Technological safeguards, physical access restrictions, firewalls, encryption, virus monitoring and prevention, audit-control software, and secure data centers are commonly used methods to safeguard information systems. Organizations should also implement human safeguards like ethics, laws, and effective management. Developing a comprehensive information security plan that includes risk analysis, policies and procedures, disaster planning, and responding to security breaches is key to protecting information systems.

1. TECHNOLOGICAL
SAFEGUARDS
•There are six commonly used methods in which
technology is employed to safeguard information
systems

2. PHYSICAL ACCESS
RESTRICTIONS
• Organizations can prevent unauthorized
access to information systems by keeping
stored information safe and allowing access
only to those employees who need it to do
their jobs.
• The most common form of authentication is
the use of passwords, which are effective only
if chosen carefully and changed frequently.
• Access is usually limited by making it
dependent on one of the following:
– Something You Have: Keys, picture identification
cards, smart cards
– Something You Know: passwords, PINs, answers
to secret questions
– Something You Are: fingerprints, voice patterns,
biometrics

3. PHYSICAL ACCESS
RESTRICTIONS
• Biometrics is a form of authentication used to govern access to
systems, data, and/or facilities. With biometrics, employees may be
identified by fingerprints, retinal patterns, or other bodily characteristics.
• A virtual private network (VPN) is a network connection that is
constructed dynamically within an existing network—often called a secure
tunnel—in order to connect users or nodes.
• The practice of creating an encrypted “tunnel” to send secure (private)
data over the (public) Internet is known as tunneling.

4. FIREWALLS

5. ENCRYPTION
• When you do not have access to a secure
channel for sending information over a wired
or wireless network, encryption is the best bet
for keeping snoopers out.
• Encryption is the process of encoding
messages before they enter the network or
airwaves, then decoding them at the receiving
end of the transfer so that the intended
recipients can read or hear them. The process
works because if you scramble messages
before you send them, eavesdroppers who
might intercept them cannot decipher them
without the decoding key.
• Implementing encryption on a large scale, such
as on a busy Web site, requires a third party,

6. VIRUS MONITORING AND
PREVENTION
• Purchase and install antivirus software, then update frequently to be sure
you are protected against new viruses.
• Do not use flash drives, disks, or shareware from unknown or suspect
sources and be equally careful when downloading material from the
Internet, making sure that the source is reputable.
• Delete without opening any e-mail message received from an unknown
source. Be especially wary of opening attachments.
• Do not blindly open e-mail attachments, even if they come from a known
source. Many viruses are spread without the sender’s knowledge, so it is
better to check with the sender before opening a potentially unsafe
attachment.
• If your computer system contracts a virus, report the infection to your
school or company’s IT department so that appropriate measures can be
taken.

7. AUDIT-CONTROL SOFTWARE
• Audit-control software is used to keep track of
computer activity so that auditors can spot
suspicious activity and take action. Any user leaves
electronic footprints that auditors can trace. Audit-
control software helps creating an audit trail, a
record showing who has used a computer system
and how it was used.

8. SECURE DATA CENTERS

9. SECURE DATA CENTERS:
SECURING THE FACILITIES
INFRASTRUCTURE
• Backup Sites – duplication. A cold backup site is nothing more than an
empty warehouse with all necessary connections for power and
communication but nothing else. In the case of a disaster, a company has to
first set up all necessary equipment, ranging from office furniture to Web
servers. A hot backup site is a fully equipped backup facility, having
everything from office chairs to a one-to-one replication of the most
current data. Further, hot backup sites also have a redundant backup of the
data so that the business processes are interrupted as little as possible. To
achieve this redundancy, all data are mirrored on separate servers.
• Redundant Data Centers – separation. Often, companies choose to
replicate their data centers in multiple locations. Events such as a hurricane
can damage systems that are located across town from each other. Thus,
even if the primary infrastructure is located in-house, it pays to have a
backup located in a different geographic area to minimize the risk of a
disaster happening to both systems.

10. HUMAN SAFEGUARDS
• In addition to the technological safeguards, there are various
human safeguards that can help to safeguard information
systems, specifically ethics, laws, and effective management.
• Educating potential users at an early age as to what constitutes
appropriate behavior can help, but unethical users will
undoubtedly always remain a problem for those wanting to
maintain IS security.
• Additionally, there are numerous federal and state laws against
unauthorized use of networks and computer systems.
Unfortunately, individuals who want unauthorized access to
networks and computer systems usually find a way to exploit
them; often, after the fact, laws are enacted to prohibit that activity
in the future.

11. COMPUTER FORENSICS
• As computer crime has gone mainstream, law enforcement has had to
become much more sophisticated in their computer crime investigations.
Computer forensics is the use of formal investigative techniques to
evaluate digital information for judicial review.
• Organizations and governments are increasingly utilizing honeypots to
proactively gather intelligence to improve their defenses or to catch
cybercriminals.
• A honeypot is a computer, data, or network site that is designed to be
enticing to hackers so as to detect, deflect, or counteract illegal activity.
• Additionally, beyond human and technological safeguards, the quality of
information security in any organization depends on effective
management. Managers must continuously check for security problems,
recognize that holes in security exist, and take appropriate action.

