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Information Security: Concepts and Mechanisms
Source: Ravel Tecnologia
Information security is a topic everyone is talking about. Can you imagine what it would be like if, in today’s globalized world, there were no mechanisms to ensure that the information that passes through the internet is protected? It would be chaos. Therefore, it is very important to know more about this concept, in order to understand how to guard our personal data and our companies. In this article, we will highlight key English vocabulary that you should know when talking about information security in English.
Conceptualizing Information Security
Information Security is a concept related to the protection of a set of information, in the sense of preserving the value they have for an individual or an organization. It is important to say that this concept is not restricted to computer systems, electronic information or storage systems. The concept applies to all aspects of information and data protection. In other words, information security is about protecting against unauthorized use or access to information.
Currently, the Information Security concept is standardized by the ISO/IEC 17799:2005 standard, influenced by the English standard (British Standard) BS 7799. The information security technical standard in force is: ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 27002:2013.
Information Security Attributes
There are 5 basic attributes of information security, according to international standards (ISO/IEC 17799:2005): Confidentiality, Compliance, Availability, Authenticity and Legality.
Confidentiality: property that limits access to information only to legitimate entities or persons, that is, those authorized by the owner of the information.
Compliance: property that guarantees that the system must follow the laws and regulations associated with the type of process.
Availability: property that guarantees that the information is always available for legitimate use, that is, by those users authorized by the owner of the information.
Integrity: property that guarantees that the manipulated information maintains all the original characteristics established by the information owner, including change control and guarantee of its life cycle, which are current, intermediate and permanent.
Authenticity: property that guarantees that the information comes from the advertised source and that it has not been subject to undue changes during a process.
Information Security Mechanisms
The Information Security mechanisms are: Physical Control and Logical Control. Let’s talk through each of them.
Physical controls are barriers that limit contact or direct access to information or the infrastructure (which guarantees the existence of information) that supports it. Examples of mechanisms that support physical controls are: doors, locks, walls, shielding, guards, etc…
Logical controls are barriers that prevent or limit access to information, in a controlled environment, generally electronic, preventing exposure or unauthorized alteration by a malicious element or person. Examples of mechanisms that support logical controls are: encryption or encryption mechanisms; digital signature; guarantee of information integrity; access control; certification; secure protocols and honeypot.
Encryption or encryption mechanisms allow the reversible transformation of information in order to make it unintelligible to third parties, that is, whoever or who does not have the code is unable to understand the information, even if he or she has access to it by some means. For this, algorithms and a secret key are used to, from a set of unencrypted data, produce a sequence of encrypted data. The reverse operation is decryption.
– Digital signature: a set of encrypted data, associated with a document of which they are a function, guaranteeing the integrity and authenticity of the associated document, but not its confidentiality.
– Information integrity guarantee mechanisms: using “hashing” or checking functions, integrity is guaranteed by comparing the local test result with the one disclosed by the author.
– Access control mechanisms: keywords, biometric systems, firewalls, smart cards.
– Certification mechanisms: attests the validity of a document.
– Secure protocols: use of protocols that guarantee the necessary security to keep the mechanisms secure.
– Honeypot: is a tool that purposely simulates a system’s security flaws and gathers information about the attacker by deceiving him, making him think that he is actually exploiting a vulnerability in that system. It’s a kind of trap for invaders. The honeypot does not offer any type of protection.
English Vocabulary to Know about Information Security
1) Protection: the act of keeping someone or something safe from something dangerous or bad
2) Information technology: the science and activity of using computers and other electronic equipment to store and send information
3) Systems: a set of connected pieces of equipment that work together
4) Data protection: laws and regulations that make it illegal to store or share some types of information about people without their knowledge or permission
5) ISO: International Organization for Standardization
6) ABNT: Brazilian Technical Standards Association
7) Standardize:to make things of the same type all have the same basic features
8) Attributes : a quality or characteristic that someone or something has
9) Laws: a rule, usually made by a government, that is used to order the way in which a society behaves
10) Regulations: an official rule or the act of controlling something
Did I miss any acronyms or terms related to e-mail that you want to know? Comment below to request more tech-related acronyms or terms to be added to the list.
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Sources:
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seguran%C3%A7a_da_informa%C3%A7%C3%A3o
https://www.icombackup.com/normas-seguranca-informacao.html
https://www.oficinadanet.com.br/artigo/1307/seguranca_da_informacao_conceitos_e_mecanismos
https://tecnoblog.net/43829/o-que-e-seguranca-da-informacao/
https://canaltech.com.br/seguranca/seguranca-da-informacao-o-que-e-158375/
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/
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Jhessika Nascimento
Director of International Partnerships
Jhessika Nascimento is the Director of International Partnerships for Study With Andrea and lives in Brasilia, Brazil.
Jhessika is a bilingual teacher of English and Portuguese, studying for a Master's Degree in Strategic Management in Information Technologies at the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana.
Graduation in Letters - Portuguese and English.
Postgraduate in Teaching in Higher Education.
Postgraduate in Risk Management and Cybersecurity.
Postgraduate Executive MBA in Process Management BPM-CBOK.
Postgraduate in Translation and Proofreading of Texts in English.
The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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