Most regulatory acts require that owners of sensitive data must always know where the data is currently stored, what state it’s in, and how well protected it is. Two primary concerns surround the importance of having this knowledge — security and compliance, and they’re not the same thing.
Security
Information security refers to practices that protect data from being accessed, copied, stolen, corrupted, or otherwise harmed by individuals not authorized to access it. This extends to networks that the data travels across and the storage resources it rests inside when not being used. Tools and techniques that increase data and network security include firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, malware filters, encryption, and more.
