Essay: Info & Network Security For Business Success Using ICT.

Importance of Information and Communication Technology in Business

Question:

Discuss about the Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

Information and communication technology is used by almost every organization for running the business as well as for the development of the business. This technology is gaining huge importance with the passage of time. The organizations are able to gain reputation as well as create and generate value by using the solutions provided by ICT (Keller & Heiko, 2014). ICT plays a crucial role in every industry. The organizations can achieve success by incorporating ICT in the business processes as well as business plans (Day et al., 2012). Managing information becomes simple and effective by the incorporation of ICT in the business processes. Treating ICT independently from the business processes will affect the IT projects leading to its failure (Vaishnavi & Kuechler, 2015). There are many security threats as well as risks that are associated with the ICT. The given case study gives an overview of a small Australian organization that develops software and is aiming to expand the business. ICT security applications are gaining importance because of the numerous data and security risks as well as threats.

This report describes the information as well as network security of the information technology and ICT. It also talks about three applications of network security. These applications play a crucial role in the current market. Most of the organizations adopt these applications for protecting their intellectual property and sensitive data. This report not only talks about the advantages of using these applications but also points out the limitations of these applications. It also figures out the ways by which these applications will play a major role in the expansion of the Australian company. This report also gives recommendations regarding the ways by which the company will be able to grow and expand its business while maintaining a certain level of security in the organization.           

The main aim of network or information security is to protect sensitive information and data from unauthorized access as well as tampering (Shiravi, Shiravi & Ghorbani, 2012). In this era of technology, the organizations that are running in the market give topmost level of priority to information security. Almost every organization incorporate security features in all the business processes in order to achieve success and protect their sensitive data. Information security is concerned with the protection of network as well as system against malware and other harmful attacks. Attackers have the ability to exploit weaknesses present in the networks or systems (Skopik et al., 2012). There are several types of weaknesses that can be present in the system like technological weakness, configuration weakness and weakness existing in the policy (Luiijf, 2012). An organization has to deal with several data as well as security threats and risks. Implementation of strong security standards as well as policy will help an organization to mitigate and reduce the chances of security attacks.

Network Security and Three Applications

The security risks as well as threats that are associated with ICT are growing with time. Every organization adopts and implements antivirus, intrusion detectors as well as firewalls for protecting its intellectual property and sensitive data (Grech et al., 2012). Use of appropriate applications as well as technologies will help organizations to save and protect valuable information against different types of data loss and attacks. These security applications must be used in an updated form for getting the expected result and expanding the organization. Using these, applications will play a major role in improving the operational efficiency of the organization and will raise the level of customer satisfaction. Most of the organizations choose to encrypt all the sensitive data by using cryptography techniques and algorithms in order to protect the data from being hacked and misused (Stallings & Tahiliani, 2014). The chances of digital assaults will reduce by implementing strong security standards and using security applications as per the requirements of the organization. Strong and appropriate internet protocols also play a significant role in securing valuable data and protecting it from security threats as well as risks.

Norton Security applications are very popular in the current market. These applications play significant role in protecting several computer systems as well as networks against various security threats. The security features present in this application are superior in comparison to the features of other security applications. It also gives fast performance in comparison to other applications (Min et al., 2014). The identity of the organization can be safeguarded by adopting these applications. These applications can safeguard the sensitive information that is present in the system. The main advantage of the Norton Security over other security applications are it does not affect the performance of the system. It also provides high speed along with good performance level. It provides strong security to the system and network in which it has been installed (Ciampa, 2012). The organization gets the facility to select the data which is to be protected. The organization can also mention the degree of protection that is required for protecting the data. When the user tries to send a message that is not encrypted then this application generates a message that gives a warning signal to make the user aware. The users are also given the right for selecting the level of internet access. This application has the ability to monitor the internet connections. The Anti-Virus software prevents the various categories of malicious code attacks that are possible (Baquiran & Wren, 2014). Some of them are virus attacks, worms and Trojan horses. Norton Firewall helps the organizations to protect it from any extrinsic attack (Suh et al., 2014). This application acts as a barrier and notifies the user if there is any type of unauthorized intrusion. The advertisements that are displayed on various websites can also be blocked by using Norton Security applications. All these features of the application can be considered to be its success factors. These applications have certain limitations as well. Installing these applications consumes huge memory space and the process of uninstalling the application is very difficult. These two characteristics of this application are the main reason behind its failure. The Norton Security application cannot be totally erased from the system even after it has been uninstalled. The advantages of this application overshadow its disadvantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Norton Security application.

Types of Security Risks and Threats

 Kaspersky Internet Security is another application that will help to satisfy the needs of the Australian company. This application plays a crucial role in protecting the system and network of a company from phishing attacks, spam, network attacks as well as new types of threats (Gudkova et al., 2013). This application contains many protection components that have the capability to tackle all kinds of threats. Real-time solutions can be provided by these applications. Virus attacks can harm the documents in the system. These virus attacks can be prevented by the File Anti-Virus. All the files are scanned to detect any virus present in the system. Only virus free files are allowed to be accessed by the users. The mails received by the system can be scanned to detect any virus through the Mail Anti-Virus. Firewall is known for protecting the private internal network from extrinsic intrusion. The network monitor is supposed to monitor the network. Anti-Spam prevents any type of phishing activity. This is done by checking the URLs of the websites. The memory space consumed by this application is less. All these can be considered as the success factors of the application. There are certain limitations like, it reduces the computer performance and it is slow at detecting malicious websites. The compatibility of the firewall needs to be improved (Verlinde & Verlinde, 2013). The disadvantages or limitations are much less as compared to the huge list of advantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Kaspersky Internet Security for fulfilling its demands.

