Although all three security systems are designed to protect data, there are differences in their way of providing security. The concept of security has taken a new turn with the introduction of digitalization, enhancing its importance more than before.
Cybersecurity, information security, and network security offer security in three distinctive forms, encompassing areas of digital, physical, and network security. Let us learn how these three security systems are distinct from each other.
Information Security
At the outset, information security was intended to secure physical documents with an actual lock and key. However, the concept evolved with time and now includes protecting data from unauthorized access, disruption, destruction, or disclosure. The protecting tools have now shifted from physical locks and keys to digital locks and security systems.
As a part of the IT security system, information security is aimed at ensuring data confidentiality, availability, and integrity. Under this security system, information is made accessible to authorized parties only. Accurate and consistent information is shared and made available even during system failures.
Threats to Information Security
Information security often encounters threats concerning information misuse, disclosure, and destruction. Some common threats include-
- Botnet: Networks of hijacked computer devices are used for cyberattacks and scams.
- Advanced persistent threat (APT): Attackers gain unauthorized access to a computer network to steal data or infect systems with malware.
- DDoS attack or distributed denial-of-service attack: Swamps a network or server with traffic from multiple sources to disrupt services.
- Phishing: Fraudulent communication appearing to be authentic for malware installation or theft of sensitive information.
- Insider threat: An authorized person having access to sensitive information of an organization misuses it for wrong purposes.
- Ransomware: Data is locked and encrypted by attackers to demand money for decryption.
Network Security
As the name suggests, network security is crafted to protect networks. It is the combination of technologies, procedures, policies, and people that are committed to protecting a network from unauthorized penetration, data theft, and various cyberattacks. Safeguarding the electronic network infrastructure associated with computers or other devices. The concept of network security surfaced with the introduction of computers. Firewalls, access control, and IPS (intrusion prevention systems) are examples of network security systems.
The activities of these systems are carried out to protect the integrity and usability of the network and the data shared through it. Network security can be hardware, software, or both technologies working individually or together against various threats. An effective network security manages access to the network, ensuring its protection against potential threats.
Threats to Network Security
Network security can be threatened by a range of attacks-
- Malware: Malicious software is designed to damage a computer, server, or computer network. It exploits vulnerabilities in a network, application, or computer system. Through this attack, sensitive information like passwords, financial information, and others are accessed by unauthorized sources.
- Cryptojacking: Hackers use devices to mine cryptocurrency secretly by draining their battery, slowing down their operating system, and blocking legitimate access to resources on the system.
- Spyware: Collects and shares personal information such as authentication credentials, screenshots, email addresses, and others from a device without the user’s consent.
- Trojan Horses: A malware in disguise of a legitimate program. Attackers social engineer users by manipulating them to download malware to get access to their systems.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a subset of information security that protects networks, systems, and programs from various digital attacks. Cybersecurity extends to protecting information misuse or theft across systems and devices. With the advent of the internet, new vulnerabilities surfaced, giving birth to the cybersecurity industry. This practice thwarts potential cyberattacks through effective tools and techniques. Cybersecurity protects devices, software, networks, and data from cyber threats to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.
Threats to Cybersecurity
The threats associated with information and network security are all cyberattacks that aim to steal information, install malware, penetrate networks maliciously, and other criminal activities digitally. Starting from Phishing to Cryptojacking, these activities are executed with fraudulent intentions. Here are some examples of cyberthreats-
- MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) attacks: Malicious actors place themselves between the victim and an online server used by the victim to intercept data transmitted through the networks, users, or computers.
- DNS Tunneling: Leverages domain name system queries to respond to bypassing traditional security measures. This attack is difficult to track as it responds to DNS requests and routes them to the attacker’s server to exfiltrate data.
- SQL Injection: This code injection cyberattack can destroy a database by inserting malicious SQL statements into input areas through the underlying SQL database. It enables access to information that was not for display.
- XSS attacks: Cross-site scripting allows attackers to inject malicious code into a website or application to get access to sensitive information for impersonating the user.
Cybersecurity vs. Information Security vs. Network Security
These security terms are closely related yet distinct in their approaches. Let’s find out why.
| Information Security | Network Security | Cybersecurity |
| Processes and methods crafted and implemented to protect both physical and digital confidential and sensitive data. | Hardware and software preventive measures to protect underlying networking infrastructure from misuse, unauthorized access, destruction, manipulation, and unconsented disclosure. | Protects systems, programs, and networks from digital or cyberattacks. Cyberattacks, like destroying, accessing, and altering sensitive data, interrupting operations, or extorting money from users. |
| Designed to protect any form of sensitive and personal information from unauthorized access. | A subset of cybersecurity that aims to protect organizational IT infrastructure from digital threats. | A subset of information security that protects organizational or individual internet-connected systems from cyberattacks. |
| Protects both physical and digital data. | Protects data and systems in networks. | Protects only digital or electronic information. |
| Deals with electronic and any other data, documents, and sensitive information. | Deals with data in transit within networks | Deals with entire digital data |
| Measures include encryption, password policy, and more. | A network is protected using the firewall, access control, and other measures. | Cybersecurity measures include- getting a VPN, updating programs, using strong passwords, using firewall, security software, and several others. |
Data security and safe networks are crucial in today’s digital world. With an acceleration in adopting new technologies, cases of security and information breaches have also increased. Information security, network security, and cybersecurity issues are occurring across industries. Although these three security systems are designed to protect digital assets, they differ in terms of nature, scope, risks, and measures. On the contrary, despite their different approaches, all these often work together to deliver holistic protection to organizational IT infrastructure and information.
