User policies detail specific duties and responsibilities for end users.
The governing policy outlines the security concepts that are important to the company for managers and technical custodians.
The figure shows some of the security policies used by Cisco Systems. The SANS Institute ( http://www.sans.org) lists similar policies and provides many templates for these policies that you can adopt for your own organizational requirements. Not all organizations need all of these policies. One of your first tasks will be to select and adopt these policies templates as applicable:
Security policy can be defined as the set of rules and procedures which has been followed to endorse the security of the system or organization. It can be considered as the guidelines that have to be practised throughout the organization to comply with the information security standards. The policy varies from entity to entity, and for all of them, ...
As per the policy, the server should be free from all the vulnerabilities, and the users should only have limited access as per their role and responsibility. The policy states that the server should be managed so that it does create a door for the attacker to breach the system. The OS running on the server should be updated and have all the recently released patches installed in it. The accessibility of the server is the other thing covered in this policy. It emphasizes the rights of users on the server.
As per the backup policy, the backup of data should be created after a specific interval. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the availability of the data and also to support BCP (Business continuity plan). BCP refers to the plan that has to be followed to keep the business moving smoothly in situations like natural disasters, fire, etc. Even if the data in the existing location is destroyed for any reason, the backup will help regain it, ensuring the availability of data endorsing the A component from CIA components of ISMS (Information Security Management Systems).
The policy states that the server should be managed so that it does create a door for the attacker to breach the system. The OS running on the server should be updated and have all the recently released patches installed in it. The accessibility of the server is the other things covered in this policy.
Information Sharing Policy: Any information should be shared among the folks who are supposed to access that data. For instance, any file related to a particular project should only be shared among the folk concerned with that project and not with any other party. Things like passwords should never be shared with anyone regardless of who is asking for them.
Clear Screen Policy: As per this policy, the desktop has to be kept clean, and no critical file should be kept there. The desktop should contain only the normal file that does not contain any sort of critical information.
Network Policy. Network policy ensures the security of the network and helps the network to operate in an optimal state. The policy defines the accessibility of the network for different users and also defines the data protection rules that have to be deployed at the network level.
Your enterprise information security policy is the most important internal document that your company will have from a cybersecurity standpoint. Any good one will contain, and continually address, all nine elements outlined above. From network and application security to incident management and ongoing training, don’t forget that your EISC is a “living document” that should be constantly reviewed, revisited, and revised in conjunction with a trusted cybersecurity partner.
The next element of application security is generally designed to thwart risks that arise out of application-based vulnerabilities. This could be anything from a third-party cloud-based application, to internally developed and executed ones. Your policy needs to define strategies to address risks associated with any applications that could potentially be exploited, with all applications in your enterprise being appropriately categorized based on how critical they are (and how sensitive the data they contain is).
This third element is comprised of a set of activities that are aimed at lowering the level of cyber-attack risk to what your enterprise deems to be an “acceptable level.” What that is will depend on the nature of your business, systems, and data, and it’s best to work with a trusted cybersecurity partner to understand the basics of cyber risk management to determine what’s “acceptable risk in your unique circumstance.
These requirements typically include legal, regulatory, and certification requirements that need to be addressed in your EISP. Legal requirements also include contractual requirements. Your policy needs to identify all legal requirements and outline a program that meets all of those needs. Compliance, in fact, should be treated as another form of risk in your policy. Compliance management is usually done by your legal team, who will need to reach out to (and work with) IT and security teams to make sure all compliance-related policies are in alignment with what’s legally required.
Disaster recovery, also sometimes referred to as Business Continuity Planning (BCP), deals with how you’ll potentially deal with a successful breach or attack. You’ll need to work with your cybersecurity partner to outline how a Business Impact Assessment (BIA) should take place after a security incident, measuring things like downtime and data loss after (and during) a disaster scenario.
by RSI Security February 8, 2019 July 1, 2021. written by RSI Security February 8, 2019. July 1, 2021. No matter what business or industry you’re in, odds are that you’ll be a target for hackers and cybercriminals at some point in time. According to recent statistics from Accenture, there are over 130 large, enterprise-scale targeted cybersecurity ...
First and foremost, your enterprise security policy should cover all the critical elements necessary for assuring the protection of your IT networks and systems. The network security element to your policy should be focused on defining, analyzing, and monitoring the security of your network.
