Today's Top Five Security Governance Methods

Corporate information security governance is gaining traction as a foundation upon which organizations can build an increasing number of their overall risk management platforms. Strong support from senior management, including the CEO, President, and Board Members, is required for a successful security governance program.

Even the best security systems can fail due to policy and budgetary constraints without the proactive support of stakeholders in control of IT resources.

Security governance strategies should be developed under the direction of senior management, particularly in large enterprises and organizations of critical importance that are subject to stringent regulations (financial services, health services, government, e-commerce, etc.). As the threat of external aggression and internal threats grows, laws, regulations, and standards become more stringent. Security professionals (directors, vice presidents, information security managers, and other senior IT managers) must interact with the "C-suite" in order to plan and create the necessary infrastructure to prevent attacks and secure their organization's digital assets, and must be prepared to articulate risks and explain the returns on those investments to ensure that the necessary investments are made to protect connected data and infrastructure assets.

In today's world, where digital transformation is accelerating in all sectors, businesses, and government institutions, we've compiled a list of the top five security governance methods you can benefit from:

1. From the department manager to the C-Suite and Board of Directors, define responsibilities clearly throughout the organization and hire one or more experienced security professionals to design, implement, manage, and create relevant reports on IT security programs, applications, and overall systems. Create and regularly update a security plan every year; ensure that relevant job descriptions and training are provided, skills are acquired, certifications are obtained, and other requirements are met.
2. Establish practical security policies and procedures that are supported by relevant executives to ensure compliance. Policies and procedures that are difficult to implement and fail to provide meaningful security through necessary controls should be carefully considered. Setting benchmarks and developing efficient tools for real-time response and regular reporting will aid in the transparency of security governance at all levels.
3. Monitor new laws and regulations constantly, and keep track of the dates you will be subjected to. Depending on the size of your organization and industry, you might consider hiring an in-house regulatory expert (e.g. Sarbannes-Oxley, HIPAA, PII, and other regulations). If your company operates on a global scale, make sure that all privacy and data protection laws in the countries or regions where you do business are understood and followed. Passing some tests is no longer enough to ensure security. It is essential to provide full support to IT managers in charge of risk and exposure reduction.
4. Create a strong "safety culture" by ensuring that all employees support the security strategy of the organization. This culture should not be created by chance; it is a labor-intensive process. Every employee's job description should include understanding of all aspects of their responsibilities, as well as protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data, applications, and network infrastructure.
5. Finally, the security program should be audited on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. The information in the regular and periodic reports can be used to apply lessons learned, improve the effectiveness of existing security control mechanisms, and plan what types of checks will be performed in the future to meet new security requirements against new threats.

These five strategies are critical to success in security governance, and it's been proven that a strategy that incorporates the following elements delivers successful results across all industries and organizations:

• Design and update your security strategy according to the needs of your organization.
• Develop an information security strategy to guide program investments.
• Create an information security management structure and monitor it on a regular basis.
• Communicate effectively with the C-suite (CEO, CIO, CMO, CFO, Chairman and Board Members).
• Determine what level of risk is acceptable and manage it accordingly. The "100% rate" may not always be financially feasible, so have a clear understanding of what managers can risk in relation to their resources.
• Create the security policy in collaboration with managers and front-line employees, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders in the organization.
• Set up your security framework in accordance with industry best practices and standards.
• Always be ready for internal and external audits.
• Establish a security culture by explaining to employees why it is necessary to protect data through internal communications, the consequences of data leaks, the risks of internal and external attacks, and the importance of adhering to established corporate security solutions, even if they go above and beyond.
• Be certain that you have a thorough understanding of the current and upcoming laws and regulations that affect the organization.
• Track top reports on real-time security breaches on a regular basis and learn from other organizations' security challenges.

Privileged Access Management (PAM) and similar technological solutions used to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to specific information, are an important component of high-quality security governance programs.

You can implement a superior security policy with our Single Connect PAM suite, one of the few PAM solutions in the world. Visit the Single Connect page to learn more about our PAM suite, or contact us if you have any questions.