Security and Risk Management
S.C. Lenny Koh, Stuart Maguire · IGI Global eBooks · 2009
In information terms, security can be defined as the processes of ensuring that private information remains private and uncompromised in an atmosphere where all other information is free. Security techniques such as encryption, passwords, and firewalls are designed to prevent unauthorized access to information, to protect the integrity of computing resources, and to limit the potential damage that can be caused by attackers and intruders. The notion of a “secure computer” is relative though: the only truly secure computer is one powered down in a locked facility that no one has access to. Risk management is the ongoing process of assessing the risk to automated information resources. It is part of a risk-based approach used to determine adequate security for a system by analysing the threats and vulnerabilities and selecting appropriate cost-effective controls to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of risk (Maguire, 2002).