Why information security is important?

Information is an essential resource for all
businesses today; it can be the key to growth
and success.

Sharing information is an increasing
business activity. Your information is a key
business asset that is very valuable. Its
availability, integrity, and confidentiality may
be critical for the continued success of your
organisation. Your security can be breached
in a number of ways, for example by system
failure, theft, inappropriate usage,
unauthorised access or computer viruses.

The impact of an information security breach
may be far greater than you would expect.
Not only will the loss of sensitive or critical
business information directly affect your
competitiveness and cash flow, it could also
damage your reputation and have a long-term
detrimental effect. It might take an
organisation ten years to establish its
reputation and image as a trustworthy and
reliable business but a security breach could
destroy this in a matter of hours.

Information also needs to be protected if you
share it with other organisations.
For many businesses, the Internet has
replaced traditional paper based ways of
exchanging information. It has enabled
information to be sent and received faster,
more frequently and in greater volume –
not just simple text but also multimedia.
Today it is quite common for companies to
use the Internet for exchanging information
and for e-commerce.

The Internet brings its own security issues
which businesses need to consider.
We automatically protect our house and
valuables from unauthorized entry, theft
and damage.