by The Computing Australia Group | Medical IT Support: Info Security
vs Cybersecurity – What You Need
Why this guide
Modern businesses live and die by their data. Yet many teams still treat information security and cybersecurity as interchangeable-creating blind spots, duplicated spend, and policies that look good on paper but fail under pressure. If you’ve ever wondered which one your business should prioritise, here’s the real answer:
You don’t choose between information security and cybersecurity.
You design a joined-up program where cybersecurity is the digital defence arm of a broader information security strategy.
This long-form guide breaks down the differences, overlaps, and practical steps-so you can build a resilient program that protects data wherever it lives (cloud, devices, offices, backup media, even paper) and however it moves (apps, APIs, email, people). You’ll also get a maturity roadmap, control checklist, KPIs, and a decision framework to invest wisely.
Quick definitions (clear and non-jargon)
Information Security (InfoSec)
Goal: Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information-in any form.
Scope: Digital records, paper files, whiteboards, prototypes, conversations, backups, physical media, and the people and processes that interact with them.
Typical activities: Policies, risk assessments, data classification, access controls, vendor due diligence, retention and destruction policies, training, incident response governance, and compliance.
Cybersecurity
Goal: Protect digital systems, networks, applications, and data against cyber threats.
Scope: Scope: Servers, endpoints, mobile devices, cloud services, apps, APIs, identity platforms, networks, and the telemetry/monitoring wrapped around them.
Typical activities: Typical activities: Vulnerability management, patching, email/web filtering, EDR/XDR, firewalls, identity and MFA, SIEM/SOC monitoring, secure configuration, secure software development, and incident detection/response.
How the two disciplines relate
Think of InfoSec as the governance and risk engine: it decides what needs protecting, why, who’s responsible, and what good looks like.
Cybersecurity is a set of technical and operational capabilities that enforce parts of that strategy in the digital world.
- InfoSec without Cybersecurity = policy on paper, weak defence in practice.
- Cybersecurity without InfoSec = great tools, unclear priorities, gaps in non-digital areas (e.g., printed reports, supplier contracts, offboarding).
A modern program needs both-and they must be aligned via shared risk registers, unified incident processes, and a single view of compliance obligations.
Scope, objectives, and stakeholders
| Aspect | Information Security | Cybersecurity |
|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | Protect information value (CIA triad) | Prevent/detect/respond to digital threats |
| Scope | All information forms (digital + physical) | Digital assets: devices, apps, networks, cloud |
| Key owners | Execs, risk/compliance, legal, IT, HR | IT/security ops, engineering, cloud, DevSecOps |
| Typical outputs | Policies, risk register, data classification, audits, training, vendor reviews | Hardening standards, patch SLAs, EDR/XDR, SIEM alerts, playbooks |
| Time horizon | Strategic and governance-led | Operational and tactical (hours/days) |
Control types: administrative, technical, physical
Security controls fall into three families. Strong programs mix all three.
1. Administrative (people/process):
- Security policies and standards
- Data classification and handling rules
- Acceptable use, remote work, BYOD policies
- Background checks, role-based access approvals
- Secure development lifecycle (SDLC), change management
- Security awareness and phishing simulations
2. Technical (systems):
- Identity and access management with MFA and least privilege
- Endpoint protection (EDR/XDR), disk encryption
- Email security, DNS and web filtering
- Patching & vulnerability management, configuration baselines
- Network segmentation, firewalls, WAF, DDoS protection
- SIEM/SOAR, logs, and continuous monitoring
- Backups (immutable where possible) and tested restores
3. Physical (facilities/media):
- Door access controls, CCTV, visitor logs
- Clean desk rules; secure print; shred bins
- Lockable racks/rooms; offsite storage
- Environmental controls (power, fire, flood)
- Chain of custody for removable media and laptops
Reality check: Many breaches start with a human or process gap (phishing, mis-sent email, weak approvals), then escalate via technical weaknesses. Cover both.
Risk management and data classification
Security spend should follow data value and business risk, not headlines. Start here:
1. Identify information assets
Customer PII, payment data, employee records, contracts, source code, designs, financials, operational data, backups, and logs.
2. Classify by sensitivity and impact
For example: Public / Internal / Confidential / Restricted. Define handling rules for each (storage, sharing, encryption, retention, destruction).
3. Map data flows
Where is the data created, stored, processed, transmitted, backed up, and destroyed? Which third parties touch it? What’s home-grown vs SaaS?
4. Assess risks
Combine likelihood and impact (privacy, financial, operational, legal). Record risks in a register with owners and treatment plans.
5. Select controls proportionately
High-impact data warrants stronger controls (e.g., mandatory encryption, strict access reviews, immutable backup tiers, continuous monitoring).
Review quarterly. Risks evolve with new apps, integrations, and business models.
Common threats and failure modes
- Phishing & social engineering: Users tricked into giving credentials or running malware.
- Credential stuffing & weak MFA coverage: Reused passwords exploited across services.
- Unpatched systems / misconfigurations: Default settings, forgotten servers, exposed S3 buckets or storage shares.
- Ransomware & data extortion: Encrypted files, stolen data, and public pressure.
