This article is a derivative of a wikipedia entry and consequently is itself available under the Creative Commons licence.
Computer information security is the ongoing process of exercising due care and due diligence to protect information systems, from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, destruction, modification, or disruption or distribution.
Core Computer Security components, or qualities, can be considered within three areas; Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (the so called “CIA triad”).
Governments, military, corporations, financial institutions, hospitals, and private businesses amass a great deal of confidential information about their employees, customers, products, research, and financial status. Most of this information is now collected, processed and stored on computers and transmitted across computer networks to other computers.
Should confidential information about a business' customers or finances or new product line fall into the hands of a competitor, such a breach of security could lead to lost business, law suits or even bankruptcy of the business.
Protecting confidential information is a business requirement, and in many cases also an ethical and legal requirement.
Availability
For any information system to serve its purpose, the information must be available when it is needed.
This means that the computing systems used to store and process the information, the security controls used to protect it, and the communication channels used to access it must be functioning correctly.
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Availability