Bitdefender Total Security can also be used by all the organizations for protecting their systems and networks from malware attacks like virus attacks, spyware attacks, Trojan horse and all types of internet attacks like phishing attack, hacking and spam (Pavel, 2013). It scans the entire system to detect and prevent the entry of malicious codes. The files and documents present in the system are also scanned by Bitdefender. The HTTP traffics are also scanned by this application. This application does not allow the system to download any infected file or documents from web. The responsiveness of the system is improved by this application. This application can also keep track of what is typed on keyboard by using the keylogger component. It has the ability to scan during the startup time of the computer. The web cookies can be also scanned by the application. These are the success factors behind the Bitdefender Total Security. There are many disadvantages like, the scanning process is slow and the application is known to consume huge quantity of resources. All these are responsible for deteriorating the performance of the computer. The disadvantages or limitations are much less as compared to the huge list of advantages. Therefore, the Australian organization can use the Bitdefender Total Security for fulfilling its demands.

Importance of Strong Security Standards and Policy

The applications that have been discussed in the previous section can be incorporated in the business processes of the Australian company for expanding its business in next five years and open several branches by using ICT. ICT is prone to various risks like:

Spyware: These programs act as a spy and enter any network or system in a silent manner. The motive of these programs is to watch the activities of user and get unauthorized access to sensitive data (Kahate, 2013).

Vulnerabilities: These are the defects or faults that are exploited by the hackers and attackers (Hou, Li & Chang, 2017). The hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to the valuable data of the organization with the intention of harming the company.

Malware: These are malicious codes designed for the purpose of damaging the system or network (Sikorski & Honig, 2012). Viruses and Trojan horses are examples of malware. Worms are also a type of malware.

These risks can be prevented and mitigated for the purpose of expanding business. The aim of the organization will be fulfilled by adopting the above mentioned applications. The use of security applications has become the first priority of every organization. It has become a necessity. Security applications will help to protect the valuable data of the company. It will help the company to create its global image. The present goal of business expansion will be easily achieved by incorporating the security applications in its business processes (Cardona, Kretschmer & Strobel, 2013). The attackers will not be able hack into the system and misuse the data. Strong security standards as well as policies will keep the organization away from any security threats and risks. 

The organization will get many benefits by adopting and incorporating security applications in the business processes. The organization must choose to purchase vendor applications rather than developing in house applications. The company will not have to spend time and money on the maintenance of the software (Kotelnikov, 2014). It is the vendor’s responsibility to maintain and update the software when necessary. The company can concentrate on different strategies to improve its productivity rather than wasting time in updating and maintaining the software. The company will be able to save the cost of production of new software. The company will also get advices from the experts of the software. The only disadvantage of buying software from vendors is that the company will not have complete control over its applications. The interest of the vendor can conflict with the interest of the directors of the company at any time. The advantages of buying software from vendors are much more as compared to its disadvantages and hence it is preferable for the company to buy the security applications from third party vendors.

Advantages of Norton Security Application

Conclusion

This report concludes that the implementation and use of information or network security applications is essential for the organization. The company is planning to expand and this would be possible by considering the security threats of ICT and incorporating the applications in its business processes. The intensity of threats is rising with time. Different threats have a different level of exposure. The risks that are discussed in this report are malware, vulnerabilities as well as spyware. The organization can expand by protecting its valuable information from any type of external attacks. This report discussed about three applications of network security. These security applications play a crucial role in the current market. Norton Security applications play a significant role in protecting several computer systems as well as networks against various security threats. It also gives fast performance in comparison to other applications. Kaspersky Internet Security plays a crucial role in protecting the system and network of a company from phishing attacks, spam, network attacks as well as new types of threats. The memory space consumed by this application is less. Bitdefender Total Security can be used for protecting the systems and networks from malware attacks like virus attacks, spyware attacks, Trojan horse and all types of internet attacks like phishing attack, hacking and spam. This report said that most of the organizations adopt these applications for protecting their intellectual property and sensitive data. This report not only discussed about the advantages of using these applications but also pointed out the limitations of these applications. It also figured out the ways by which these applications will play a major role in the expansion of the Australian company. This report also said that the organization must choose to purchase vendor applications rather than developing in house applications. The company will not have to spend time and money on the maintenance of the software. The company will be able to save the cost of production of new software. This report also mentioned that the only disadvantage of buying software from vendors is that the company will not have complete control over its applications. Strong security standards as well as policies prevent the organization from any security threats and risks and help in its expansion process. 

Vendor applications: It will be more preferable for the company to purchase security applications from third party vendors rather than developing their own software. The company will be able to save the cost of maintenance as well as the cost of production. It is the responsibility of the vendors to maintain and upgrade the system whenever it is necessary. The company will get time to focus on other requirements and increase the production level. The company will get correct expertise advice from the vendors.  The company will be free from any extra workload.

Advantages of Kaspersky Internet Security Application

Firewall Security: Firewall is known for protecting the private network of an organization from any extrinsic intrusion. It prevents any harmful entry into the internal network by acting as a wall or barrier between the internal and the external network. The firewall allows external traffics to enter the internal network only if it satisfies certain conditions. The company must use firewall security for protecting its business as well as expanding its business.

Encryption: The plain or readable texts can be converted to cipher or encrypted texts in this process. The must aim to encrypt the valuable data in order to prevent data loss or breach in the coming future.

References

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