Information security and cybersecurity, what's the difference? The terms cybersecurity and information security are often used interchangeably, even among some of those in the security field, but they're not the same. When we think of data, we tend to think of computers and digital information, but meaningful, valuable data can be stored in many forms.
Information security refers to protecting data no matter what form it's in. Digital or physical? Basically, information security is as much about protecting physical information or access controls like filing cabinets or physical access to building entrances as it is about protecting databases. Cyber security is the steps taken to prevent cyber attacks from inside or outside your organisation. It protects digital information that's stored on computers, devices, networks, servers, and programs from hacking, attacks, or unauthorized access.
So you can kind of view cybersecurity as a subset of information security. Here are three tips to make your business more cyber resilient today. Tip number one, implement a password policy and a password manager.
Weak passwords are gold dust for hackers. Educating your team to use complex passwords or pass phrases will make a massive difference to cyber resilience in the long term. To help your team out, you should also implement a password manager, which allows your team members to store all of their passwords in a secure system, and it means they'll only have to remember one master password.
Tip number two is regular pen testing. A penetration test, or ethical hacking, is an authorized cyber attack on your systems, which helps you to evaluate the security of those systems. This is a really brilliant way to identify weaknesses via a full risk assessment.
Here at DataGuard we partnered with several pen testing providers and we highly recommend considering regular pen testing to boost the resilience of your business. Tip number three is backups. Backups are your business's lifeline if you ever do get hacked. Often hacks will result in your data being rendered inaccessible or corrupted.
A good backup system will ensure that your business can continue to function even in the wake of a serious information security incident. In case I haven't stressed this enough, get your information backed up now. Your employees, customers and bottom line will thank you for it. If you're concerned about your company's information or cybersecurity status, then don't hesitate to reach out to us here at DataGuard. We would be happy to advise you.