Editing Computer security (section)

{{Short description|Protection of computer systems from information disclosure, theft or damage}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Computer hacking}}
{{OS}}
[[File:Computer locked.jpg|thumb|right|An example of a physical security measure: a metal lock on the back of a personal computer to prevent hardware tampering.]]

'''Computer security''' (also '''cybersecurity''', '''digital security''', or '''information technology (IT) security''') is a subdiscipline within the field of [[information security]]. It consists of the protection of [[computer software]], [[system]]s and [[computer network|networks]] from [[Threat (security)|threats]] that can lead to unauthorized information disclosure, theft or damage to [[computer hardware|hardware]], [[software]], or [[Data (computing)|data]], as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the [[Service (economics)|services]] they provide.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Schatz |first1=Daniel |last2=Bashroush |first2=Rabih |last3=Wall |first3=Julie |date=2017 |title=Towards a More Representative Definition of Cyber Security |url=https://commons.erau.edu/jdfsl/vol12/iss2/8/ |journal=Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |issn=1558-7215}}</ref><ref>{{Britannica|130682}}</ref>

The significance of the field stems from the expanded reliance on [[computer systems]], the [[Internet]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tate |first=Nick|date=7 May 2013 |title=Reliance spells end of road for ICT amateurs |newspaper=The Australian |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/reliance-spells-end-of-road-for-ict-amateurs/news-story/6f84ad403b8721100f5957a472a945eb |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and [[wireless network standards]]. Its importance is further amplified by the growth of [[smart device]]s, including [[smartphone]]s, [[television]]s, and the various devices that constitute the [[Internet of things]] (IoT). Cybersecurity has emerged as one of the most significant new challenges facing the contemporary world, due to both the complexity of [[information systems]] and the societies they support. Security is particularly crucial for systems that govern large-scale systems with far-reaching physical effects, such as [[Electric power distribution|power distribution]], [[Election security|elections]], and [[finance]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kianpour |first1=Mazaher |last2=Kowalski |first2=Stewart |last3=Øverby |first3=Harald |date=2021 |title=Systematically Understanding Cybersecurity Economics: A Survey |journal=Sustainability |volume=13 |issue=24 |page=13677 |doi=10.3390/su132413677 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021Sust...1313677K |hdl=11250/2978306 |hdl-access=free | issn=2071-1050 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stevens |first1=Tim |date=11 June 2018 |title=Global Cybersecurity: New Directions in Theory and Methods |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/97261726/PaG_6_2_Global_Cybersecurity_New_Directions_in_Theory_and_Methods.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904151257/https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/97261726/PaG_6_2_Global_Cybersecurity_New_Directions_in_Theory_and_Methods.pdf |archive-date=2019-09-04 |url-status=live |journal=Politics and Governance |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.17645/pag.v6i2.1569 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Although many aspects of computer security involve digital security, such as electronic [[passwords]] and [[encryption]], [[physical security]] measures such as [[Lock and key|metal locks]] are still used to prevent unauthorized tampering. IT security is not a perfect subset of [[information security]], therefore does not  completely align into the [[security convergence]] schema.