Security is a topic of great interest to IT professionals, business management, and the general public. The wide proliferation of private information among organizations in the 1980s led to public outcry and the passage of privacy laws. The explosion of e-commerce in the 1990s resulted in the theft of hundreds of millions of credit card numbers in thousands of security incidents that continue to this day. Identity theft has also skyrocketed, largely because many organizations collect and store personal information and do not adequately protect it. Many countries have passed additional data security laws intended to tighten up security and also require the disclosure of security breaches. Things have only marginally improved since then.
These developments have led to a severe shortage of qualified information and business security professionals who are able to properly apply security controls required by applicable laws and regulations. These professionals also need to be able to seek, identify, and mitigate other risks that could negatively affect organizations that collect and use sensitive information.
Introduction to an upcoming academic textbook on business and computer security
Peter H. Gregory 