Data security is a practice that involves the protection of digital information from unauthorised access, corruption, destruction, modification, theft, or disclosure. It safeguards digital data from unwanted access, corruption, or theft.
It is a notion that imparts physical security to hardware and software devices and covers all aspects of information security. It also imparts administrative and access controls and logical security to software applications. It also covers policies and procedures to be followed by a company.
Data is a valuable asset that generates, acquires, saves, and exchanges for any company. Protecting it from internal or external corruption and illegal access protects a company from financial loss, reputational harm, consumer trust degradation, and brand erosion. The main purpose of data security is to protect organizational data, which contains trade information and customer data. The data can be accessed by cybercriminals for malicious reasons, compromising customer privacy. Furthermore, regulations for securing data, imposed by the government and the industry, make it critical for a company to achieve and maintain compliance wherever it does business.
The data security process encompasses techniques and technologies such as security of physical hardware (e.g., storage devices), logical security of software applications, administrative and access controls, organizational policy standards, and other data security practices.