What is the difference between cyber security and information security?

           What is the difference between cyber security and information security?

Information Security

Information security (or “InfoSec”) is another way of saying “data security.” So if you are an information security specialist, your concern is for the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data. (This is often referred to as the “CIA.”) Most modern business data resides electronically on servers, desktops, laptops, or somewhere on the internet—but a decade ago, before all confidential information migrated online, it was sitting in a filing cabinet. And some confidential information still is! InfoSec is concerned with making sure data in any form is kept secure and is a bit broader than cyber-security. So, someone could likely be an information security expert without being a cyber-security expert.

Cyber-security

Cyber-security is all about protecting data that is found in electronic form. Part of that is identifying what the critical data is, where it resides, and the technology you have to implement in order to protect it.

Overlap Between Information Security & Cyber-security

There is a physical security component to both cyber-security and information security.

If you have a warehouse full of confidential paper documents, you clearly need some physical security in place to prevent anyone from rummaging through the information. And as more data becomes digital, the process to protect that data requires more advanced IT security tools. So, while you can’t put a physical padlock on a desktop computer, you can put a padlock on your server room door. In other words, if your data is stored physically or digitally, you need to be sure you have all the right physical access controls in place to prevent unauthorised individuals from gaining access.

They both take the value of the data into consideration.

If you’re in information security, your main concern is protecting your company's data from unauthorised access of any sort—and if you’re in cyber-security, your main concern is protecting your company’s data from unauthorised electronic access. But in both scenarios, the value of the data is of utmost importance. Both individuals need to know what data is most critical to the organisation so they can focus on placing the right controls on that data. In some scenarios, an information security professional would help a cyber-security professional prioritise data protection—and then the cyber-security professional would determine the best course of action for the data protection. But with the changing security landscape over the past decade, things aren’t always this black and white.

Resources:
1-https://www.valpo.edu/onlinecybersecurity/2019/01/16/cyber-security-vs-information-security-is-there-a-difference/

2-https://www.computersciencedegreehub.com/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-cyber-security-and-information-security/

3-https://www.ifsecglobal.com/cyber-security/understanding-the-difference-between-it-security-and-cybersecurity/