How to Ensure that Information Security Policies Remain Effective?
A lot of organizations take pride in their information security policies. Few, however, are able to
ensure compliance and enforceability. It is not enough to design great security policies for your
organization. You must also constantly monitor how effective those policies are.
Here are some tips on how to ensure that information security policies remain effective:
Keep updating
Times change rapidly in the digital world. Every new day presents a fresh security challenge. It is
important to keep updating your organization’s information security policies with the changing
landscape of data threats.
Give the first draft of each of your policies enough scope to be modified in the future. Along with
your policies, your security software needs to be updated constantly too. The teams updating the
policies and the software should work alongside each other to maximize effectiveness.
Complacence is a curse
Your organization’s current security policies may be currently effective. Will they remain effective,
though? Just like in every other sense, complacence is a curse when it comes to security policies
too. You must stay a step ahead of your nemeses and be armed for the next threat.
Create a dedicated IT team to keep track of the newest developments in the security sphere. This
team must regularly present to you a summary of the potential threats that are imminent, and the
means to tackle them.
Consequences of non-compliance
Non-compliance is the sole cause of ineffectiveness of most policies. Unless there are consequences to non-compliance, your employees may never be 100% compliant with your organization’s security policies.
Consequences could be simple, such as extended restrictions on access to daily-use websites, or harsher such as monetary fines. Whatever you decide, ensure that non-compliant employees face these consequences without exception, as exceptions would develop distrust.
Accessibility, readability and recallability
You may have designed fantastic air-tight policies for your organization on paper. However, the people who must implement those policies in real life – your employees – need to know exactly what they state. They also need to be able to refer to them later.
Provide your employees easy access to your security policies. Send them frequent reminders so they review them regularly. Draft your policies in a user-friendly manner. You may even use catchy slogans or infographics to convey your point. This will enhance the recall-value of your policies and make them more effective.
Learn from your mistakes
Has there recently been an intrusion of your organization’s data? Such an incident is unfortunate, unforgiving and sometimes, unforgivable. However, once you have taken the immediate steps to minimize the aftermath, take a step back and analyze.
What can you learn from this breach? What new points need to be included in your security policy? Do you need to delegate more? Use your mistakes to learn, reevaluate, teach, and relearn.
Conclusion
Designing information security policies is not a one-time task as you must keep constant track of their effectiveness. Follow our tips and effectively protect your organization against looming dangers and threats.