7 Key Elements of Information Security Management
In this digitally evolving world, there has been an increased focus on information security management. Information Security aims to secure the data from unauthorized access, fraudulent use of information, destruction of information, disruption and modification of the data, and more.
Security threats have become common, and every organization is vulnerable to ransomware and other cyberattacks. This requires your organization to have stringent and comprehensive cybersecurity management.
What is information security management?
An information security management is a cybersecurity policy that entails a process or a procedure to protect the organization's data and information. A business can have its unique information security management in which it ensures that its users and employees meet the set criteria for IT security and data protection. In the absence of information security management, the organization's data will be vulnerable to attack.
Information security management involves:
- Setting the organizational approach toward the company’s IT security
- Defining user access control and security policies.
- Detecting threats in the assets like data, computers, devices, networks, etc.
- Protecting sensitive data.
- Creating frameworks to respond to the concerns regarding threats like malware, ransomware, phishing, etc.
What are the elements of information security management?
A company’s IT security management must be practical, flexible, and enforceable. While crafting information security management, it is a must to include these core elements to ensure that the policy remains clear and effective.
Objective
The first basic component of information security management is the objective. Though the broader purpose can be protecting the company's digital information, the business should define its purpose in a more focused way. For example, the IT security management goal may be building a template for IT security, lowering information breaches and compromises, finding loopholes in information security, complying with legal and ethical requirements, etc.
Target users
This is the next important element of the IT security program. The company should specify that its IT security management will reach which audience. Like, a business may decide whether its policy will work for the third-party vendors or not.
Focus on CIA
At the time of drafting your company's information security objectives, you need to adhere to three main principles.
- Confidentiality: The company’s IT security management must keep its data and assets confidential, and only authorized users should be able to use the information.
- Integrity: Information security management should be able to keep the data secure, complete, and accurate.
- Availability: The information security management must ensure that the systems should be available to authorized users at all times.
Authority and Access
The IT security policy should detail which employees of your organization have access or authority to data. These people are trustworthy employees who can handle the data correctly and work as per the company’s data-shareable policies. They should be aware of permissible data sharing.
Data classification
Another essential element of an organization’s IT security policy is to classify the data as per the security level such as public, confidential, and top secret level. The primary level data is when the information is available to the general public. On another level, the data can remain confidential but can become public too without any harm. There are levels at which the data leak can cause harm to the company.
Data operation
Data operation is when the company manages different levels of data. The primary data support operations include:
Data protection: The organization must keep the information and sensitive data protected, as per the company compliance standards using a firewall, encryption data, malware protection, etc.
Data backup: There should be secure data backups by encrypting the data and storing the backup.
Data movement: You can transfer the data through secured protocols.
Security behavior
The organization must implement strategies to prevent data breaches. This can be done by motivating the employees to gain more awareness and foresee attacks. The company must train its staff members on information security policies.
Through effective IT security management, companies can protect their information, make it accessible to trusted employees whenever required, resist attacks, and recover from failures.
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