In today's digital era, information security and personal data are very important. The more we rely on online technology and services, the greater our risk of being targeted for attacks cyber. Until now, there are still many who feel as if they "don't have anything to hide" and are not aware of how valuable the information we have, whether about finances, health, email, or other work-related matters. Many people think that all the information they have is safe and free from all threats. In fact, with the increasing sophistication of technology, breaking into information security systems is a common thing. Therefore, it is important to understand the importance of Security Awareness for information security and how to protect it.

What is Information security?

Information security, or information security (infosec), covering procedures to prevent data theft, unauthorized access, and system corruption. The main goal of information security is to protect data throughout the process of storing, transmitting, and using.

Information security involves a variety of practices to protect information and data, both digital and non-digital, including enkripsi, pengendalian akses, penilaian risiko, manajemen risiko, dan perlindungan privasi.

• Encryption involves the use of technology to secure information in a way that cannot be read or accessed by unauthorized persons.
• Access control involves the use of policies and technology to restrict access to information to authorized persons.
• Risk assessment involves identifying and assessing information security risks and taking action to mitigate those risks.
• Risk management involves planning and implementing strategies to reduce information security risks.
• Privacy protection involves policies and technologies to protect personal information.

Information security (Infosec) Vs cyber security (cyber security)

These are two important concepts in today's digital era. These two things are interrelated but have different focuses.

Here Cybersecurity relying on security information from information security, identify threats, analyze risks, and protect systems and networks from attacks cyber. Instead information security relying on system and network security from cybersecurity to protect data and information from cyberattacks. The two strengthen each other to create stronger information security.

Information Security Aspects – C.I.A triad

The CIA triad is an information security model that governs the storage, transmission, and processing of data within an organization. Every element in the CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) is a key component in information security. Well-known information security frameworks, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS, are based on these principles.

Confidentiality

This process ensures that all stored data and information can only be accessed by people who have been given permission. This includes ensuring that every process of sending, receiving, and storing data is carried out safely. An attack that threatens confidentiality is any attack that aims to intercept access to data. Keyloggers and port scanners are examples of attack mechanisms that aim to threaten confidentiality.

A major part of protecting data confidentiality is controlling who has access to it. One way to keep data confidential, is by using enkripsi Such as giving passwords to documents, encrypting databases. So the data cannot be read directly or other encryption methods such as E2EE, hashing, etc. That will ensure that only those authorized get access to the necessary data. While those who are not authorized are filled with precautions to not be able to access the data.

We can also manage data access with password policies (strong password policy) which ensures all data is password protected. Don't use passwords that are easy to guess, use a combination of numbers and letters, at least characters, there are lowercase and uppercase letters or other components that can represent the level of our password is measured strongly.

In other ways, we can also apply Multifactor authentication (2FA) where a system requires two types of authentication from its users, such as using OTP and biometric when entering an account on a smartphone.

Not to forget, we also need to do data classification & labelling to categorize any data that is confidential, internal, external or public and can be disseminated. Of course, there will be special treatment for confidential data both in terms of storage and use.

Integritas (integrity)

Integrity is a form of assurance that all data cannot be changed without permission by the authorities. That way, the integrity and accuracy of the data are maintained as it should. Mitigation measures must be taken to ensure that integrity is maintained and data is not tampered with. When considering data integrity, it's important to consider whether the data is exactly what it was when it was first received or created? Can we ensure its validity over its lifecycle of use?

Malware and cyberattacks are the biggest threats to data integrity. Integrity also means ensuring that the data is not corrupted in any way, either by an attack or human error, because the corruption itself is a form of change to the data.

One way to ensure data integrity is to avoid data duplication. Inventaris data can help you track what data is stored and its flow throughout the organization so that there is no duplicate data and that the data you have is complete and accurate.

Furthermore, by applying user access management, where only the authorized party can access and make changes to a data asset. Rotate passwords from administrators periodically to avoid losses from cyber attacks that use access rights as an attack method.

We also need to implement backup & restore policy. We need to make backups regularly where if there may be an error or hacker attack, we can restore the data as it was.

Another step, namely by using Security Information and Event Management / SIEM as a log management system and to view anomalies, detect potential attacks as well as track the path of intrusion. SIEM is equipped with an automated mechanism to provide information and notifications related to potential cybercrime.

Availability.

This aspect is a form of assurance that all data will be available when needed and ensures that the right party can use the relevant information and devices if needed at any time.

Generally, data availability-related attacks are Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks where the goal is to shut down a machine or network and make it inaccessible to authorized users. Often availability can also be affected by more than just a cybersecurity incident. Reliable data systems can be affected by network failures, human error, or hardware issues that all affect an organization's ability to provide the necessary services. Network damage can cause downtime which then reduces the availability of the information system needed by users.

One important way to do this is to make disaster recovery plan for any perceived threat to the data system before it occurs. A disaster recovery plan can ensure that there is minimal downtime in the event of a data system outage and can also act as a temporary backup plan until the system is restored in the event of a problem.

What Happens If Information Security Is Neglected?

If this Information Security is ignored, it will become a weakness of the system and can trigger threats including the following:

1. Interruption, Information and data in computer systems are corrupted and deleted so that if needed, the data or information no longer exists.
2. Interception, the information is intercepted or the person who does not have the right to gain access to the computer on which the information is stored.
3. Modifikasi, a person who does not have the right to successfully intercept the traffic of information that is being sent and changed according to the person's wishes.
4. Fabrication, a person who does not have the right to succeed in imitating an existing information so that the person who receives the information thinks that the information comes from the person desired by the recipient of the information.

Information security is essential in the digital age to protect data from unauthorized access and alteration. Information security encompasses policies, practices, and technologies for protecting data, including encryption and access controls. It involves risk assessment, risk management, and privacy protection to keep data safe.
Information security helps protect valuable data and reduce risk from ever-evolving cyber threats.

Not implementing information security can have a detrimental impact on an organization or company. Therefore, it is important for the organization or perusahaan to pay attention to information security and apply best practices in protecting the information they have in accordance with the C.I.A. triad principles.