Information Security vs Cyber Security: Similarities and Differences

You've probably heard cyber crimes will cause $10.5 trillion in damages in 2025, way up from $3 trillion in 2015.

You might also be aware that an incredible 73% of businesses admit to being unprepared for a cyber attack.

So it's probably time to do something about it, right?

But where do you start?

Information security vs cyber security? What's the difference? Aren't they the same thing?

These are the questions we're here to help you answer.

We're going to explain both information security and cyber security, highlight the differences and the similarities, and ensure you walk away with a basic understanding of the threats your company faces and how you can defend yourself against them.

So, let's start with the basics:

Information Security Definition

Information security, also known as InfoSec, is the process of protecting data from unauthorized access, modification, inspection, duplication, or destruction. This applies to data when it is stored as well as when it's transmitted from one device to another, encompassing data protection in the digital as well as the physical world.

Information security, in its essence, is supposed to ensure good management of anything from company communications to intellectual property, a practice that grows in importance every day, especially with the rise of remote work.

Information has become one of the key aspects of every organization's ability to conduct business. As cyber threats have increased dramatically in recent years, information security is becoming more important in every organization's security planning.

That means using technologies, protocols, tools, and administrative policies to protect an organization's data integrity.

Information security helps:

1. Protect an organization's ability to function
2. Protect the technologies an organization uses
3. Protect the data the organization uses

There are three different ways in which information security goes about establishing the control necessary to protect a company's data:

4 Types of Information Security

1. Infrastructure security

Infrastructure security is the practice of protecting critical systems and assets from physical threats.

Physical threats can range from fires and floods to theft or vandalism of the organization's hardware assets.

These threats have the potential to harm a company's ability to conduct its business operations and cause damage to its public reputation. So with that in mind, companies must establish policies and protocols and implement security features designed to prevent such attacks.

Organizations often implement surveillance security measures, hire security guards, and establish perimeter security.

2. Cryptography

Cryptography is an information security strategy that protects company information and communications through the use of encryption. This practice uses algorithms to make data hard to decipher by anyone but those authorized to do so.

Cryptography ensures the confidentiality of information when it is stored or transmitted. Even if the organization's communication channels end up compromised, cryptography ensures that attackers cannot decipher the data without the necessary keys.

Using these digital keys, cryptography offers its users peace of mind as they can be sure that the data has not been tampered with during the transmission and that the message is genuine, coming from the intended sender.

3. Incident response

Incident response is a set of information security policies designed and implemented to identify, contain, and eliminate cyber attacks.

The goal of incident response is to minimize the damage an attack can cause to an organization and its ability to run its operations.

Incident response usually follows these six steps:

• Preparation: This step includes reviewing established security measures and conducting a risk assessment. Based on the findings of the assessment, they must implement changes to eliminate weaknesses.
• Identification of threats: Organizations must work to detect and identify suspicious activities based on the information collected in the first step. When a threat is detected, organizations must discover its nature, the source of the attack, and its goal.
• Containment of threats: The aim is to reach this stage as quickly as possible to limit the amount of damage an attack can cause. This step requires organizations to isolate the attack and prepare for the recovery phase.
• Elimination of threats: Once organizations contain the attack, they gain visibility into the scope of the attack and can begin ejecting the attackers from their systems and networks.
• Recovery and restoration: During this step, companies bring updated replacement systems online to serve in place of contaminated segments. This step also includes monitoring systems for a period of time to ensure attackers don't return.
• Feedback and refinement: In this step, organizations examine how effective their policies and techniques were and make any necessary changes to improve the process moving forward.

4. Vulnerability management

This aspect of information security requires the IT team or cyber security consultant to test the organization's security setup to discover potential weaknesses.

Weaknesses can come in the form of outdated equipment, unprotected networks, or lax security protocols within the organization.

Information security encompasses every aspect of an organization's security. But the broad scope of its remit means that some elements of the company's security setup can easily end up ignored or under-estimated.

Vulnerability management aims to discover such weak points in a company's security with the help of risk assessments. It looks at an organization the same way an attacker might and patches the holes in the protection that the attacker might exploit.

Cyber Security Definition

Cyber security is the process of protecting networks, systems, and programs from external and internal threats. When discussing cyber security vs information security, it's important to note that cyber security is an element that falls under the broader umbrella of information security. Whereas information security focuses on every potential threat to an organization's information, cyber security focuses exclusively on digital threats.

