The government, military, financial institutions, hospitals and private enterprises have accumulated a large amount of confidential information about their employees, customers, products, research and financial situation. Most of this information is now collected, processed and stored on electronic computers and transmitted to other computers through the network. If confidential information about corporate customers or financial or new product series falls into the hands of competitors, this security loophole may lead to business losses, legal proceedings and even corporate bankruptcy. Protecting confidential information is a business requirement, and in many cases it is also a moral and legal requirement. For individuals, information security has an important impact on privacy, and different cultures have different views on privacy.
In recent years, the field of information security has made great progress. As a career choice, there are many ways to enter this field. It provides many specialized fields, including information system audit, business continuity planning and digital forensics science.