Selected problems of security of information confidentiality in cyberspace

Information confidentiality is the one of the cornerstones of IT security, which is defined and described in ISO/IEC 27000 standard. Contemporary practices of disclosing information to unauthorized persons and systems are the reason for difficulties in this concept implementation. At every step we encounter situations where information is extracted or obtained illegally from different sources. The main purpose of this paper is to present the issue of information confidentiality protection in cyberspace, as a complex, full of contradictions problem of techno-social character. The role of information confidentiality in functioning of a society, organization and individual has been described. The most important information confidentiality threats have been characterized and the description of a number of incidents illustrating those threats has been quoted. Contemporary security threats have been presented as well as selected methods of information confidentiality protection transmitted in ICT networks. The characteristics of protection systems of information confidentiality have been analyzed, with special attention paid to their functionality and vulnerability to existing threats. The concept of protecting the confidentiality of information transmitted on the Internet based on the use of cryptography and steganography has been presented.