What’s the Difference Between Cybersecurity vs. Information Security?
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As our private information becomes increasingly digitized, keeping that information secure in cyberspace is more important than ever. Often you will hear of terms like information security or cybersecurity in conversations about the protection of information. Although these terms are often used synonymously due to the large area of overlap between the two, they are not the same. There are small, but key distinctions between cybersecurity and information security.
Both terms address network security and value the protection of information, but each has its respective nuances. It is important to understand the difference between the two sectors as it will help you to understand these security systems better, which can be critical if you are looking to implement a certain security framework for your operations.
Before we can evaluate the similarities and differences between these two terms, it is first important to understand what each of them means individually along with their respective goals.
What is Information Security?
Information security, occasionally referred to as infosec or data security, is a much broader term than cybersecurity and it refers to practices implemented to keep data secure. It concerns itself with the confidentiality and privacy of any data or information. This extends to data of any form, from paper to desktop, and serves as an umbrella term for preserving and preventing access to various types of confidential information.
Information security has three goals of protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. The goals of confidentiality and integrity are such that information security seeks to preserve data in its original form from unauthorized access to protect the privacy and security of the data. Further, the goal of availability explains the need for timely and reliable access to the data for authorized parties.
What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is a more specific term that is a subset of information security. It refers to the security and privacy of electronically stored data (i.e. computers, servers, mobile devices, etc). Cybersecurity deals with keeping systems, servers, and data safe from potential threats, including hackers and malicious cyber attacks. Cybersecurity professionals often help to secure servers, endpoints, databases, and networks from vulnerabilities.
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important as cyber threats continue to grow exponentially in every sector worldwide. With threats increasing daily, there is a report that claims that spending for cybersecurity will reach 170.4 billion by 2022 in response to the increase in cybercrimes.
Information Security and Cybersecurity: Similarities and Differences
1. Protection of Information
Both cybersecurity and information security are concerned with preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data. In both the protection of information and the preservation of the integrity of information is of the utmost importance.
However, the type of data that each is concerned with differs. In information security, the concern is with any type of unauthorized access to your information. In cybersecurity, the concern is with protecting data from authorized electronic access.
Even so, there are still physical components to both divisions. Information security may deal with physical documents that need to be properly secured. Although cybersecurity deals with digital data, it is still important to consider the protection of its physical forms (ex. servers and computer systems). Regardless of if the data is stored digitally or physically, both sectors deal with ensuring that the right security measures are in place so your information assets have protection from data breaches and malware.
2. Scope of Defense
Again, both sectors implement systems to help preserve their data and ensure its safety. However, the scope of each respective division tends to differ as cybersecurity is more focused and information security acts much more broadly.
Cybersecurity professionals are trained to not only prevent but also immediately respond to attacks as they occur. These professionals take on a more active role by continuously searching for security gaps and vulnerabilities to patch. Often, their focus is on more specific endpoint devices, such as a server.
In contrast, information security includes these professionals but also goes beyond to look at the bigger picture of data security. Since information security focuses more broadly on all forms of information, cybersecurity is only one aspect of many that it is concerned with. These professionals focus on looking at the overall image, seeing if their general controls and systems are effective in defending them from data breaches.
3. Types of Threats
The threats to both cybersecurity and information security are slightly different. The similarity is that the goal of these threats tends to be the same in both sectors–they aim to gain unauthorized access to private or sensitive information.
Although cybersecurity covers the protection and prevention of threats, it remains more common for professionals to respond to attacks as they arise. These attacks can take many forms but often cyber professionals respond to cybercrimes (ex. hacking), cyber fraud (ex. phishing schemes), or cyber terrorism (ex. spyware). Cybersecurity professionals are often called in to respond to these attacks to help mitigate damages or recover data.
In contrast, information security professionals work mainly on preventative measures and managing their own resources before responding to threats. Since these professionals work more broadly, they are responsible for making more foundational changes that will work to help prevent threats from the system as a whole.
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The Progression and Future of Information Security and Cybersecurity
In the past few years, both of these divisions have seen enormous levels of development in response to an increased need. The attacks on data are only increasing and becoming more sophisticated. It is more important than ever for businesses and organizations to ensure that they have proper cyber and information security. In fact, it seems that both of these professions have slowly begun to merge, overlapping more and more. In many cases, the duties of a cybersecurity professional have begun to expand to include certain aspects of information security professionals. As our world becomes increasingly digitized, it appears that the role of both cyber and information security experts will only continue this converging path.
About the author
Michelle Segoly
Michelle is the cofounder of Cyber Unit, a cybersecurity company that offers all-around protection for your devices. Cyber Unit offers the best in cybersecurity, with enterprise-grade protection for any sized
business.
