Confidential information for business is of increased interest to competitors. Unfair competitors, corrupt officials and other malefactors are particularly interested in information about the composition of the management of enterprises, their status and activities of the company.

Access to confidential information and changes to it can cause significant damage to the financial position of the company. At the same time, information leakage may even be partial. In some cases, even ensuring the theft of 1/5 of confidential information can have critical consequences for financial security.

The reason for information leakage, if there is no proper information security of the organization, may be various accidents caused by inexperience of employees.

Basics of information security of the organization

Information security involves ensuring that data is protected against theft or alteration, both accidental and intentional. System of maintenance of information safety of the organisation – the effective tool of protection of interests of proprietors and users of the information.

It is necessary to notice that the damage can be put not only by unapproved access to the information. It can be received as a result of breakage of the communication or information equipment. Especially relevant is the effective organization of security of information banking systems and open institutions (educational, social, etc.).

In order to ensure adequate protection of information, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the basic concepts, objectives and role of information security.

The term “information security” describes a situation that excludes access for viewing, moderating and destroying data by actors without appropriate rights. This includes the provision of protection against leakage and theft of information through the use of modern technology and innovative devices.

Protection of information includes a full range of measures to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of information, as long as it is accessible to users with appropriate rights.

Integrity is a concept that defines the preservation of the quality of information and its properties.

Confidentiality implies ensuring the confidentiality of data and access to certain information by individual users.

Accessibility – the quality of information, which determines its quick and precise location by specific users.

The purpose of information protection is to minimize the damage caused by breaches of integrity, confidentiality and accessibility requirements.

Information security threats to the organization

Unfavorable for the enterprise economic policy of the state. Regulation of the economy by the state through manipulation (determining the exchange rate, the discount rate, customs tariffs and taxes) is the cause of many contradictions in the enterprises in the field of production, finance and commerce.

The administrative obligations to enter the market are very dangerous for the security of information of the enterprise, which leads to a forced narrowing of commodity-money relations, violation of laws by the state and limitation of the enterprise’s activity.

Often the state exaggerates its competence in the financial and commercial sphere of the enterprise’s activity and unreasonably interferes in the information space of these spheres, as well as encroaches on the enterprise’s property in various forms.

A serious threat to the security of an enterprise’s information is posed by political actions aimed at restricting or terminating economic ties. Sanctions in the economy cause both parties to distrust further activities and undermine commercial relations. All this leads to the destabilization of economic relations, and not only at the state level.

Actions of other economic entities. In this case, the risk of ensuring the security of information is carried by unhealthy competition. Unhealthy or unfair competition has several notions and is divided into three types according to the norms of international law:

  • When the activity of one commercial entity is presented to the consumer under the guise of another;
  • Discrediting the reputation of a business entity by spreading false information;
  • Illegal and incorrect use of trademarks that mislead the consumer.

In Western countries, there are legislative acts on unfair competition, trade names, trademarks and barriers to information security, the violation of which leads to certain legal liability. The following illegal actions also lead to liability:

  • Bribing or enticing consumers by a competitor;
  • The procedure for ensuring the information security of the organization is violated by disclosing commercial secrets, as well as finding out the information through espionage, bribery;
  • Establishment of unequal and discrediting conditions affecting the security of information;
  • Covert creation of cartels, collusion during the auction with the provision of commercial information;
  • Creation of conditions limiting the possibility of ensuring information security;
  • Deliberate price reduction to suppress competition;
  • Copying of goods, advertising, services and other forms of commercial activity and competitive information.

There are other aspects that reveal unfair competition. These include economic suppression, which is expressed in various forms – blackmail of personnel and managers, compromising information, paralysis of the company’s activities and disruption of transactions with the help of media channels, corruption in government agencies.

Commercial and industrial espionage, which undermines the organization’s information security framework, is also a legal liability, as it implies illegal acquisition of competitor’s classified information for personal gain.