Cyber attackers usually aim to access, destroy, steal, or manipulate sensitive information. They launch cyber attacks to extort money or obstruct normal business operations.

There are 6 most common forms of cyber attacks:

• Malware: The term refers to malicious software such as worms, Trojans, and spyware that can provide unauthorized access to a computer system or cause damage to it.
• Ransomware: This type of malware locks down files, data, or entire systems. Then attackers threaten to leak or destroy the data unless the organization pays a ransom to the attackers.
• Phishing: This mainly concerns text messages and emails from seemingly legitimate companies that solicit personal information from the recipients.
• Man-in-the-middle attacks: This type of attack is one where the attacker plays go-between two parties, intercepting and then forwarding messages to steal data without detection.
• Distributed denial-of-service attacks: This type of attack attempts to crash a system, server, network, or website by overloading it with traffic. Attackers accomplish this by coordinating attacks from multiple systems.

4 Types of Cyber Security

Since cyber security covers so many different elements of an organization's infrastructure, it generally falls into four categories.

These are:

1. Network security

Every organization these days, large or small, has electronic devices (computers, mobile phones, etc.) connected to a network.

Companies use these devices to communicate and share information, which exposes them to external threats.

A cyber attacker can infiltrate a company's network and gain access to all its stored data, severely compromising its position.

For that reason, companies should implement firewall protections, antivirus programs, and multi-factor identifications, as well as ensure good digital hygiene practices.

Companies can adopt a number of tactics, including:

• Sandboxing: This is a cybersecurity practice where potentially dangerous files are opened in a safe and isolated environment. Sandboxing tests the files for malicious behavior before they get access to the network.
• Data loss prevention (DLP): It is a cybersecurity method that uses the latest technologies and best policies to prevent the exposure of sensitive information.
• Email security: This practice refers to any policies, technologies, or products designed to protect a network from any potential threats that may come through emails.
• Network segmentation: Defines boundaries between network segments to increase an organization's internal security, improving its control.
• Access control: This method defines the employees that have access to specific parts of the network or applications. In essence, employees only have access to information directly relevant to their roles in the company, limiting the risk of an internal attack.

2. Cloud security

As organizations transition to cloud-based environments, the need for cloud security increases correspondingly.

Cloud computing generally refers to the process of accessing resources on the internet, outside the limitations of local hardware. The most common examples would be CRMs, storage platforms like Dropbox, and email platforms like Gmail.

Because they can offload a portion of their infrastructure to third-party hosts, companies can gain flexibility and the opportunity to scale their operations quickly. They can even rid themselves of on-site hardware for telecommunications by adopting telephony solutions on the cloud.

But here's the issue - 70% of companies using cloud computing have experienced data breaches.

When choosing the provider of cloud services, companies must be aware of their security responsibilities as well as the responsibilities of the host.

Companies need to know who might gain access to their data and what kind of exposure they have to potential breaches.

Beyond that, three types of cloud security options are available:

• Identity and access management (IAM): This process combines tools and services to implement policy-driven protocols for all users accessing cloud-based services
• Security information and event management: This process provides a security solution that automates threat monitoring, detection, and response on cloud-based platforms
• Business continuity and disaster recovery: This process combines the tools, services, and protocols to speed up the recovery of lost data and bring standard business operations back online as quickly as possible.

3. Application security

Application security is the process of developing and testing security features within applications to determine if they represent a liability from a security standpoint.

These days, apps connected to networks and clouds may represent a weak link in an organization's security.

Application security developed because attackers began to launch their attacks through applications more and more often.

The most common example of an application that requires good security is the email app on employees' phones.

Companies should ensure they are using applications that already have safeguards built into them. Microsoft's Outlook is perhaps the best example of that.

But there are also ways to add security measures while using apps.

There are five types of application security:

• Authentication: This process involves authenticating the user before they access an application, i.e., with multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Authorization: After the user has gained access to an app, the system can compare their ID to the authorization list to determine what the user is allowed to access
• Encryption: This process encrypts the data traveling between the user and the cloud to ensure unauthorized individuals cannot see it
• Logging: In case of a security breach, logging makes a record of who gained access to the data and how they accomplished it
• Application security testing: Regular process that tests the effectiveness of the security measures mentioned above

4. Internet of Things security

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to any device connected to a network that isn't a computer. Internet of Things security protects an organization's physical assets from being attacked.

Printers, cameras, sensors, appliances, scanners, even locks - all these devices connect to networks and, as such, can be compromised by attackers to gain access to sensitive information.

