What are the 8 components of security plan?

Cyber Security
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A security policy can be as broad as you want it to be from everything related to IT security and the security of related physical assets, but enforceable in its full scope. The following list offers some important considerations when developing an information security policy.

1. Purpose
First state the purpose of the policy which may be to:

  • Create an overall approach to information security.
  • Detect and preempt information security breaches such as misuse of networks, data, applications, and computer systems.
  • Maintain the reputation of the organization, and uphold ethical and legal responsibilities.
  • Respect customer rights, including how to react to inquiries and complaints about non-compliance.

2. Audience
Define the audience to whom the information security policy applies. You may also specify which audiences are out of the scope of the policy (for example, staff in another business unit which manages security separately may not be in the scope of the policy).

3. Information security objectives
Guide your management team to agree on well-defined objectives for strategy and security. Information security focuses on three main objectives:

  • Confidentiality—only individuals with authorization canshould access data and information assets
  • Integrity—data should be intact, accurate and complete, and IT systems must be kept operational
  • Availability—users should be able to access information or systems when needed

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4. Authority and access control policy

  • Hierarchical pattern—a senior manager may have the authority to decide what data can be shared and with whom. The security policy may have different terms for a senior manager vs. a junior employee. The policy should outline the level of authority over data and IT systems for each organizational role.
  • Network security policy—users are only able to access company networks and servers via unique logins that demand authentication, including passwords, biometrics, ID cards, or tokens. You should monitor all systems and record all login attempts.

5. Data classification
The policy should classify data into categories, which may include “top secret”, “secret”, “confidential” and “public”. Your objective in classifying data is:

  • To ensure that sensitive data cannot be accessed by individuals with lower clearance levels.
  • To protect highly important data, and avoid needless security measures for unimportant data.

6. Data support and operations

  • Data protection regulations—systems that store personal data, or other sensitive data, must be protected according to organizational standards, best practices, industry compliance standards and relevant regulations. Most security standards require, at a minimum, encryption, a firewall, and anti-malware protection.
  • Data backup—encrypt data backup according to industry best practices. Securely store backup media, or move backup to secure cloud storage.
  • Movement of data—only transfer data via secure protocols. Encrypt any information copied to portable devices or transmitted across a public network.

7. Security awareness and behavior
Share IT security policies with your staff. Conduct training sessions to inform employees of your security procedures and mechanisms, including data protection measures, access protection measures, and sensitive data classification.

  • Social engineering—place a special emphasis on the dangers of social engineering attacks (such as phishing emails). Make employees responsible for noticing, preventing and reporting such attacks.
  • Clean desk policy—secure laptops with a cable lock. Shred documents that are no longer needed. Keep printer areas clean so documents do not fall into the wrong hands.
  • Acceptable Internet usage policy—define how the Internet should be restricted. Do you allow YouTube, social media websites, etc.? Block unwanted websites using a proxy.

8. Responsibilities, rights, and duties of personnel
Appoint staff to carry out user access reviews, education, change management, incident management, implementation, and periodic updates of the security policy. Responsibilities should be clearly defined as part of the security policy.