What Is Digital Security and Why Is It Necessary?
Digital security is the set of practices, tools, and behaviors that protect devices, online accounts, communications, and information from threats like hacking, surveillance, phishing, data breaches, doxxing, and other types of cybercrime. Digital security is necessary for everyone who uses internet-connected technologies, but it’s especially important for people or groups at high risk of targeted attacks. These include communities of color, women and girls, immigrants, refugees, and human rights defenders.
IT stands for information technology and includes every aspect of technology within an organization, including the study, conceptualization, design, implementation, management, and support of computer systems and networks related to the processing and distribution of data. IT also includes governance, which ensures that IT helps an organization reach its goals while managing risks that could negatively affect business operations or user experience.
Security is an essential component of IT and encompasses many different solutions to protect against common digital threats, including identity and access management (IAM), firewalls, encryption, and antivirus software. The most common forms of digital security include:
Digital security solutions can protect against many threats, including malicious insiders (who steal or cause harm for their own financial or personal gain) and accidental insiders (who violate policies by accident). They can also help prevent data leaks, which can expose sensitive information to hackers and amplify the impact of attacks on organizational reputation and trust. They can also protect against the loss of intellectual property, which can cost organizations a fortune in lost funds and future opportunities.