The advancement of telecommunications and information technology, as well as the growing prevalence of electronic warfare and means of transferring information rapidly across networks has given rise to increasing risks for Internet users, says information security expert Fahad Al-Dosari.
“The development of standards and certain procedures is necessary to prevent information from reaching unauthorized people and to ensure the authenticity and validity of information for Internet users,” he explained.
“Information security, integrity and availability, known as the CIA Triangle, is the most fundamental concept in the field,” he added.
The simplest forms of protection include personnel identification systems, such as passwords, security questions, and other features to ensure the legitimacy and authorization of the user to access such systems and networks, explained Al-Dosari.
As for the greatest threats to information security, he said these include viruses, attacking and disabling online services, intercepting information as it is sent from one party to another via the network, and hacking to take complete control of a system or network.
Protection against such threats may be as simple as installing and updating powerful anti-virus software on a regular basis, he said, while other measures may include installing detection systems to identify any intrusion, installation of network monitoring systems to alert users of any weaknesses, backing up information, encrypting information, and spreading education and awareness about such security issues.
Agencies