- Insider risk: Malicious or accidental; over-privileged access and poor offboarding.
- Third-party incidents: Vendor compromise cascades into your environment.
- Shadow IT: Unsanctioned tools housing sensitive data without governance.
- Backups that don’t restore: False sense of security due to untested recovery.
Antidote: A blend of prevention (MFA, patching, hardening), detection (telemetry, alerting), response (playbooks, roles), and recovery (tested backups, communication plans).
Maturity roadmap for SMBs and mid-market
You don’t need everything on day one. Build in stages.
Level 1 - Foundations (0-90 days)
- Policy & governance: Approve core policies; appoint an accountable owner.
- Identity: Enforce MFA for all; remove shared/admin accounts; enable SSO where possible.
- Endpoints: EDR/XDR, disk encryption, baseline configurations, auto-patching.
- Email & web: Advanced phishing protection, attachment sandboxing, DMARC/DKIM/SPF.
- Backups: 3-2-1 strategy (including one immutable/offline copy); perform a test restore.
- Awareness: Launch training and phishing simulations.
- Asset inventory: Know what you own and what versions you run.
Level 2 - Operational excellence (3-9 months)
- Vulnerability management: Monthly scanning; SLA-based remediation.
- SIEM/SOC: Centralise logs; tune alerting; document incident playbooks.
- Least privilege: Privileged access management; just-in-time admin rights.
- Data classification: Label email/docs; enforce DLP policies for restricted data.
- Secure collaboration: Conditional access, device compliance checks, MDM for mobiles.
- Third-party risk: Vendor assessments; minimum contract clauses for security and breach notification.
Level 3 - Resilience & optimisation (9-18 months)
- Zero Trust posture: Strengthen segmentation; verify explicitly; assume breach.
- Secure SDLC: Threat modelling, code scanning, secrets management, dependency checks.
- Business continuity: Document RTO/RPO by system; tabletop exercises; comms templates.
- Cost & licence optimisation: Remove shelfware; rightsize cloud workloads; standardise tooling.
- Metrics & reviews: Quarterly security scorecards and roadmap refresh.
What to implement first (prioritised checklist)
High-impact wins you can start this quarter:
1. Turn on MFA for every account (especially email, VPN, admin portals).
2. Harden endpoints: EDR/XDR + full-disk encryption + enforced screen locks.
3. Patch ruthlessly: OS and third-party apps; set patch SLAs and measure compliance.
4. Backup and test restore: Include immutable/offsite copies. Measure actual recovery time.
5. Email security: Advanced threat protection, anti-spoofing (DMARC/DKIM/SPF), and safe links.
6. Remove toxic combinations: Shared accounts, persistent global admin rights, long-standing access for leavers.
7. Train people where attacks start: Short, frequent training + phishing drills with positive reinforcement.
8. Document incident response basics: Roles, triage steps, legal/comms contacts, and after-action review template.
9. Classify your most sensitive data and implement handling rules (encryption, DLP).
10. Vendor hygiene: Add minimum security clauses to contracts; track who touches sensitive data.
Cloud, SaaS, and third-party risk
Cloud doesn’t remove security duties; it changes them.
- Shared responsibility: Providers secure the platform; you secure identities, data, configs, and usage.
- Misconfigurations are the #1 cloud risk: Use benchmarks (e.g., CIS-style baselines) and continuous posture management.
- SaaS sprawl: Consolidate where possible; ensure SSO/MFA; review data export, retention, and admin access.
- Vendor assessments: Ask for security summaries, breach history, data residency options, sub-processor lists, and recovery commitments.
- Offboarding: Revoke tokens and API keys, not just user logins.
KPIs and metrics that actually matter
Avoid vanity metrics. Track indicators that change behaviour and reduce risk.
- MFA coverage: % of accounts with MFA enforced (target: ~100%).
- Patch compliance: % endpoints/servers patched within SLA by severity.
- Privileged access: Count of standing global admins; % of privileged actions using just-in-time elevation.
- Phishing resilience: Simulation failure rate trend and follow-up training completion.
- Backup reliability: Success rate and time to restore (prove RTOs quarterly).
- Mean time to detect/respond (MTTD/MTTR): For priority incidents.
- Data loss events: DLP policy hits, true positives, and remediation time.
- Vendor risk: % critical vendors assessed and contractually bound to notify of incidents.
FAQ
Is cybersecurity a subset of information security?
Yes. Information security is the umbrella (all information, any form). Cybersecurity focuses on digital threats and controls.
We’re small-do we need both?
Absolutely. You can scale the scope, but you still need governance (InfoSec) and defences (Cyber). Start small, focus on high-value data, and build gradually.
Which comes first-policies or tools?
They evolve together. Approve lightweight policies early so you can set priorities, then deploy tools aligned to those policies and refine both based on outcomes.
Is cloud safer than on-prem?
It can be-if configured correctly. Strong identity, MFA, least privilege, and continuous monitoring are critical. Misconfiguration is the usual culprit in cloud incidents.
How do we handle legacy systems we can’t retire yet?
Isolate them (network segmentation), restrict access, add monitoring, back them up properly, and put a decommission plan on the roadmap with a defined timeline.
