Information Security Compliance: Addressing People, Processes, and Technology in Harmony

Achieving information security compliance is far more than investing in hardware and software. First and foremost, information security compliance is a business issue. Organisations must ensure their information security strategy meets business objectives and is adopted as a strategic risk. Discussions of information security risk at the board level should include identifying which risks to avoid, accept, mitigate or transfer and reviewing specific plans associated with each approach.

The three fundamental domains of an effective information security strategy are people, processes and technology. People refer to the employees and stakeholders responsible for maintaining information security, processes refer to the policies and procedures that guide information security practices, and technology refers to the tools and solutions used to protect information assets.

Focusing on only one aspect of information security compliance can lead to vulnerabilities and gaps that malicious actors can exploit. So, whilst compliance can sometimes seem purely technical, handled by automation software and left to mitigate an organisation’s risk, without addressing the people and processes alongside the necessary technology, organisations open themselves up to significant risks and certainly won’t meet the requirements for compliance with regulations in the long term.

Information Security Compliance is More Than Preventing Breaches

Just trying to prevent an attack is no longer a solution; organisations need to manage their information security on an ongoing basis proactively. Yet many organisations still think of information security in terms of technology and tools. This means having various security controls in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their information and data assets.

While these solutions are all part of a compliance approach, it goes well beyond deploying different security tools to achieve effective compliance. Organisations must also consider leveraging people and processes for information security compliance to be effective. Technology only gets you so far.

Organisations that fail to understand the interdependencies between people, processes and technology will struggle to deliver effective information security compliance.

Automation Technology: A Rocket Ship Without a Launchpad

When it comes to information security compliance, automation technology can seem like a quick win to comply with necessary regulations. However, relying solely on powerful cybersecurity tools to protect sensitive data is insufficient. You might be compliant at that moment, but what about the next attack vector, the missed risks from speed over effectiveness or even a misconfiguration due to a lack of human oversight. Technology can only act as a crutch without the right people and processes.

While automation can take you a long way, it still requires people and processes to operate effectively. Misconfigurations, fragmented or disjointed coverage models, duplication or conflict of services, reduced optimisation, and poor maintenance are just a few of the technological blind spots that can occur without the proper support.

That’s why having knowledgeable people and well-defined processes support your compliance technologies is essential. People and processes help eliminate blind spots and trouble points, ensuring your sensitive data remains secure and compliant.

Think of it like a rocket ship ready to take flight. It may be an exceptional rocket ship, but without a launch pad with the proper knowledge and skills to propel it into space, it’s just an expensive and high-maintenance piece of metal. To avoid the risk of a costly investment that does not drive your organisation’s information security strategies forward, you need the right people and processes to operate your compliance technology effectively.

People: Your First Line of Defence

Addressing the ‘human factor’ in information security compliance requires action at two critical levels. Firstly, non-technical staff must understand their role in preventing and mitigating cyber threats.

A successful staff awareness program can help companies identify potential security vulnerabilities, increase employee awareness of the repercussions of inadequate information security, promote the uniform implementation of procedures, and foster better communication between different teams and levels of the organisation.

Secondly, every organisation requires skilled professionals with up-to-date technical expertise, competence, and qualifications to deliver an effective information security strategy. These experts must plan and execute more complex information and cyber security activities and ensure the continuous improvement of these protections.

Inadequate skilled people resources can result in poor risk management and the implementation of ineffective cybersecurity controls. Additionally, an organisation’s ability to respond to and recover from data breaches depends on the effective deployment of technical staff.

Processes: The How, When and What of Compliance

This layer of information security ensures that an organisation has strategies in place to proactively prevent and respond quickly and effectively in the event of a cybersecurity incident.

Processes are critical to the implementation of an effective information security compliance strategy. Processes define how the organisation’s activities, roles and documentation mitigate the risks to the organisation’s information and ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards. Processes must be continually reviewed: cyber threats change quickly, and processes must adapt. But processes are nothing if people don’t follow them correctly.

To be effective, processes must be documented and implemented through policies and procedures. This provides clear guidance on complying with regulations and standards and helps ensure consistent and repeatable practices across the organisation. Best practices for ensuring compliance through processes include:

• Having a cyber incident response plan in place. A good incident response plan will provide an organisation with repeatable procedures and an operational approach to addressing cybersecurity incidents to recover business processes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Ensuring proper backups are in place and regularly testing these backups is imperative to minimising downtime and increasing the chances of data recovery from a cyber event.

Another critical process on the road to effective information security is the prioritisation of assets. The digital transformation of businesses has led to networks becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it impossible to monitor each area of the network at all times manually. Therefore, organisations must know where all their assets are and prioritise them based on which are most business critical and would have the most significant impact on the business if breached.

ISO 27001: The Standard Enabling People, Processes and Technology

ISO 27001 is the international standard for an Information Security Management System (ISMS) and advocates the combination of these three pillars. Creating an ISO 27001 ISMS will ensure every aspect of information security management is addressed within your organisation.

This standard empowers the three pillars of information security compliance, people, processes, and technology, in the following ways:

• People: It requires that organisations define and assign roles and responsibilities related to information security. This includes assigning roles such as Information Security Manager, Risk Manager, and Incident Manager. Additionally, the standard requires that staff are trained and aware of their roles in preventing and reducing cyber threats.
• Processes: The standard delivers a set of integrated cybersecurity processes requiring organisations to have a risk management process to identify, assess, and evaluate information security risks. The standard also requires that organisations have incident management and business continuity plans to ensure effective response and recovery from cyber threats.
• Technology: ISO 27001 requires that organisations implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to manage information security risks. This includes implementing access controls, network segmentation, encryption, and regular vulnerability assessments. The standard also requires that organisations continually monitor and review their technical measures to ensure they are effective.

By empowering these three pillars, ISO 27001 provides a comprehensive approach to information security compliance that ensures a consistent roll-out of procedures, improves communication between different teams and levels of the company, and helps companies identify potential security problems.

Achieving Information Security Compliance Harmony

Understanding the importance of addressing people, processes, and technology is critical to achieving effective information security compliance.

By taking a holistic approach to information security compliance, organisations can ensure that their people, processes, and technology work together seamlessly to protect their valuable assets from cyber threats. Without just one of these pillars, organisations risk compromising their data, operational resilience, and bottom line.

Strategies for achieving harmony include a comprehensive information security management system (ISMS), implementing policies and procedures aligning with the organisation’s goals, and providing ongoing employee training and education. Establishing effective incident response plans and monitoring and continuously evaluating the compliance program’s effectiveness are also crucial.

Organisations that unlock this information security compliance advantage better protect their data, reputation, and bottom line by taking a proactive approach to information security compliance and addressing these three pillars together.