Whether you are looking to get accredited by ISO or Cyber Essentials, or looking to build solid foundations for your IT security; it is essential to have solid IT policies in place within your organisation to ensure that security is at the heart of your organisation and processes. To cut through any ambiguity, we have put together five key IT security policies that you can build your defences around.
Our five IT security policies are as follows and are covered in more detail in this article:
The first IT security policy on our list is the Access Control Policy. This policy defines who has access to your company's data and systems.
Processes your Access Control Policy should include are:
Access Control Policies are so crucial because of the complexity of modern IT systems. Imagine your network as a vast mansion, with your workers having keys to access only the rooms they need to do their job. Should a burglar steal a worker's key, they won't be able to go wherever they want in the mansion. Instead, they can only go to specific rooms. This limits the damage they can do and makes it much easier to track them down and expel them.
The next IT security policy on our list is the Information Transfer Policy. This policy governs how sensitive information is transferred within your company, and your policy should cover:
Following these procedures will help to keep your data safe from interception and theft. They ensure that your most valuable data can only be viewed by the intended recipient.
You sure ensure your Information Transfer Policy can be used with other firms. When you transfer data, access must be on the condition they follow your Information Transfer Policy alongside any data protection policies or NDAs that you might put in place.
With the remote work boom in full swing, employees now have access to a much larger variety of opportunities. Therefore, all businesses are experiencing a higher turnover of staff. With a higher turnover of staff, you leave your business open to increased risk due to improperly trained stuff, access rights not being revoked and your company's commitment to Security being lost.
A good starters policy should include:
A good leavers policy should include:
Your data and systems are fragile things that your business' survival relies upon. Implementing changes and testing them should not be any single worker's responsibility.
Change Management Policy helps to manage this responsibility by governing how changes are made to critical infrastructure under consistent procedures. This ensures that all changes are made correctly so that your systems can avoid downtime caused by human error, as well as securely, so that doors open to cybercriminals are closed before a system goes live.
A good change management policy should include:
Despite every intention to protect your data from security risks, you need to ensure that you have a plan and process to follow should the worst happen. Therefore, our most important policy is Disaster Recovery.
Used in the worst-case scenario when a major cyber-attack hits your business, this policy allows you to recover as rapidly as possible. There are a handful of features in an excellent Disaster Recovery Policy:
An ideal Disaster Recovery Policy, therefore, allows you to return to normal business operations as quickly as possible while maintaining customers' trust in your business and remaining compliant.
The IT security policies listed in this article are the basics that all businesses need to have. Implementing them effectively are crucial to keeping your data safe and preventing unauthorized access and disasters.
At 3GI, we are adept at helping businesses to implement these policies and to explore other policies that might be relevant in your sector. If you have any questions or want our help to protect your business, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.