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Difference Between Security and Protection

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An operating system provides a method to prevent tampering with both logical and physical resources. Security and protection rank among them as two. Protection and security are distinct concepts, even though they are frequently used synonymously. In order to protect user applications and data, unauthorized users must be kept out of the system. In contrast, security entails guarding against interference from outside parties like unauthorized users of other systems and preventing the user’s programs and data from being used.

The operating system’s security and protection are discussed in this article. You must understand the OS’s security and protection before we can talk about the differences.

What is Security?

The security systems cover the safety of their system resources (saved data, memory, disks, etc) across malignant alteration, illegal access, and disparity or inconsistency. The security gives a mechanism (authentication and encryption) to analyze the user to permit for using the system. For example, in a corporation the info is obtained by completely different workers however, it can’t be obtained by a user that doesn’t exist in this explicit organization or a user operating in different business enterprises. Security is a vital task for a corporation to provide some safety mechanism in order that no outside user will access the knowledge of the organization. 

What is Protection?

The protection deals with access to the system resources. It determines what files can be accessed or permeated by a special user. The protection of the system should confirm the approval of the process and users. Due to this, these licensed users and processes will care for the central processing unit, memory, and alternative sources. The protection mechanism ought to provide a path for specifying the controls to be obligatory, besides how of implementing them. An example of protection can be given by security, any organization will have many departments below which several staff operate. the assorted departments will share frequent info with one another but not sensitive info. So, completely different employees have different access rights to the info in step with that they will access the defined data.

Key differences between the Security and Protection in Operating Systems

Between security and protection in the OS, there are a number of significant distinctions. The following are some significant distinctions between security and protection:

  1. Operating systems use security as a technique to deal with external threats and maintain the system’s proper operation. Protection, on the other hand, is a method used in operating systems to manage risks and keep the system operating correctly.
  2. The security measure establishes whether a particular user is permitted access to the system or not. The protection method, on the other hand, specifies which users are allowed access to a specific resource.
  3. A few security measures are adding and deleting users, checking a user’s authorization, using anti-malware software, etc.
     

Let’s see the difference between security and protection:

Comparison Based on Security Protection
Basic Security grants the system access to the appropriate users only. While protection deals with access to the system resources.
Type of threats involved in the system In security, external threats are involved. While in protection, internal threats are involved.
Queries handle In security, more convoluted queries are handled. Whereas in protection, simple queries are handled.
Policy Security illustrates that which person is granted for using the system. Whereas protection determines what files can be accessed or permeated by a special user.
Mechanism In security, encryption and certification(authentication) mechanisms are used. Whereas in protection, an authorization mechanism is implemented.

Conclusion

We can infer from the discussion above that protection, a component of security, deals with internal threats and prevents unauthorized access to resources and information, whereas security is a complex mechanism that addresses external threats to the system and information. Security provides a way to shield system and user resources from unauthorized outside parties. Protection, in contrast, offers a method for assisting in limiting access to crucial data, procedures, programs, and other resources.


Last Updated : 02 Jun, 2023
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