A Discussion on Life Systems Security and the Systems Approach

The relationship between information technology and information security historically has been quite reactive. New innovations in information technology have often been accompanied by new security threats that create challenges to its reliability and overall integrity. In this paper, a historical perspective that outlines the evolution in the development of the security function is used as a starting base. Changes in the way security issues are viewed and how this view affects the design and development of secure systems are then postulated. It is proposed that these changes should be incorporated into the security functions of any waterfall development model, and especially during the initial and terminating stages.