Information Technology and Its Standards

Running head: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 1
Information Technology
Name
Institutional Affiliation

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2
Information Technology
Information technology standards are becoming increasingly important; standards have
been set to regulate the Information Technology Systems and ensure that everything is done
accordingly. According to Swanson (2014), a standard is a procedure, a rule, or a requirement
issued by a legal and recognized authority which establishes a baseline of a common
understanding. Standardization organizations include the International Organization for
Standardization, the American National Standards, Society of Automotive Engineers, and
International Electrotechnical Commission. Standards set towards Information Technology
systems affects it’s interrelationship with other critical infrastructures such as finance, bank, and
power; additionally adhering to the standards is not easy and sometimes the standards bring up
some hardships to the organizations.
Critical infrastructure includes processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks,
assets and services which are essential to safety, health, security, and economic wellness of
citizens and effective functioning of government (White, 2014). Critical information sectors
include; government facilities sector, Healthcare and public health sector, food and agriculture
sector, information technology sector transformation systems sector, and communication sector.
Any destruction or incapacitation of any of these affects the safety, health, economic security, or
security.
Cyber threats are common challenges from Information Technology; standards have been
set to protect people and organizations from cyber threats. Industry groups in financial services
sectors have taken steps to improve information sharing and address threats to infrastructure.
Protecting organizations and individuals from cyber threats mean that people and organizations
should limit what information they pass because their information may end up dubbed as a