Policies are implemented to provide clear instructions for everyone involved in a specific situation. An IT security strategy is composed of policies to ensure an organization is guided by a uniform set of procedures which remove any ambiguity about how to deal with information technology. So, what are the most important policies for your IT security strategy? In this post, we’ll go over some of the most important protocols.
The asset management policy provides guidelines on how IT assets are sourced, acquired, implemented, used and ultimately retired. Each step of asset management can reveal security lapses that need to be addressed by the policy. The asset management policy will also provide an inventory of the organization’s IT assets and allow a comprehensive accounting of the assets and any possible security risks.
Most organizations are still beholden to password-based login credentials. This is often a weak spot that’s easily targeted by malicious actors. Having in place a clear set of instructions on how passwords should be created, updated and managed can reduce password-based IT system vulnerability. This policy should also identify situations in which stronger controls, such as multi-factor authentication, need to be used.
As remote access and working become more commonplace, a mobile device policy needs to govern how the equipment is distributed, ensure that best-use practices are used and what steps need to be taken if they are lost or stolen. This policy should cover company-owned laptops, mobile phones, portable hard drives etc. as well as personal devices that may interact with organizational assets. After the move towards working from home due to Covid lockdowns, mobile device policies became one of the most important policies of IT security strategies.
Closely related to a mobile device policy is a remote access policy. Again, as remote working becomes more universal, having guidelines in place to provide best practices for doing so can reduce the possibility of security breaches. Those accessing organizational assets remotely should be informed by policies that allow them to do so securely.
It’s almost impossible to completely prevent those working within an organization from accessing personal information on “company time.” In fact, it may even be detrimental to morale to try and enforce such a policy. However, there should be some sort of guidelines as to what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to using the organization’s resources for personal use. Having this explicitly spelled out in an acceptable use policy will ensure everyone understands the boundaries as well as the consequences for breaching them.
All parts of an IT system should have a baseline security policy in place to address their acquisition, implementation, use and retirement. This will ensure that all parts of the IT system are securely sourced and remain protected until long after they are no longer being used. A system security policy should create security measure standards for all IT system components entering and leaving the organization.
The incident response policy should outline all the processes and procedures that need to take place should a security incident occur. It should identify the types of security incidents that require action, the parties responsible for those actions, how the actions should be executed, when the problem is considered resolved and the type of follow-up procedures required to prevent similar types of incidents from happening again. The incident response policy should be designed to get the organization back to fully functioning as quickly and safely as possible while preventing future recurrences.
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