Tech Explained: Security in Our IT World

 

    Security is the cornerstone of a thriving Information Technology ecosystem.  From businesses, to individuals, and even nation-states; our world is reliant on both IT, and the security systems that keep it afloat.  Security is as fundamental to IT as the electricity that powers it.  Similarly, to electricity, without security our IT systems would become unreliable and crumble.  I’ve already stated that our world is reliant on computer systems, so imagine a world where that was no longer a given.   It’s that important!

    Firstly, why is Security such a pivotal part of our IT world?  Simply, because without confidence in the sanctity of our systems, we would not rely or employ them for nearly the same tasks as we currently do.  Banks would not store, calculate, and conduct operations using computers if they could not reliably keep that data secure from unauthorized access.  Businesses would not operate using computers or the internet if their profits, customer information, trade secrets, and other important data could be easily stolen.  Would Steve Jobs have bothered creating the MAC-OS if he knew that no one would trust using it?  Likely the very history of computers would have fizzled out and died if there was not a strong emphasis on securing the data it used.

    Security systems come in various forms of hardware and software.  Anti-virus and firewall software helps detect malicious code and activity, stopping it and removing it. They scan hardware for nefarious code, such as your hard-drive.  They also can monitor incoming data packets into your network to prevent malicious activity from taking root.  Physical hardware security also exists in the form of hard-ware based encryption keys.  Likewise, the network can be secured with hardware-based devices that ensure confidentiality, integrity, and credibility of data can be transmitted without loss of performance (Li & Zhu, 2021).  Most of these solutions, such as ant-virus software, rely on hardware such as RAM and CPU to operate.  

    Viruses, which can threaten security, have intensified the security challenge.  The first few viruses were written in machine language, however now they come in a wide variety of forms (Srinivasan, 2007).  One such method is Code Injection, which is a way to insert code to modify the way a program or system works.  This method can use any of the programming languages out there, such as Python, and as such is uniquely versatile (Srinivasan, 2007).  As such, anti-virus software must be able to detect and prevent this tampering to ensure system security.

    Databases, such as internal databases and cloud databases, must also safeguard against these threats.  By their nature, databases hold information that customers want to safeguard and utilize for their operations.  Cloud databases in particular operate on a level of trust and security that allows them to entice customers to use their product.  For local databases, these same measures must be taken or you risk losing precious data.  In conjunction with software and hardware solutions, databases’ data should be backed up regularly to ensure it can be recovered when needed (Murphy & Nagalakshmi, 2020).  This creates a contingency plan in the event that your database is infected with malware.  

    A successful computer-based enterprise needs to be able to understand and proactively ensure security as they manage their IT network.  As stated, it should be understood that security is essential to our computer-driven world.  It should be understood, and preventative methods such as anti-virus software, data back-ups, and firewalls should be effectively administered.  Network architecture, databases and local data are all at risk but, luckily, there are solutions to each.   As our technology-dependent world moves forward, so too must our diligence and reliance on security match the pace.

References

Li, W. & Zhu, H. (2021). Research on Comprehensive Enterprise Network Security.  [Paper

Presentation]. 2021 IEEE 11^th International Conference on Electronics Information and Emergency Communication (ICEIEC), Beijing, China Conference.  Doi 10.1109/ICEIEC51955.2021.9463823

Murthy, P.S. & Nagalakshmi, V. (2020).  Database Forensics and Security Measures to Defend from Cyber Threats.  2020 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Sustainable Systems (ICISS), 1302-1307, doi: 10.1109/ICISS49785.2020.9316042.

Srinivasan, R. (2007).  Protecting Anti-Virus Software under Viral Attacks [Master’s Thesis, Arizona State University]. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.93.796&rep=rep1&type=pdf