Paper Example on Information Technology Security

Introduction

Information technology is a scheme that incorporates the creation, preservation, and utilization of software, computers systems, and networking approach when it comes to conversion and transmission of data (Kleis et at., 2012). The advancement in information technology has provided security in the daily lives of people. Some of the benefits of IT include saving time, it makes information transmission easier, product creation is a lot faster, it is cheaper more efficient and communication among people has been drastically faster. Despite having numerous advantages, Information Technology brings about various concerns like the intrusion of privacy, promotes laziness, it has contributed to the invention if fatal weapons as well as shortening lives. Information technology and communication have substantially changed the way in which individuals interact with other, entertain and learn and even do business. Information technologies are currently immense and they are here with us to stay. Our lifestyle is based on the era of the digital revolution and we are dependent on these technologies and products. However, alongside opportunities and advantages, a broad range of drawbacks and issues have limited the efficiency of information technology. Thus, the essay argues on some of the benefits and shortcomings of IT security.

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Arguments

Firstly, IT has made communication of information among people a lot easier and faster. People can now get in touch with their friends and families who are the far way in a matter of seconds through calls, text messages and video calls through platforms calls and social media platforms like Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. On the other hand, this does not guarantee the safety and privacy of the users. Several people would post their confidential information on the internet where an adversary may pull the important information and use it against the person (Solms & Niekerk, 2013). Hence, it is advisable that people use the internet responsibly and do not expose their information.

Information technology security in the current century is now more significant than ever before. With the recent globalization and technological development, there are various security threats to individuals, average business and government at large. This is as a result that everything we tackle on a daily basis can be exposed to security risk, whether it be checking your email or from online shopping. In case a user's computer is exposed to the hacking process or some malware or spyware and they are using it for online shopping, then it will be possible for the attacker to gain access since there exist sensitive data that can be used for theft or fraud or even transferred to the third party to facilitate the marketing of data. The world has been digitized and now shopping in a store using your debit card is a very risk as the debit card can be cloned by anybody and pin number be stolen through a device that is of the same resemblance with the card (Arhin & Wiredu,2018). On the other hand, mobile and laptops phones being stolen can possess personal information on them since the government and business are using such devices for storing and moving data. The main challenge is that when data is not encrypted then there is a great chance of gaining access to it.

However, the value of information and protecting information is important for government, business and even organizations. Due to technological advancement, information needs to be protected since it holds the value of an individual, an organization and even the government and when handling information, it is important to think of security breach in terms of lost in operation and general money loss. One main challenge that has been faced in the past is security. In the past years, information technology has been exposed to the various development of malware, electronic attacks, and loss of information (McCormac,Parsons,Calic,Butavicius,& Pattinson,2017).

Additionally, enhancement in Information Technology has played a big part when it comes to accessing information. As a result, people are able to manage and save their time better. This has indeed contributed to numerous cases of laziness in the society. People have become reluctant to go out and search for information as they can easily access the same information over the internet in a short time (Bauer & Bernroider,2017). The scenario can best be depicted among students who have forgotten the value of reading books for their exams. Instead, they would go and search for information straight from the internet and submit to their teachers.

Notably, Information Technology is largely attributed to the invention of new medicines and diagnosis which is used to cure and prevent a variety of diseases like kidney stones, cancer, allergies, diabetes, heart attacks and many more (Garba et at., 2015). This has improved the health sector worldwide as people can now seek help before their health deteriorates. However, IT is associated with a lot of radiation emission which endangers the human body. If a person is exposed to high levels of radiations, then nerve cells and tiny blood vessels will shrink and start dying slowly. Therefore, people will get sick and some will succumb to serious illnesses.

Through Information Technology numerous inventions have been developed. The inventions include among many robots, medical mirrors, new tablets, high-end computers, nuclear bomb, and silicon savers. However, it should be noted that the new inventions can cause a lot of damage to the environment and humanity (Dabbagh et al., 2015). For instance, when the nuclear bomb falls into bad hands, most people are prone to die while the environment will be ruined for years. Moreover, the robots will take away all jobs meant for humans leading to an increase in unemployment. Thus, such technologies should not be minimized significantly.

Lastly, Information Technology has created security when it comes to the rate at which products are produced. Currently, it is possible to produce a lot of products in a short time as opposed to previous times. However, the production process involves the use of a lot of energy which contributes to air pollution within the environment (Garba et at., 2015). For instances, most factories release a lot of smoke into the air that potentially consists of harmful gases like carbon dioxide. This depletes the ozone layer in the sky as well as causing instances of cancer among people.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the argument above, it is clear that the Information Technology holds both advantages and disadvantages. However, I would argue that IT is a lot more dangerous and unrewarding to the society as compared to its benefits. This is because it interferes with people's privacy, it shortens lives through radioactive emissions and leads to a generation of lazy people. Moreover, the massive energy involved has contributed to air pollution as well as enhancing the invention of harmful devices like nuclear bombs. Hence, the use of Information Technology must be drastically minimized to avoid the negative impacts it contains. One great thing that one is supposed to consider information security is that there exists no final destination at which we can arrive. It is important to note that IT security is an ongoing process and activity that demands expertise and attention on a daily basis (Silverstone,2017). The system is not secure by themselves and it's our role to improve and maintain them periodically.

References

Arhin, K., & Wiredu, G. O. (2018). An Organizational Communication Approach to Information Security. The African Journal of Information Systems, 10(4), 1.

Bauer, S., & Bernroider, E. W. (2017). From information security awareness to reasoned compliant action: analyzing information security policy compliance in a large banking organization. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, 48(3), 44-68.

Dabbagh, M., Hamdaoui, B., Guizani, M., & Rayes, A. (2015). Software-defined networking security: pros and cons. IEEE Communications Magazine, 53(6), 73-79.

Garba, A. B., Armarego, J., Murray, D., & Kenworthy, W. (2015). Review of the information security and privacy challenges in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environments. Journal of Information privacy and security, 11(1), 38-54.

Kleis, L., Chwelos, P., Ramirez, R. V., & Cockburn, I. (2012). Information technology and intangible output: The impact of IT investment on innovation productivity. Information Systems Research, 23(1), 42-59.

McCormac, A., Zwaans, T., Parsons, K., Calic, D., Butavicius, M., & Pattinson, M. (2017). Individual differences and information security awareness. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 151-156.

Silverstone, R. (2017). Introduction. In Media, technology and everyday life in Europe (pp. 19-36). Routledge.

Solms, R., & Van Niekerk, J. (2013). From information security to cybersecurity. computers & security, 38, 97-102.