Digital transformation in information security
A few decades ago, the use of the first application of the first program gave rise to the digitalization process. We will call digitalization everything related to the use of software, binary code and information technologies.
At first, computations were made with the help of programs, and then programming spread to technological processes. Information technologies have penetrated almost all aspects of business, and this process will continue.
Already now e-commerce accounts for the largest share of the economy. Digitalization of management allows flexible management of the enterprise, transferring part of the functions to programs. Digital telemedicine makes diagnoses with the help of self-learning neural networks.
The digital video studio shoots series based on the analysis of viewers’ preferences. A digital taxi… you know. Evangelicals predict that the days of businesses that do not want to digitize are numbered.
Information security, it would seem, does not have its own content, it ensures normal functioning of the main business process. But, on the other hand, its protection is such an important issue that the security service from the auxiliary division becomes almost the main one.
And although cyber threats do not directly harm people’s health, the security of transactions, protection against theft, and the safety of expensive equipment are all matters of life and death.
In case of medical information systems hacking, there is a possibility of harming people’s health and lives. And if in the near future, as futurologists promise us, we switch to implantable chips, the danger will become quite palpable. In this regard, it is information security considerations that can call into question the bright digital future.
Digital transformation is not just about transferring functions to a computer. It is also far from digitalization and patchwork automation, where each part has its own solution, and these solutions are not very friendly.
Digital transformation can only be talked about if we get a new quality of management, analytics and forecasting. There are companies that have made digitalization the basis of their ideology, and this has led to a rethinking of the market, a new attitude towards customers, and new tools and approaches.
Most executives, on the other hand, are striving to make traditional business more efficient with the help of digital tools.
Take as much as you can digest
There are several areas where digital tools are already well established and familiar to everyone: accounting and finance, process control, and some security functions. Electronic marketing is gradually gaining ground, and particularly advanced companies have reached heights in digital management of sales and customer relations.
Digitalization of information security is fragmented. Actually, the topic of information security in our country is still getting used to quite badly. Most often it is limited to controlling Internet traffic or access to internal electronic resources. Whereas it is the introduction of an information security system that most often makes it possible to talk about the digitalization of management.
The history of computer penetration into our lives has given us the illusion of omnipotence, while most often we only master the superficial possibilities. Translating processes into electronic form allows us to better understand what you are managing.
In the digital environment, each action leaves a mark, we just need to collect this information, analyze it and draw conclusions. The current stage of technology development allows us to move to a new level of digital media use, but it requires some restructuring of the brain.
Where do I start?
Managing each business process or function separately gives a patchwork of perception, we no longer understand how the parts are related. Most often, they are not connected, and we have to keep various parameters in mind and attract them to each other with titanic efforts.
The first step towards digitalizing the control is to understand what already exists, what software tools are used, whether they make up the system or live their lives. Based on this audit, we can draw conclusions about the gaps and how to fill them.
The second step on the road to digitalization is to bring the entire infrastructure to common management standards. We see two approaches to this in the market. The first is to buy as much software as possible from a single vendor (you can guess which one). But this approach has its obvious disadvantages, the main of which is the monopolization of the market.
The modern level of technology and society development allows us to demand more. Therefore, the second approach, which is gaining momentum, is open source software. Its meaning is not only in the availability of source code for correction and improvement.
The main principle is to establish general standards, protocols of interaction, which allow software to be compatible, and its consumers – to build their own digital environment, improving it for their needs.
And if we focus on domestic developments in sensor products, that is, hope that the impact of international cyberterrorism on our affairs will be reduced.
Digitalization tool
The use of open source also has the advantage that it allows you to avoid unnecessary spending on extending licenses, purchasing new software solutions, etc. You buy the base product once and use it, so that the price of ownership ceases to grow unpredictably.
It implements the current principle of information protection – uninterrupted architecture of IS. It means that it doesn’t matter where your employees are and whether they are connected to your internal network.