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Placing Strategic Security on the Front Burner

Given a choice between spending money on enterprise resource planning (ERP) or information security, organizations typically choose the former.

Information security does not generate revenue, reduce cost or drive innovation. Nonetheless, most organizations acknowledge that ignoring the issue may result in business stoppage, lost revenue, internal clients who lose confidence in their IT departments and diminished brand value to the outside world.
Unfortunately, most companies spend their precious IT security money on the tactical rather than the strategic application of security. All too often, time is spent investigating a breach rather than architecting secure solutions, scanning a firewall rather designing a flexible and secure perimeter, reacting to an employee leaving rather than developing an effective employee termination procedure.

Strategic security, like all other areas in IT, must be far-reaching and holistic. To achieve this goal, organizations must start with an over-arching policy framework upon which all other areas rely for guidance. To be effective, all components of a strategic security program must cleave to the framework. Without it there is no program - only tactical response.

No security without policy

The absence of a policy, and ultimately a strategic security program, leaves an organization courting danger - in 'react mode' rather than in 'respond mode.' The following components of a strategic security program have been published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to provide organizations with a common basis for measuring the completeness of their security program. This standard plays a critical role in assuring business operations:

  • security policy
  • organizational security
  • asset classification and control
  • personnel security
  • physical and environmental security
  • communications and operations management
  • access control
  • systems development and maintenance
  • business continuity management
  • compliance

These components all hinge on the existence of the first - a simple, clear and far-reaching policy.

At the highest level, information security policy dictates what is permitted, what is prohibited and what is required. It informs topics such as policy authority, governance, information classification, roles and responsibilities, physical access control, logical access control, network and communication management, secure system configuration, operational procedures, compliance monitoring and disaster recovery.

No program without policy

While most organizations view policy development as simple, an informal survey of corporate entities suggest otherwise. Most organizations report they have 'pieces of policy' while few have comprehensive, enterprise-wide policy serving as the basis of their strategic programs.

Great policy is static. It is flexible. Most importantly, it has a layered and atomic nature that withstands the test of time.

Perhaps the best example of policy that touches millions of lives is the constitution of the United States. It serves as the basis for all government, and by extension, all society. This strategic policy has existed for more than 225 years with few amendments. It states in simple and concise terms what is permitted and what is prohibited. It is not a law, but is the basis for all laws.

Imagine the United States without the Constitution. Imagine designing an ERP solution without a strategy. Then imagine designing a security program without a policy. Policy is the starting point and the foundation upon which a credible security program is based. Without it there is no program - only tactical response. This is your starting point.

Adam Lipson is president and CEO at Network & Security Technologies (www.netsectech.com), a provider of digital security consulting solutions.

 

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