What Makes a Good Security Policy?

We recently launched the InfoSaaS set of information security documentation, to help our customers design, implement and operate an appropriate set of policies, procedures and related content which helps to deliver an effective Information Security Management System.

The ISO27001 standard specifies a range of documentation and records needed to demonstrate compliance with specific clauses and requirements within the standard, but it does not provide a comprehensive list of ALL the documentation you may need to address YOUR organisation's specific security needs. As an aside, that's where our documentation content helps by providing an appropriate range of clear and concise content - all suitable for adapting to the individual needs of your Company and the sector it operates within.

As information security consultants, we are regularly asked to assess an organisation's documentation for suitability - normally a week or two before the external auditor with the clipboard arrives and starts to ask questions! This brings us to the burning issue of the week - is it better to have one information security policy that covers everything, or a framework of separate, focused content? Let's pause a moment to look at some of the characteristics of a "good" security policy:

• Is the information security policy usable by your organisation - are its requirements able to be properly identified and are they achievable?
• Does it address the specific requirements detailed within the ISO27001 standard, as applicable to your organisation?
• Is it written in a clear, readable format, that can be understood by all levels of personnel?
• Is it version controlled, identifiable, and properly approved before being issued?
• Does it ensure your employees are delivering the right information security activities?
• Does it provide a suitable framework to protect your company and its data?

We have seen some fantastic all-in-one information security policies, many of which are galloping merrily north of 50+ pages (!) which attempt to cover every aspect of information security in one go. Whilst this format may work for some organisations, we would  observe the following challenges:

• How many of your employees would actually read a document of this length?
• For such large amounts of policy statements, are they expected to remember them all?
• If in-life changes are needed to just one small section, the whole document would then need to be re-issued to the whole of your organisation.
• Is this really the best format for rapid employee access, when they are looking for specific guidance?

It's not too hard to spot that the InfoSaaS preferred and recommended approach is a high level information security policy, which includes the following:

• The policy objectives - why has it been written, what is it designed to achieve?
• The policy scope - what activities/functions/assets are in and out of scope of the policy?
• The policy statements - initially a commitment to information security and to follow the requirements specified within the current ISO27001 standard
• A set of of focused statements, declaring the high level intention on a specific security matter, and then linking to a separate, specific policy document on each subject ...
• Clear ISMS roles and responsibilities - who is responsible for delivering each activity
• Formal document control, with reviewer and approval sign off, version history etc.

This approach goes a long way to help address the four challenges noted above. Specifically, we will be looking to implement a number of "second tier" security documents for, as an example:

• access control policy
• acceptable use policy
• business continuity policy
• anti-virus policy
• asset management policy
• supply chain management policy
• social media usage policy
• information security training policy
• security incident management policy
• data erasure/deletion policy
• etc etc.

Documentation doesn't need to be daunting. Take a look at our documentation packs, which have been written drawing upon more than 20+ years' experience, and which allow for organisations of all types to edit and customise content to meet their own specific needs. And all within a much more time efficient window than creating your own security documentation from scratch.

As always, feel free to get in touch with InfoSaaS if you have any questions on 0203 474 1290. 

The Importance of ISO27001 in 2015

Analysts and commentators seem to be giving over more column inches to the subject of information security this year than ever before, and the international information security standard ISO27001 is being frequently cited as the most effective approach for an organisation to demonstrate to its customers that data security is well and truly under control.

So why the increase in attention this year? We have identified two areas which we believe can explain much of this renewed interest.

The first of these is the mass media's frequent reports on the rise of cyber terrorism, espionage, ransomware and other similar nasties all looking for the next ill-prepared casualty. Each week we learn of all scales of attack, from suggestions of state-sponsored hacks through to opportunistic students seeking out the mistakes made by inexperienced website and application developers. Of course there is no guarantee that ISO27001 will make an organisation bulletproof, but a structured approach to the identification, classification and risk assessment of data and related supporting assets would provide a significant reduction in opportunities for external threat actors to attack. In its simplest form, risks need to be identified and understood before appropriate controls can be implemented to address them. Simples, as the meerkat says.

The continued adoption of cloud computing has also focused interest on the need to have an effective system to manage risks. The UK Government is leading the way with its Digital Marketplace, which provides a framework for suppliers to provide a range of cloud services to the UK public sector. Previous versions of the framework provided for centralised accreditation of services by CESG, but the 2015 flavour instead requires cloud service providers to assert their information security capabilities against "14 Cloud Security Principles" - encompassing everything from premises security to data protection legislation and data erasure standards to employee security screening.

The seasoned ISO27001 organisation will readily be able to map this framework of cloud security controls onto their existing risk assessment and documentation capabilities, and indeed ISO27001 is recorded by the Government as being one way that credible evidence of capability can be demonstrated to customers. Clearly there are other ways, and an ISO27001 certificate may need to be enhanced by technical security checks of the cloud service offered, but it's been widely accepted that suppliers in the Digital Marketplace are being expected to demonstrate an effective Information Security Management System. It's not only the public sector - other industries such as pharmaceuticals and financial services are taking note of these cloud security principles and adapting them to meet their own needs. Cloud is very much with us for the long term.

So there has never been a more appropriate time for an organisation to sort out its data security, and that's where InfoSaaS can help. For those making their first foray into this important area, our carefully designed risk management solution (securely hosted in a UK cloud environment) helps deliver an effective means of identifying and classifying assets, and assessing the vulnerabilities and threats that could cause a breach of confidentiality, integrity or availability. Our helpful library of template documentation provides a matured starting point for the policies, procedures, training material etc. that are needed to make information security a genuine cultural differentiator, ensuring that all of your team are on message and at all times acting in the best interests of your company.

For those who already have an ISMS in place, or an existing ISO27001 certification, InfoSaaS provides an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of your systems whilst reducing the resources needed to maintain them. We provide a free 30 day trial, so you can see for yourself, and includes a pre-populated demo system if you simply need to see an InfoSaaS system in action.

So 2015 is very much the year of ISO27001, and here at InfoSaaS we look forward to helping our customers realise their information security ambitions - whether as a differentiator from your competitors, as a means to demonstrate cyber security competencies in bid or tender responses, or most importantly to defend your organisation from the cyber unknown - ensuring that we're not reading about you are not on the front page of tomorrow's newspapers.

Find our more at the InfoSaaS website, or telephone us on +44 (0) 203 474 1290,