The regularity with which the UK government is hitting the headlines around data management during the pandemic is disheartening. When the NHS test and trace compromised GDPR back in June those of us in the sector expected to see a visibly demonstrated improvement in the government’s information security posture. Instead, we’ve seen further high profile examples of system failure in recent months. But while it can be tempting to criticise the government’s handling of data during the pandemic, valuable lessons are being learned.
Control in fast-moving and difficult circumstances like these is undeniably challenging. Effectively, a complicated new product has been rapidly developed in response to a global emergency, with multiple stakeholder involvement. It’s not realistic to expect all parties involved to have the kind of fully integrated systems that would likely have identified the recent glitch.
Given the extraordinary amount of moving parts, it’s unreasonable to criticise the government for failing to have a fully integrated management system in place with its partners, having integrated APIs and tech to talk to each other. But to avoid similar challenges occurring in the future, it is reasonable for us to expect them to demonstrate robust and appropriate data sharing and managing protocols. The best way to do this is for all parts of the coordinating supply chain to adhere to the global ISO 27001 information security standard. Adhering to this framework is the best way to create consistency around any incongruent policies and controls and deliver assurance around information security processes.
To find out how ISMS.online can take you from a hard to control spreadsheet hell to the comfort and assurance of a fully integrated and transparent information security management system, please get in touch. We’re here to help.
With Valentine's Day approaching, our thoughts naturally turned to... l’amour. But we’re standards obsessives, with ISO 27001 ever-present in our mind. So we ended up…
Keep reading >
It’s that strange time between Christmas and New Year, when everything goes quiet and hardly anyone’s around. It’s one of our favourite moments, because it’s…
Keep reading >
As infosec specialists, we’re in awe of Santa Claus. He runs one of the planet’s largest, most effective and most public data gathering and management…
Keep reading >
Christmas is on its way! We’re looking forward to a bit of tinselly cheer after the endless challenges of 2020. And that’s turned our thoughts…
Keep reading >
Halloween’s here, the spookiest time of year. That set us thinking about our favourite monsters. They have a lot in common with the infosec challenges…
Keep reading >
#32 Zombie horde: Zombies are unstoppable. They just keep coming and coming. There are far too many to fight off. You’ve just got to wait…
Keep reading >
#18 Werewolf: The thing about werewolves is that you always know when they’re going to pop up. Every full moon, regular as clockwork, there’s some…
Keep reading >
#12 Phantom: Unfinished business in the past leads to undead creatures bothering the present. That’s your average phantom for you. They’re pretty unsettling until you…
Keep reading >
Stay Informed
Join our club of infosec fans for a monthly fix of news and content.
