The Provision of Information Technology Security Considerations by Legal Prescripts: South African Case

The purpose of this paper is to establish whether IT security considerations are provided for, in the case of South Africa, by legal prescripts on each computer-based Information Systems' component. A descriptive research approach was employed to accomplish the aim of this paper. Findings are that avoidance IT security consideration is the least covered by legal prescripts, while the deterrence IT security consideration is comprehensively covered by legal prescripts. While legal prescripts related to deterrence IT security consideration are almost similar, they prescribe different punishments for the same violation. A further study is needed to establish whether IT security considerations not covered by legal prescripts are mitigated by other means, and a different further study to determine the efficacy of deterrence without detection is also needed. A consolidated IT security legal prescript might deliver a better remedy to prevailing disjointedness and duplications. This paper develops a rubric or model that guides a comprehensive and systemic assessment of IT security considerations, and provides an evaluation of IT related legal prescripts of South Africa.