Key elements of computer security
Let's try to outline in a few words, what computer security is about and which are the key elements of computer security.
The purpose of computer security is to provide a safe computing environment. There are a few key elements that we need to focus on here. The first key element of computer security is availability. Everyone today is familiar with using computers, and they tend to be more and more important for us at work and at home as well, and many of us are using them lots of hours per day. But we should not take the fact that they do actually work, for granted. It is better to consider that the fact that they do work is pretty much a victory of lots of people involved in computer security, in the tough neverending battle against all damaging factors, like hackers, virus attacks and similar dangers aimed at rendering your computer unusable. We should recall the outbreak of certain viruses even years ago like the CIH virus which was deleting flashable BIOS areas and basically computer motherboards turned dead and in many cases end-users had to purchase a new motherboard in order to fix them. This is an extreme example where a virus almost damages your hardware, but even if the damage is done to software only, like data loss and corrupting file system or operating system, the impact towards our life and daily activities is not smaller. Therefore, availability is the first security factor - we need to have our computer running so we can use it whenever we need to.
The second important computer security key element is data integrity. Computers are all about information - therefore the value resides in the information they can hold. If this information is deleted, corrupted or altered, the value of the information goes down to zero. The damage that can be done to a business by loosing or altering critical information for example, can be devastating. At many times you can recover some of the data but the result is not enough so the effort is useless. There are also cases when you rebuild the data by hand but you do not have any proof that the result matches the original data that has been lost. Then, there is the case where the altered data cannot be recovered as the original source of the information does no longer exist. We need to be sure that whatever we had yesterday in our computer, is still available today and that the information is safe from alterations in any way.
Finally, the third important computer security key element is confidentiality. Needless to say, it is extremely important that the information we have and our actions are safe from prying eyes. Only authorised people should have access to our data. The leakage of information can end up in severe damages to our businesses and lives, if they fall into the wrong hands. There are so many cases when companies went banckrupt after their competitors have manged to hack into their files. There are also cases when personal life is turned upside down if private information about us is discovered by other people. And in many cases, the computer user does not even know how deep the loss of confidentiality can affect them.
In the fight to uphold computer security, we have to make compromises. We have to make the choices that fit us and balance between the advantages of enforced computer security and strong reliability, against the disadvantages that tight security measures do have. The best would be if we keep our computer locked into a safe and having the key with us all the time. But this is not feasible (although I can imagine some people are actually doing this as well). It usually pays back to be paranoid about computer security, and to be aware that we are never safe from all risks, but it is also important to understand that there has to be a limit even in the security measures that we take. If we are aware about the risks and the proper measures that can be taken to prevent these risks from becoming actual damage, then we are able to ensure our computer security and to continue working and living normally, but we have to keep an eye on security since things can change without warning in this field, and we need to be safe.
The purpose of computer security is to provide a safe computing environment. There are a few key elements that we need to focus on here. The first key element of computer security is availability. Everyone today is familiar with using computers, and they tend to be more and more important for us at work and at home as well, and many of us are using them lots of hours per day. But we should not take the fact that they do actually work, for granted. It is better to consider that the fact that they do work is pretty much a victory of lots of people involved in computer security, in the tough neverending battle against all damaging factors, like hackers, virus attacks and similar dangers aimed at rendering your computer unusable. We should recall the outbreak of certain viruses even years ago like the CIH virus which was deleting flashable BIOS areas and basically computer motherboards turned dead and in many cases end-users had to purchase a new motherboard in order to fix them. This is an extreme example where a virus almost damages your hardware, but even if the damage is done to software only, like data loss and corrupting file system or operating system, the impact towards our life and daily activities is not smaller. Therefore, availability is the first security factor - we need to have our computer running so we can use it whenever we need to.
The second important computer security key element is data integrity. Computers are all about information - therefore the value resides in the information they can hold. If this information is deleted, corrupted or altered, the value of the information goes down to zero. The damage that can be done to a business by loosing or altering critical information for example, can be devastating. At many times you can recover some of the data but the result is not enough so the effort is useless. There are also cases when you rebuild the data by hand but you do not have any proof that the result matches the original data that has been lost. Then, there is the case where the altered data cannot be recovered as the original source of the information does no longer exist. We need to be sure that whatever we had yesterday in our computer, is still available today and that the information is safe from alterations in any way.
Finally, the third important computer security key element is confidentiality. Needless to say, it is extremely important that the information we have and our actions are safe from prying eyes. Only authorised people should have access to our data. The leakage of information can end up in severe damages to our businesses and lives, if they fall into the wrong hands. There are so many cases when companies went banckrupt after their competitors have manged to hack into their files. There are also cases when personal life is turned upside down if private information about us is discovered by other people. And in many cases, the computer user does not even know how deep the loss of confidentiality can affect them.
In the fight to uphold computer security, we have to make compromises. We have to make the choices that fit us and balance between the advantages of enforced computer security and strong reliability, against the disadvantages that tight security measures do have. The best would be if we keep our computer locked into a safe and having the key with us all the time. But this is not feasible (although I can imagine some people are actually doing this as well). It usually pays back to be paranoid about computer security, and to be aware that we are never safe from all risks, but it is also important to understand that there has to be a limit even in the security measures that we take. If we are aware about the risks and the proper measures that can be taken to prevent these risks from becoming actual damage, then we are able to ensure our computer security and to continue working and living normally, but we have to keep an eye on security since things can change without warning in this field, and we need to be safe.
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