Security Policy
Why does my organization need a Security Policy?
In this ever-evolving technologically-connected world that we live in, computers are in pretty much everything that we use for our businesses daily, as well as in our personal lives. This makes all of these computer-driven devices open to attack from outside and from within. Technology security plays a crucial role in developing, designing, and implementing policies, procedures, and systems to prevent and detect these intruders from accessing the organization’s systems and information, as well as incident response, business continuity, and disaster response and recovery. As the threats to our technology increase, they also become more sophisticated. It is important to have a Security Policy in place that will govern the policies and procedures to keep up with these threats, whether they be viruses, Trojans, worms, phishing scams, brute-force attacks, denial-of-service attacks or any of the other multitudes of ways intruders attempt to get at your data. Your business is responsible for keeping data as secure as possible and with the increasing reports of breaches in data that are in the media and online, insurance companies are requiring technology security audits as well as proof of Security Policies in effect to govern these practices.
Every business that uses technology, handles data, uses a computer network, or uses the internet should have a Security Policy in place. Having written policies and procedures that dictate how your business’s data is kept secure is a must in today’s technology-driven world. A Security Policy must provide for the confidentiality of your company’s data, how to keep the integrity of that data, and how the availability of that data will be accessible to those that are authorized to see it or modify it.
While you would not get very far in your business without a good business plan, a Security Policy is that plan or strategy with how your company will protect your data as well as how it will handle an incident should one arise. Having a Security Policy that is followed and enforced will also reduce your liability and exposure in the event of an incident.
Many third parties that your company does business with may require that you have a good Security Policy in place before they will do business with you, especially if they are dealing with shared confidential data and/or connectivity to shared networks. Some examples of these may be customers, partners, vendors, auditors, investors, or insurance companies.
Another important reason that companies today need Security Policies is to meet regulations and standards that relate to the storing and transfer of digital information. Some of these standards are:
- The PCI Data Security Standard (DSS)
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- The HITECH Act
- The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
- Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00
- The ISO family of security standards
- The Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
If your business is subject to any of these regulations, all of these require a written Security Policy.
Another important aspect of your Security Policy is employee training so that the policies that are there to protect your company are understood and followed. Most security issues happen because an employee did not know the prescribed way to handle certain information. Proper training can resolve this issue and reduce incidents from happening accidentally.
To properly create a Security Policy for your business requires time and knowledge. We would be happy to help you!
Need a Security Policy? We can develop a custom policy to help protect your company. Contact us today to find out how!
Check out our other computer support and services or see how password changes are important to Security Policies and your company.
