Earning a BS in Information Systems means learning about a wide variety of concepts, workflows, and processes. From developing an understanding of programming to learning about the use of social media and virtual communities in the modern business world, students cover many different topics in the program. One class that can be especially useful is Information Security Management, an elective offered to all students in UAB’s BS in Information Systems program. This course provides valuable learning opportunities related to the need for consistent and regular security monitoring, review, development, and recovery. Although students don’t have to take this class to graduate, the information it offers is valuable in a variety of roles throughout the business world.
Understanding the class: Information Security Management
Everyone in an information systems major should have some understanding of the importance of security, both as it relates to daily duties and the overall function of such platforms. Security breaches can cause substantial problems for businesses, ranging from the theft of valuable, privileged information to reputational damage — and related declines in sales — caused by clients feeling a vendor or partner company isn’t trustworthy.
Information Security Management covers many different aspects of digital security, with foundational learning based on relevant, key concepts. Understanding abstract notions like uncertainty and risk helps learners develop the skill set necessary for making complex, context-dependent decisions related to security. This is especially important considering the lack of absolutes in the realm of digital security. There’s always a chance for any system to suffer a breach, whether through malicious hackers making an attack over the internet or a compromised employee gaining unauthorized access to a system that’s hosted internally.
That means the ability to make practical, informed decisions about reducing risks and uncertainty is uniquely valuable. This also informs the course’s objective of helping students learn how to make choices in terms of policy and procedure that lead to enhanced security. Each company and information system has unique elements in play, which means professionals in the field should know how to do more than implement a series of standardized best practices. To be truly successful in terms of security, information systems professionals also should be able to accurately analyze the platform and situation in front of them and make complicated decisions based on unique, regularly changing circumstances.
The course also provides some training for two abilities that an information systems major needs to truly address all areas of security management: auditing and breach recovery. After a system is up and running, it needs regular review to ensure it remains as secure as possible. A lack of auditing can quickly lead to weak points developing as the platform changes and grows, and malicious actors attack. Similarly, no system is immune to attacks, and many businesses eventually face some kind of intrusion into their internal platforms.
Understanding how to review such incidents, respond quickly and effectively, and make changes so similar attacks aren’t successful is just as vital as implementing strong security protocols in the first place. A professional in the information systems field has to be ready to respond to all sorts of security issues, not just during an implementation or regularly scheduled audit.
Understanding a rapidly changing part of the profession
As students begin to investigate potential degree options, they may focus on the core concepts of the field. There’s no doubt those are important and central considerations in the information systems world, but students considering pursuing information systems as a career must also keep security in mind. Learners should make sure they follow developments in this space as well, because although all aspects of the profession eventually change, security can evolve at an especially rapid pace.
Current security trends in the information systems field include a range of issues related to compliance, boosting defenses, and the difficulties of incorporating the internet of things (IoT) into a company’s operations. For example, the rollout of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has an impact on all businesses that store data related to the personal information of EU citizens. Even if the organizations are headquartered in the U.S., any overseas operations can be subject to massive fines — more than $20 million for the most egregious breaches — for a lack of compliance.
Incorporating the IoT into business operations is a key goal toward which a wide variety of enterprises have already made significant progress, and new applications for these connected tools appear regularly. Although their specific uses are often industry- and context-dependent, there’s a broad move to gather, house, and analyze data from such devices in the world’s economy. That task often falls on information systems specialists, and a variety of best practices and practical workflows for keeping such devices and the information they produce safe are still developing. Staying apprised of these issues is vital both as a student and during the course of a career.
Taking the next step toward a BS in Information Systems degree with UAB
Students who enter the online BS in Information Systems program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham work with respected, knowledgeable faculty and gain a modern, focused, and useful education. With chances to learn about security throughout the degree program as well as a dedicated elective class, students benefit from a well-rounded experience that takes all the major issues facing professionals in the information systems field into account. To learn more about working with an online information system and studying at UAB, reach out to one of our helpful advisors.
Sources:
CSO: 8 cybersecurity trends to watch for in 2018
CSO: 7 cybersecurity trends to watch out for in 2018
UAB Bachelor of Science in Information Systems