Software and hardware information protection are a set of special programs whose function is, as you might guess, information protection. The main areas in which software is used to protect information are the following:
- information protection (hereinafter referred to as) from unauthorized access;
- FROM copying;
- FROM malware;
- cryptographic data protection;
- software protection of data transmission channels .
Information protection against unauthorized access
To protect the information system from someone else's intrusion, certain security measures must be followed. So, information security software identifies
subjects and objects, delimits access to information and computing resources, controls and records actions with target objects.
Identification and authentication means the verification of the subject who wants to gain access to whether he is actually who he claims to be. The most common authentication method is password verification. However, as practice shows, password protection is far from the best way to protect data, since the password can be eavesdropped, spied, intercepted, or even guessed.
After successfully passing the identification procedure, the subject gets the opportunity to work with the resources of a computer system, the further protection of which is carried out at the hardware and software levels, as well as at the data level.
Copy Protection
Software to protect information from illegal copying prevents the distribution of illegal copies of the software and is currently the only reliable tool that can protect the copyright of developers. The essence of the work of these tools is simple: the program will perform its functions only if some unique uncopyable element is recognized. The role of such an element (key) can be assigned to a certain part of the computer or to a special device.
Destruction Information Protection
Any protection system sets itself the main goal: it must protect information from destruction. Since data destruction can occur due to a variety of reasons (unauthorized actions, software and hardware failures, computer viruses, etc.), the organization of protective measures should be one of the most important tasks for each user.
It is also worth noting separately the danger posed by small, but rather complex and harmful programs -
computer viruses that can spread on their own, as well as infiltrate other people's programs and transmit over the network. Virus creators can pursue a variety of goals: from the innocuous output of a message to the complete destruction of information and the destruction of the system.
Cryptographic data protection
The cryptography method has become one of the main and most powerful tools that ensure the confidentiality and integrity control of data that information protection software has. The main element of cryptography is the encryption or conversion of data into an unreadable form using special encryption keys.
Software protection of data transmission channels
The basis of this area of security are screens - software tools for protecting information in networks, the purpose of which is to restrict access of users belonging to one network set to the servers of another network set. Screens control all information flows passing between two networks. An example of a screen is a firewall installed to protect the local network of an organization that has access to an open environment (for example, the Internet).