Digital information has become a desirable target by numerous kinds of digital threats such as computer viruses, theft, human intrusion, and worms among others. The most vulnerable digital information include music, photography of artworks, movies, and motion pictures. Exposure or destruction of such information may lead to economic, political, psychological or privacy losses. Some digital information attacks may be malicious with no specific motive. To mitigate such losses, several controls such as CIA Controls, DRM, and Copyright laws have been enforced.
CIA Triad Controls
Three things that are of optimal importance when considering computer security systems are confidentiality, integrity, and availability. These factors are commonly known as the CIA triad. Hoffman and Zahadat (2018) note that a major advantage of using CIA triad controls in an organization is that it forms a core foundation in the development of an organization’s security systems. Therefore, an organization can customize the systems according to their needs. For instance, in a healthcare facility, data availability is prioritized while in a financial institution such as a bank, integrity is emphasized. However, there could be a trade-off when prioritizing one security principle over the others leading to data security being compromised.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technique of protecting digital information through the application of technologies that prohibit copying and usage of protected properties and works. DRM allows digital information owners to control the rights that paying users to have when using their works. In organizations, DRM regulates unauthorized access of users to limit them from particular rights which prevents illegal issues (Ma et al., 2018).
However, there are several challenges associated with the use of DRM for cyber security. For instance, controlled rights prevent iTunes users to listen to music on any device they wish or use it in any other form or purpose. High profile businesses may also engage in unfair competition by paying a significant amount of money to DRM who hides a high-value report from other small businesses. The largest disadvantage of the use of DRM codes is that users can use decryption tools that are readily available online to gain access to digitally protected material.
Copyrights Law
Copyrights are policies that protect original published and unpublished works of authorship. The protected work has to be placed in a medium of expression that is tangible. According to Platz (2019), copyright laws are beneficial to producers of digital content since they are provided exclusive economic rights of their work. The law also prevents the production and reproduction of another person’s original work. In case of violation of a copyright, the owner can claim legal damages and attorney fees. On the other hand, copyright laws limit users of an original work to share one’s content on public platforms leading to delay in the publishing of one’s work. Another disadvantage is that copyright is not ownership, which means that one must have a copyright to access the rights granted.
Government’s Involvement in DRM Violations
Digital rights management (DRM) users often complain of a breach of digital information security by vendors. This happens as vendors use decryption tools to unscramble an original work once they are provided access by the owner. The vendors then transfer the information to other devices and distribute them to their customers who use it against the owner’s will. To prevent this violation, the government should enforce laws for DRM codes (Ma et al., 2018).
Some of the regulations placed to curb this problem include the digital millennium copyright act that provides the anti-circumvent policy and anti-device provisions. The anti-circumvent policy prohibits the circumvention of a technology that has been placed to limit access to copyright content. The anti-device provision aims at preventing the production and distribution of devices designed to circumvent digitally protected work. However, vendors are still violating this policy without the government’s intervention.
References
Hoffman, L., & Zahadat, N. (2018). Securing Democracy: A comparative look at modern and future US voting systems through the lens of the CIA triad. Journal of Information Assurance and Security, 13, 118-124.
Ma, Z., Jiang, M., Gao, H., & Wang, Z. (2018). Blockchain for digital rights management. Future generation computer systems, 89, 746-764. Web.
Platz, C. (2019). Regional trade agreements and copyright law: The necessity of renegotiating the TPP. European Intellectual Property Review, 41(4), 203-217. Web.