The information sector plays an increasing role in supporting the safety of all public life objects, which explains the fact that protection against information leakage is considered the most important area of government activity.
Information Security Basics
All existing information is presented in various forms and on different physical media:
• documentary form;
• acoustic or speech form;
• telecommunication, etc.
Documentary information is contained in alphanumeric and graphic form on paper, as well as on magnetic media. Its feature is the content of information that is subject to protection, in a compressed form.
Voice information is generated during negotiations in the premises, as well as during the operation of the sound reinforcement system or sound reproduction.
The carriers of this form are acoustic vibrations, which are mechanical and propagate from the source into the outer space.
The circulation of telecommunication information occurs in the technical means of storing and processing data during transmission through communication channels. The information carrier in this case is an electric current, and if it is transmitted via a radio channel and an optical channel, then electromagnetic waves.
Methods of protecting information depending on the object
The main objects:
• information resources that contain information related to confidential data and state secrets ;
• systems and means of informatization (information and computer systems, systems and networks), software (DBMS, operating systems, other types of system-wide and applied software), ACS, communication systems. That is, these are the systems and tools that directly process "closed" information. Such means and systems are considered technical means of reception, processing, storage and transmission of data or information (TSPI);
• technical systems and tools that are not related to systems and means of informatization (TSPI), but are located in rooms where confidential and secret information is processed. These technical systems and tools are called auxiliary technical systems and tools (HTSC).
Common methods for protecting information:
1) an obstacle is a method of physically restricting the path to information being protected (media, equipment, etc.);
2) the access control method is the protection of information resources by controlling the use of each of them. These include database elements, software and hardware.
Information security methods restricting access:
- identification of users, computer system resources, personnel (assignment of a personal identifier to objects);
- the method of identification (authenticity) of an object or subject by the login identifier specified by it;
- control of authority, i.e. analysis of the conformity of the day, time of day, requested procedures and resources in accordance with established regulations;
- the establishment of regulations for the resolution of the range of working hours;
- registration of each appeal to protected resources;
- reaction of restriction upon attempt of unauthorized access (activation of the alarm, disconnection, refusal of the request);
3) disguise is the protection of information through its cryptographic closure. This is the only reliable method for transmitting data over long channels;
4) regulation is the protection of information in which the likelihood of unauthorized access becomes minimal;
5) coercion is such a protection of information in which users and system personnel are compelled to comply with the rules for handling protected information - processing, transmission and use thereof, otherwise they are subject to material or administrative liability;
6) incentive - these are information protection methods in which they encourage the user and staff not to violate the prescribed order, observing the prevailing moral and ethical standards (regulated and unwritten).
Information security methods are diverse. But one thing is certain - it is necessary to use them in all areas of life.