Modern company procedures can include a lot of tedious and repetitive tasks but also call for quicker responses and higher productivity. Organizations should carefully consider automating some tasks to reduce the risks of error or failure associated with such situations.
Learn how to take into account what may be automated while implementing, running, and maintaining security policies based on ISO 27001, the top ISO standard for information security, in this article.
Which Parts of the Policy Can Automate?
- Purpose
- application's scope
- Audience
- Definition
- communication tools
- methods of enforcement and execution
- performance assessment
- evidence of use and outcomes
- Review
Why do you Need a Security Policy? What is it Mean?
A security policy can be thought of as a set of laws and regulations that specify the expected behaviour of individuals and systems as well as limitations that stop unexpected, unwanted, or unauthorised behaviour.
To handle hazards or guarantee compliance with legal obligations (such as laws, rules, or contracts), security policies are necessary. Security policies and procedures are also used to standardise the activities to be carried out, i.e., to specify acceptable security behaviour.
A security policy might specify guidelines for the definition of passwords that are difficult to guess, periodic password updates, and account locking after several failed access attempts, for instance, to manage risks linked to hacked passwords or to satisfy a contractual obligation with a client.
What is a Security Policy Composed of?
The minimum components of a strong security policy should be:
- Clear goal (e.g., manage risks, satisfy legal obligations, etc.);
- Specific application areas (such as a department, procedure, building, etc.);
- Precise target market (management, technical staff, end users, etc.);
- All parties involved and impacted by it should have their roles, responsibilities, and authority levels clearly defined (for example, management, technical personnel, end users, etc.);
- Means of disseminating it to all pertinent parties (e.g., through newsletters, presentations, training, etc.);
- This Means that it will be applied to and enforced across all required components (such as individuals, systems, infrastructure, and facilities) within its intended application (more on this in the following section);
- A way to assess how well it performs (e.g., through the use of monitoring, measurement, and key performance indicators); a way to show how it is applied and producing outcomes (e.g., through the use of logs and reports);
- A way to guarantee its inspection (for instance, by time, by event, etc.).
- These components can aid a security policy in achieving its goals and continuing to be effective, and some of them are strong candidates for automation, helping to lower the administrative burden and cost associated with security policy management.
How are Security Regulations Carried Out?
Depending on their intended aims, technical, physical, and/or human-related controls are used to apply security regulations in an efficiently.
Technical controls are typically used in information systems by the addition of software, hardware, and firmware components, such as backup and antivirus software.
To apply physical controls, equipment or devices that physically interact with people and/or items are used, such as locks, alarm systems, CCTV cameras, etc.
Human resource controls are applied through education, training, and awareness campaigns, such as ISMS foundation training, ISO 27001 internal auditor training, academic education, etc.
Such controls must be monitored and measured to assess how well a security policy is working; both tasks are amenable to automation.
Boost Output Quality and Speed via Automation
As you can see, managing security rules entails several time-consuming tasks, including document writing, document coordination, document review, document approval, document dissemination, and data analysis.
By automating the security policy, you can keep employees away from the time-consuming tasks associated with ISO 27001 document creation and management and bring them closer to the area where they can provide more value: determining how security policies can better serve the company and safeguard the organization's assets.
