Security policy Homework help

What is a security policy?

A security policy is a living document that tells employees how you plan to protect your business from physical and IT threats. It’s an important aspect of any company as it helps you continuously update your plan as new tech becomes available. A company’s security policy includes an acceptable use policy which is mainly used for educating employees about the company’s protection of its assets. They also include an explanation of how security measurements will be carried out and enforced, and a procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the policy to ensure that necessary corrections are made. Visit assignmentsguru to get top notch Security policy assignments. We have a pool of experienced writers with amazing portfolio on their work. Our writers ensure you get you Security policy assignments on time before deadline.

 

Why are security policies important?

Security policies are important because they protect an organizations’ assets, both physical and digital. They identify all company assets and all threats to those assets. Physical security policies can be focused on everything from protecting your company’s physical assets like buildings and equipment, to ensuring worker safety. Data security policies are intended to help safeguard the intellectual property that your organization creates and could potentially lose in the event of a data breach.

Physical security policies

Physical security policies protect all physical assets in an organization, including buildings, vehicles, inventory and machines. These assets include IT equipment, such as servers, computers and hard drives.

Protecting IT physical assets is particularly important because the physical devices contain company data. If a physical IT asset is compromised, the information it contains and handles is at risk. In this way, information security policies are dependent on physical security policies to keep company data safe.

Physical security policies include the following information:

• sensitive buildings, rooms and other areas of an organization;
• who is authorized to access, handle and move physical assets;
• procedures and other rules for accessing, monitoring and handling these assets; and
• responsibilities of individuals for the physical assets they access and handle.

Security guards, entry gates, and door and window locks are all used to protect physical assets. Other security methods can be applied to more traditional assets, such as using a biometric scanner to help secure access to a server room. All those who enter the room would need to use a fingerprint scanner for verification before they gain access

Information security policies

These policies provide the following advantages.

Protect valuable assets. These policies help ensure the confidentiality, integrity & availability– known as the CIA triad– of customer data. They are often used to protect sensitive data and personal information.

Guard reputations. Data breaches and other information security incidents can have a significant negative impact on an organization’s reputation.

Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Many legal requirements and regulations are aimed at security sensitive information. For example, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard can dictate how a company handles information about a consumers payment cards. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act could detail how a company handles confidential health information. Violating these regulations can have serious repercussions

Dictate the role of employees. Every employee generates information that may pose a security risk. Security policies provide guidance on the conduct required to protect data and intellectual property. Third-party vulnerabilities are identified. Some vulnerabilities stem from interactions with other organizations that may have different security standards. Security policies help identify these potential security gaps.

Types of security policies

Security policy types can be divided into three types based on the scope and purpose of the policy:

1. Organizational. These policies are a master blueprint of the entire organization’s security program.
2. System-specific. A system-specific policy covers security procedures for an information system or network.
3. Issue-specific. These policies target certain aspects of the larger organizational policy. Examples of issue-related security policies include the following:
   • Acceptable use policies define the rules and regulations for employee use of company assets.
   • Access control policies specify which employees can access which resources.
   • Change management policies provide procedures to help you minimize the potential effects of modifying your IT systems..
   • Disaster recovery policies help you in case your business gets disrupted in some way. They’re in place before any damage is done, so when this happens you’ll already be prepped and ready to go.
   • Incident response procedures are when your company responds to any security breaches or incidents that occur. All this information is in your incident response policies.

Key elements in a security policy

Some of the key elements of an organizational information security policy include the following:

• statement of the purpose;
• statement that defines who the policy applies;
• statement of objectives, which usually encompasses the CIA triad;
• authority and access control policy that delineates who has access to which resources;
• Data classification statements divide sensitive data into different groups. Public information and data that could cause harm to the company or individuals if disclosed are some examples.
• data use statement that lays out how data at any level should be handled — this includes specifying the data protection regulations, data backup requirements and network security standards for how data should be communicated, with encryption for example.
• statement of the responsibilities and duties of employees and who will be responsible for overseeing and enforcing policy;
• security awareness training that instructs employees on security best practices– this includes education on potential security threats, such as phishing, and computer security best practices for using company devices.
• effectiveness measurements that will be used to assess how well security policies are working and how improvements will be made.

What to consider when creating a security policy

Security professionals must consider a range of areas when drafting a security policy. They include the following:

• Cloud and mobile. It is important for organizations to consider how they are using the cloud and mobile applications when developing security policies. Data is increasingly distributed through an organization’s network over a spectrum of devices. It is important to account for the increased amount of vulnerabilities that a distributed network of devices creates.
• Data classification. Improperly categorizing data can lead to the exposure of valuable assets or resources expended protecting data that doesn’t need to be protected.
• Continuous updates. As an organization’s IT environment and the vulnerabilities it is exposed to change, security policies must evolve to reflect these changes.
• Policy frameworks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a key institution here in America with the NIST framework. This offers great guidance for deciding on your security policy which includes detection, prevention & response to cyber attacks.

The takeaway

Data is one of the most important assets for any IT company. It is always being generated and transmitted over an organization’s network, and it can be exposed in this form in countless ways. However, a security policy can guide how you guard your data against these threats.

Companies have comprehensive security policies in place, but it is up to you to ensure they are being followed. If not, the consequences can include an attack on company assets.

• customer data in jeopardy;
• fines and other financial repercussions; and
• damage to a company’s reputation.

Good cyber security strategies start with good policies. The best policies preemptively deal with security threats before they have the chance to happen.

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