AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) security policy framework supports business objectives and legal obligations. It also promotes an organization’s core values. It defines how an organization identifies, manages, and disposes of risk. A core objective of a security framework is to establish a corporate culture that values security, which creates an organization’s risk culture.

Selecting the right information security framework is important. There are a variety of frameworks in the industry to choose from. A number of these are industry-specific. Others offer a comprehensive view of IT that cuts across all industries. Which one is right for your organization will depend on the organization’s needs, the employees’ experience, and the regulators that have jurisdiction. It must also be noted that nothing prevents you from taking elements from diverse frameworks and combining them for your organization. This is obviously more work than simply applying an existing framework, but in some situations, a hybrid solution may be the appropriate choice.

Regulators will have an interest in how the organization’s leadership manages risk. One way to demonstrate this is to adopt and effectively execute security policy frameworks. Additionally, selecting frameworks that are common within your industry increases the likelihood of success by allowing your organization to share experiences and incorporate learning from across the industry.

You can look at a security framework as a systematic way to identify, mitigate, and reduce risks. The data can be at rest or moving through a process. In this context, risk represents an event that could affect the completion of these processes. For an organization truly to have control over these risks, a strong system of internal security controls must be in place. Everyone in the organization should understand and adhere to its security policies. These security policies and controls must extend beyond the IT department and into the business process.

The framework manages risk at an enterprise level. It helps an organization deal with conflicting priorities, resource constraints, and uncertainty. An effective IT security policy framework also enables management to deliver value to the business.

This chapter reviews various security policy frameworks. It discusses policy strengths and their positioning in the market. Additionally, this chapter examines key elements from the frameworks such as roles, responsibilities, separation of duties, governance, and compliance.