12. DEVELOPING AN IS SECURITY
• Risk Analysis.
PLAN
– Determine the value of electronic information
– Assess threats to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of
information
– Determine which computer operations are most vulnerable to
security breaches
– Assess current security policies
– Recommend changes to existing practices and/or policies that
will improve computer security
–

13. DEVELOPING AN IS SECURITY
PLAN
• Policies and Procedures. Once risks are assessed, a plan should be
formulated that details what action will be taken if security is breached.
– Information Policy. Outlines how sensitive information will be handled,
stored, trans- mitted, and destroyed.
– Security Policy. Explains technical controls on all organizational
computer systems, such as access limitations, audit-control software,
and firewalls.
– Use Policy. Outlines the organization’s policy regarding appropriate use
of in-house computer systems.
– Backup Policy. Explains requirements for backing up information.
– Account Management Policy. Lists procedures for adding new users to
systems and removing users who have left the organization.
– Incident Handling Procedures. Lists procedures to follow when
handling a security breach.
– Disaster Recovery Plan. Lists all the steps an organization will take to
restore computer operations in case of a natural or deliberate disaster.

14. DISASTER PLANNING

15. DESIGNING THE RECOVERY
PLAN
• When planning for disaster, two objectives should be considered
by an organization: recovery time and recovery point objectives.
– Recovery time objectives specify the maximum time allowed
to recover from a catastrophic event. Having completely
redundant systems minimizes the recovery time and are best
suited for mission-critical applications, such as e-commerce
transaction servers. For other applications, such as data
mining, while important, the recovery time can be longer
without disrupting primary business processes.
– Recovery point objectives specify how current the backup
data should be. Imagine that your computer’s hard drive
crashes while you are working on a term paper. Luckily, you
recently backed up your data. Would you prefer the last
backup to be a few days old, or would you rather have the
last backup include your most recent changes to the term
paper? Having completely redundant systems that mirror the
data helps to minimize (or even avoid) data loss in the event
of a catastrophic failure.

16. RESPONDING TO A SECURITY
BREACH
• Organizations that have developed a comprehensive IS security plan
have the ability to rapidly respond to any type of security breach to
their IS resources or to a natural disaster.
• In addition to restoring lost data using backups, common responses to
a security breach include performing a new risk audit and
implementing a combination of additional (more secure) safeguards.
• Additionally, when intruders are discovered, organizations can contact
local law enforcement agencies and the FBI for assistance in locating
and prosecuting them. Several online organizations issue bulletins to
alert organizations and individuals to possible software vulnerabilities
or attacks based on reports from organizations when security
breaches occur.

17. THE STATE OF SYSTEMS SECURITY
MANAGEMENT
• Financial fraud attacks result in the greatest
financial losses for organizations; other significant
costs were due to viruses, data theft,
unauthorized access, and denial-of-service attacks.
• Relatively few organizations (about 29 percent)
report computer intrusions to law enforcement
because of various fears, such as how negative
publicity would hurt stock values or how
competitors might gain an advantage over news
of a security incident.
• Most organizations do not outsource security
activities.
• Nearly all organizations conduct routine and
ongoing security audits.
• The majority of organizations believed security
training of employees is important, but most
respondents said their organization did not spend
enough on security training.

18. INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTROLS,
AUDITING, AND THE SARBANES-
OXLEY ACT
• Preventive controls
• Detective controls
• Corrective controls

19. IS AUDITING
• Analyzing the IS controls should be an ongoing process for organizations.
However, often it can be beneficial for organizations to periodically have an
external entity review the controls so as to uncover any potential
problems.
• An information systems audit, often performed by external auditors, can
help organizations assess the state of their IS controls to determine
necessary changes and to help ensure the information systems’ availability,
confidentiality, and integrity.
• The response to the strengths and weaknesses identified in the IS audit is
often determined by the potential risks an organization faces. Testing all
controls under all possible conditions is very inefficient and often
infeasible. Thus, auditors frequently rely on computer-assisted auditing
tools, or specific software that tests applications and data using test data or
simulations.
• In addition to using specific auditing tools, auditors use audit sampling
procedures to assess the controls, enabling the audit to be conducted in
the most cost-effective manner. Once the audit has been performed and
sufficient evidence has been gathered, reports are issued to the
organization.

20. THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT
• Another major factor that has contributed to a high demand for IS auditors
is the need to comply with government regulations, most notably the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (S-OX).
• Formed as a reaction to large-scale accounting scandals that led to the
downfall of corporations such as WorldCom and Enron, S-OX addresses
primarily the accounting side of organizations. According to S-OX,
companies have to demonstrate that there are controls in place to prevent
misuse or fraud, controls to detect any potential problems, and effective
measures to correct any problems.
• The IS architecture plays a key role in S-OX compliance, given that many
controls are IS based, providing capabilities to detect information exceptions
and to provide a management trail for tracing exceptions. However, S-OX
itself barely addresses IS controls specifically; rather, it addresses general
processes and practices, leaving companies wondering how to comply with
the guidelines put forth in the act.
• Failure to present such documents in the case of litigious activity can lead to
severe fines being imposed on companies and their executives, and courts
usually will not accept the argument that a message could not be located.