The measures and practices an organization adopts to protect its technology systems, data, and digital operations from unauthorized access, misuse, disruption, or damage. It focuses on maintaining the safety and integrity of both the organization’s sensitive information and its technology infrastructure.

1. Network Security: Implementing measures to protect the integrity and usability of the organization’s network, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), intrusion prevention systems (IPS), virtual private networks (VPNs), and network access controls to safeguard against unauthorized access and attacks.
2. Endpoint Security: Protecting devices such as desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and servers connected to the enterprise network through antivirus software, encryption, device management policies, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems.
3. Identity and Access Management (IAM): Establishing processes and technologies for user authentication, authorization, and access control to ensure that only authorized users can access certain data or systems, including the use of multifactor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and role-based access controls (RBAC).
4. Data Security and Privacy: Protecting sensitive information throughout its lifecycle from creation to storage and transmission. This includes data encryption, secure backups, data masking, and data loss prevention (DLP) systems to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of organizational and customer data.
5. Application Security: Ensuring that applications are designed, developed, and maintained in a way that prevents vulnerabilities and attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other forms of exploitation. This may include secure coding practices, application firewalls, and regular security testing.
6. Security Operations and Monitoring: Monitoring the organization’s IT environment continuously to detect, respond to, and mitigate security incidents. This involves Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, Security Operations Centers (SOC), threat intelligence, and incident response plans.
7. Compliance and Risk Management: Ensuring that IT security measures align with industry standards, regulatory requirements (such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS), and internal policies. Risk assessments are performed to identify, assess, and mitigate security risks in line with the organization’s risk tolerance.
8. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Preparing for and responding to unexpected events that can disrupt IT operations, such as cyberattacks, natural disasters, or system failures. This includes having disaster recovery (DR) plans, data recovery processes, and business continuity plans to minimize downtime and data loss.