Information Security refers to the protection of our information from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction and it has never been more important. With more and more of us becoming internet savvy and using online resources and it can be scary to think about how much information is held about us across the internet.  Even scarier is to think about who can see this information. Nearly all organisations collect and gather information about employees Social media sites like Facebook and Myspace hold information about your sex, age, job, school, area, your friends etc. whilst many different sites will have your credit or debit card details if you have purchased something from them.

Identity theft is an increasing concern as just one slip in information security can lead to your details being leaked. It is unsurprising that we, as consumers, are becoming more and more wary about who and where we give out our information.

Just look at the case with Sony. In April 2011 Sony admitted that it had lost many of its customers data. This included some users financial information used to create accounts and pay for services. This was due to a large hacking operation into its Network service. The company admitted that all of the 70 million online users may have had much of their personal information such as addresses,  email address, passwords and log-ins could have been stolen. Although this, it is believed, was done by hackers, this was just one example of the threat of personal information being leaked.

Sony announced that they had employed a former Department of Homeland Security official, to head up its information security and privacy issues. This measure shows how seriously Sony had taken the leaks.

Working in this sector can be extremely interesting and rewarding.  Information security jobs are amongst the most important in the world and can be amongst the best paid. Companies are taking a lot more care with these issues as a lack of information security will only serve to hurt both the customer and the company. Businesses won’t want the negative press that comes with a breach in their information’s security (like that of the Sony case) and people want to be able to trust the people who hold their information.  By helping companies with keeping the information they hold confidential, you can know that you are doing something good.

Information security is an extremely broad field and so there are a wide range of different jobs available in it all depends on your area of skill and it is undoubtedly an advantage to be skilled in a number of areas. If you have the necessary skills, why not have a look for jobs across Europe. There are many companies and websites that will require security services and so why not have a look online.

About the author: Bill Weston writes on a number of subjects including information security. Look here for more information about information security jobs from careers in audit