Three areas of the information security management system
Security teams play a supporting role in any company. Their actions impact all areas of business, influencing the teams’ operations and imposing additional responsibilities.
Overall, an information security system can be divided into the following three areas:
1. security planning and development (strategy),
2. security at the level of operations,
3. security at the level of new projects.
Security planning and development
Challenges at the strategic level are usually solved with the use of consulting services. They require experience and combining niche competences.
Consulting obviously cannot be automated. Therefore, the problem of strategic planning and development of a security area cannot be solved by purchasing a finished product.
Security at the operational level
Securing core operations is the domain of the biggest players on the security market. A number of specialized tools exist in this area that allow to monitor the level of security in real time.
There are also service providers capable of taking over virtually all responsibilities of an in-house security team. They take care of IT systems’ security and look after structured and repetitive processes.
For this reason, solutions in this particular area can safely be outsourced. Software may provide additional support.
Securing changes and newly implemented projects
Security at the level of individual projects can be problematic. Every large-scale project requires an individual approach to risk analysis as well as designing and creating an appropriate solution. High pressure on cost optimization makes it impossible to hire consultants to take over all responsibilities in this area.
Occasional support, on the other hand, is troublesome and taxing for suppliers. Lack of competence leads to excessive simplifications, and these generate risks. Accumulating regulatory requirements further complicate the entire process.
Depending on their maturity, organizations typically secure this area with the use of frameworks. However, the path they take to achieving optimal security is not only long, bumpy, and complicated, but can also eat up considerable budgets.
What does it mean for you and your company?
Taking proper care of the safety of products and services is nowadays a quality criterion directly translating into the organization’s ability to build a competitive advantage, and gradually becoming an integral part of any business in a growing number of sectors of the economy.
Planning an information security management system requires a holistic approach. Knowing the areas that need to be secured allows a company to accurately estimate the budget that ought to be allocated for this purpose. In many companies, these are simply internal costs arisen from the additional workload delegated to in-house employees (though sometimes new positions are created). Only the largest market players can afford consulting, while smaller companies still cannot bear the costs of such services.
The last area, that is, securing new projects, is at least partially susceptible to automation. And here lies the greatest potential for savings. However, it all depends on the way how the solution (usually a framework) is achieved, one that will ensure the appropriate level of security of the project. Click the link below to find out more about the path to project security and what mistakes best to steer clear of to avoid unnecessarily inflated budgets.