For those who doubt the scale of the threat, 98% of data traffic on IoT devices is unencrypted, meaning attackers can easily execute Man In The Middle (MITM) attack and tap into the stream of unencrypted data.

Every IoT device represents a potential entry point for an attacker. That is why to implement effective IoT security, and companies should:

• Identify all managed and unmanaged devices in their network
• Assess and identify the vulnerabilities they represent
• Take action to prevent known threats
• Develop protocols to detect and respond to threats

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Difference Between Cyber Security and Information Security

4 Reasons Why Businesses Need Cyber Security Consultants

Cyber security consultants are outsourced specialists who analyze the security of organizations and implement changes to patch up any weak spots.

They move from company to company, staying on top of all the latest developments and threats, and using their experience to help their clients.

There are four main reasons why every company should hire a cyber security consultant:

1. Preventing data theft

A cyber security consultant analyzes the company's security status, conducts a risk assessment, helps identify weak points, and implements tools and protocols to eliminate them. They propose specific tech products and apps to help augment the existing tech stack, and they work continuously with IT departments to evaluate threats and vulnerabilities and implement the necessary solutions.

They also help educate the employees on how to improve their digital hygiene and which protocols to follow. It's important to remember that 95% of data breaches are caused by human error, and cyber security consultants' policies can drastically reduce the risk of an attack. That's crucial if one considers that data breaches exposed 40 billion records in 2021.

That's why a cyber security consultant might implement:

• Multi-Factor Identification
• Antivirus programs
• Firewalls
• Better password hygiene

2. Threat detection

Threat detection is the practice of analyzing an entire security system to detect any activity that might present a threat to an organization.

One aspect of it is using information about previous attacks on other organizations to identify known threats quickly. But that only works against known threats.

To protect against unknown ones, cybersecurity consultants first analyze user behavior to establish a so-called "baseline" of user behavior. Essentially, the point is to understand how employees usually behave. That creates the "baseline," and it means that in the event of an attack, the organization can immediately recognize an attacker's presence because their behavior does not fit with the usual behavior of employees.

After improving an organization's threat detection, cyber security consultants also implement intruder traps and establish protocols for conducting intruder hunts.

3. Compliance

Companies handle so much sensitive user information that it has forced governments to step in and ensure that every organization's cybersecurity measures are up to a certain standard.

These compliance demands and regulations vary by country and industry.

A cyber security consultant can ensure that companies comply with the regulations placed on their sectors and avoid paying any potential damages, which are not insignificant. Large companies are losing 1.5% of their profits to fraud and non-compliance.

4. Risk reduction

Companies face enormous risks in the cyber theater these days. Many might think it is mainly major corporations that are under threat, but that is not the case.

In fact, it could be said that the opposite is true. Due to the size of their resources, major corporations are better equipped to survive the consequences of a cyber attack.

Things look far different for smaller businesses. For example, a study found that 60% of small companies go out of business within 6 months of a cyber attack.

That's why businesses need cyber consultants to minimize the potential risks of a cyber attack.

Companies can achieve that by:

• Encrypting their data and creating backups
• Conducting regular employee training
• Maintaining digital hygiene
• Assessing and monitoring their vendors
• Reducing their attack surface
• Enforcing physical security

Information Security vs Cyber Security FAQs

"What are the three principles of information security?"

The three principles of information security are:

• Confidentiality: Encryption protects the data while it is stored or transmitted
• Integrity: The data has not been accessed or altered by unauthorized individuals
• Availability: The data is available to authorized users whenever needed.

"What is an example of information security?"

An example of information security in action would be establishing perimeter security and a surveillance system that protects a company's hardware from unauthorized access or attacks.

"Why is information security important?"

Information security is important because the potential loss of data represents an ever-increasing threat to organizations.

Just think back to the statistics we've already mentioned - 40 billion records were exposed in 2021, and large companies are already losing 1.5% of their profits to fraud.

These risks are what make information security crucial if companies wish to protect their employees, customers, and business operations from external interference.

Information Security vs Cyber Security: The Next Step

Now that you know the difference between cyber security and information security, it's time for you to take the next step…

Start protecting your business from security breaches.

And the good news is that this step doesn't have to be a Herculean task - especially if you know where to find reliable experts to help you make the right decisions.

So don't hesitate to contact Amaxra today or visit our website to learn more about how to improve your business's online security.

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