An organization that strives to compose a working information security policy needs to have well-defined objectives concerning security and strategy. Management must agree on these objectives: any existing disagreements in this context may render the whole project dysfunctional.
Share: An information security policy is a set of rules enacted by an organization to ensure that all users of networks or the IT structure within the organization’s domain abide by the prescriptions regarding the security of data stored digitally within the boundaries the organization stretches its authority.
The most important thing that a security professional should remember is that his knowledge of the security management practices would allow him to incorporate them into the documents he is entrusted to draft. That is a guarantee for completeness, quality and workability.
To detect and forestall the compromise of information security such as misuse of data, networks, computer systems and applications.
Institutions create information security policies for a variety of reasons: To establish a general approach to information security. To detect and forestall the compromise of information security such as misuse of data, networks, computer systems and applications.
Information security is considered as safeguarding three main objectives: Confidentiality: Data and information assets must be confined to people who have authorized access and not disclosed to others. Integrity: Keeping the data intact, complete and accurate, and IT systems operational.
Prevention of theft, information know-how and industrial secrets that could benefit competitors are among the most cited reasons as to why a business may want to employ an information security policy to defend its digital assets and intellectual rights.
The principle of least privilege essentially means that you limit each individual employee’s credential access to the minimum information required to do their job, and no more. If this seems intuitive, consider this:
You need complex passwords to protect your network. And a quick look at the worst passwords of 2017, for example, will tell you that users don’t often create strong passwords on their own. And even when they do, they tend to reuse old passwords, essentially defeating the purpose.
As a term laden with associations, information security covers a wide area of practices and techniques but simply put, it is protecting information and information systems from various undesired and or dangerous situations such as disruption, destruction, or unauthorized access and use. Information security techniques include the use of software systems or taking physical measures such as disabling USB ports of your devices or protecting your servers against unforeseeable natural disasters.
That is why, information security practices are more important than ever. As of today, many experts would agree that information is the most valuable asset a company can have. As a result, hundreds of attacks targeting companies from various industries happen every day. Information security measures aim to protect companies from a diverse set of attacks such as malware or phishing. When the measures you take to keep your data safe fail to protect you, a data breach happens. In other words, an outsider gains access to your valuable information. As a consequence, your company may lose business or hard earned trust of the public. Hence, keeping your data safe is keeping your company safe and information security procedures are essential to any business.
It means that the information is visible to the authorized eyes only. Keeping the information from unauthorized viewers is the first step to the information security. This component gains importance especially in fields that deal with sensitive information like social security numbers, addresses and such. Integrity means the ‘originality’ of the ...
Integrity means the ‘originality’ of the information. This component aims to make sure that the information is intact and unaltered. As a result, assuring that the information is not altered by mistake, malicious action or even a natural disaster falls within the scope of integrity.
When the measures you take to keep your data safe fail to protect you, a data breach happens. In other words, an outsider gains access to your valuable information. As a consequence, your company may lose business or hard earned trust of the public. Hence, keeping your data safe is keeping your company safe and information security procedures are ...
Confidentiality refers to the concealment. It means that the information is visible to the authorized eyes only.
A few key characteristics make a security policy efficient: it should cover security from end-to-end across the organization, be enforceable and practical, have space for revisions and updates, and be focused on the business goals of your organization.
Your company can create an information security policy to ensure your employees and other users follow security protocols and procedures. An updated and current security policy ensures that sensitive information can only be accessed by authorized users.
IT operations and administration —should work together to meet compliance and security requirements. Lack of cooperation between departments may lead to configuration errors. Teams that work together can coordinate risk assessment and identification through all departments to reduce risks.
Network security policy—users are only able to access company networks and servers via unique logins that demand authentication, including passwords, biometrics, ID cards, or tokens. You should monitor all systems and record all login attempts. 5. Data classification.
Acceptable use policies (AUPs) —helps prevent data breaches that occur through misuse of company resources. Transparent AUPs help keep all personnel in line with the proper use of company technology resources.
Data protection regulations—systems that store personal data, or other sensitive data, must be protected according to organizational standards, best practices, industry compliance standards and relevant regulations. Most security standards require, at a minimum, encryption, a firewall, and anti-malware protection.
1. Purpose. First state the purpose of the policy which may be to: Create an overall approach to information security. Detect and preempt information security breaches such as misuse of networks, data, applications, and computer systems.