An information security policy is a vital document to an organization. It serves as a baseline of what a company is doing to protect information within the organization. It also serves as a reference to employees on how they should handle information.
The information security policy is gaining importance as more and more of a company’s internal processes become digitized, and outsourced. As a company relies more and more on automation, more software applications are onboarded into a company, the risks of a cyber incident increases . This would un-nerve stakeholders like bankers.
With an information security policy, it gives assurances to external stakeholders the management’s commitment to in mitigating against a cyber attack and data breach. Even if you are a small business owner, having an information security policy is needed to document what you have in place to safeguard confidential data, especially private personal data.
The trend of employees working remotely also adds to the risks of a cyber incident. Sometimes, users would be working over 3rd party networks, whose security could be lacking. While transmitting unsecurely on these 3rd party networks, they run the risk of being compromised through a “man in the middle attacks”.
In the last few years, many countries across the world have been erecting privacy laws to protect the privacy of its citizens.
In the event of a data breach, there will be an investigation by the regulators. One of the things they would request is the company’s information security policy. The existence of an information security policy will provide the regulators with an idea of the management’s commitment of taking cybersecurity seriously. If a information security policy is lacking, the company runs the risks of attracting a hefty fine.
Just like any other policies in the company, understanding the content of the information security policy should be made mandatory. Every employee should comply with it to insulate themselves and the organization against regulatory fines and civil suits.
With the increased chance of a cyber incident, companies need to start preparing themselves for one. Careful consideration of how to defend and respond to one is more important than ever. The information security policy is an excellent place to start in improving a company’s cyber posture.
We can help in drafting one for your organisation, shall we have a conversation?
