concentrate on network-based threats, such as unauthorized access, DDoS attacks, and man-in-the-middle attacks. While IT security professionals are concerned with these threats, they also manage other risks not directly tied to the network, including malware attacks, insider threats, physical security risks, and social engineering.
The spectrum of IT security domains
IT security is typically organized into specific domains, with some professionals specializing in one area and others handling several domains. The domains are:
Application Security: Focuses on implementing responsible coding practices and ensuring that applications get developed with security as a priority.
Cryptography: Involves encrypting data and managing encryption keys to safeguard sensitive information.
Security Architecture Design: Concerned with the overall design of an organization’s IT infrastructure, ensuring adherence to security best practices from the ground up.
Operations Security: Deals with daily IT tasks to maintain security across operations.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning: Provides strategies to keep business functions running smoothly during security incidents, natural disasters, or other kinds of disruptions.
Legal, Regulations, Compliance, and Investigations: Ensures IT operations comply with legal and regulatory requirements and manages investigations into security incidents.
Physical (Environmental) Security: Protects against unauthorized access to critical facilities like data centers.
Telecommunications and Network Security: Focuses on protecting the security, privacy, and integrity of data as it travels across networks and communication systems.
Information Security Governance and Risk Management: Involves establishing policies, procedures, and controls to manage information security risks and compliance requirements.
Security Operations: Focuses on managing IT incidents, detecting threats, and responding to security events, distinct from general operations security.
Asset Security: Ensures the security of IT assets, including hardware and data.
Identity and Access Management (IAM): Manages user access and permissions, vital for securing applications and infrastructure.
Access Control: Focuses on authentication and authorization, ensuring only authorized users can access systems and data.
Core IT Security Practices and Measures
IT security is all about employing various tools, mechanisms, and best practices to protect an organization and its assets.
Building a defense with firewall, antivirus software, and encryption
IT security uses a strategy known as “defense in depth.” The main idea of defense in depth is that you shouldn't rely solely on a single security mechanism to protect your valuable IT assets. Otherwise, you will be left defenseless if an attacker manages to disable, fool, or circumvent that one mechanism.
Fundamental components of a defense-in-depth strategy include:
Firewalls: Firewalls prevent unauthorized access to network resources by controlling traffic over various TCP or UDP ports.
Antivirus software: Antivirus software protects against malware, including ransomware.
Encryption: Encryption supports data privacy by encrypting information. Encryption gets applied to data in transit (data moving across a network) and data at rest (stored data). Network-level encryption protocols safeguard data in transit, while storage-level encryption protects data at rest.
Penetration testing and vulnerability management
More advanced IT security practices include penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking. Penetration testing involves IT security professionals using the same techniques as cybercriminals to assess whether an organization's IT resources are vulnerable to attack.
Large organizations often practice vulnerability management, which involves remediating known vulnerabilities within IT systems. Teams typically address vulnerabilities through security patches. Vulnerability management includes scanning IT resources to identify unpatched vulnerabilities and taking appropriate steps to mitigate them.
IT Security for Businesses and Individuals
While it may be tempting to think of IT security as something that pertains solely to security professionals and the IT department, end users should participate in an organization’s cybersecurity initiatives.
Creating a strong security culture
Many security incidents are caused by end users. For example, an end user may unwittingly click on malicious links within phishing messages or mistakenly entering credentials on fake websites. To mitigate these risks, organizations should educate users on common security threats and how to avoid them. This education should be ongoing rather than a one-time event to ensure users stay informed about evolving threats and best practices.
Careers and Education in IT Security
The IT field encompasses various specialties, with IT security being one prominent area. Many aspiring IT professionals choose a career in IT security due to its lucrative opportunities and demand.
The path to becoming an IT security specialist
Organizations have varying requirements for their IT staff. Those pursuing a career in IT security will often obtain a bachelor's degree in a related field, such as computer science, information technology, cybersecurity, information systems, or computer engineering.
After graduation, aspiring IT security professionals often begin their careers in entry-level IT roles, such as IT support specialists, helpdesk technicians, or system administrators. Entry-level positions provide valuable real-world experiences and insight into corporate IT operations.
Career advancement from there can vary widely but generally involves:
Building a Professional Network: Connecting with industry professionals who can aid career advancement.
Attending Conferences and Events: Going to industry conferences and events to stay updated on trends and opportunities.
Participating in Online Communities: Joining online communities and forums related to IT security.
Earning IT Security Certifications: Working toward various certifications to enhance skills and credentials.
Top certifications and degrees for IT security experts
Here are some of the top IT security certifications:
CompTIA Security+
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)
Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT)
Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate
This list is not exhaustive. Many other IT security certifications are available to further your expertise and career prospects.
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FAQ
Q: What are the main types of IT security threats?
A: You can categorize cybersecurity threats into several key types:
Malware: Malicious software that tries to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to systems.
Phishing Attacks: Attempts to obtain sensitive information (e.g., login credentials) by pretending to be trustworthy entities, usually through emails or messages.
Social Engineering: Manipulative tactics to trick individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security.
Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks: Attempts to overwhelm a system or network with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
Insider Threats: Security threats from inside an organization, such as disgruntled employees with access to sensitive information.
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): Prolonged and targeted attacks wherein criminals gain unauthorized access and remain undetected over time.
Man-in-the-Middle Attacks (MitM): The interception of communications between two parties, typically to eavesdrop on or modify the information exchanged.
Zero-Day Exploits: Attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in software or hardware before a vendor has published a patch or fix.
Injection attacks: Inserting malicious code into a program or system, such as SQL injection or command injection.
Credential stuffing: Attacks that use stolen or compromised login credentials to gain authorized access to accounts.
Q: What skills are required to be an IT security professional?
A: At a minimum, IT security professionals must have a solid understanding of networking and operating systems. However, most security professionals also hold one or more security-related certifications. CompTIA Security+ is widely recognized, but there are many other valuable certifications. For example, aspiring security professionals might pursue certifications such as a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).
Q: How does IT security differ from cybersecurity?
A: At its most basic, IT security and cybersecurity have distinct scopes. IT security is broader, including protecting all digital assets (hardware, software, data, networks, etc.). Cybersecurity, however, is more focused on protecting data, networks, and systems from digital threats and attacks.
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