Key elements when building an information security program

This is the second article in SearchSecurity.com's Information Security Governance Guide.

For there to be security governance, there must be something to govern. The collection of the controls that an organization needs to have in place is collectively referred to as a security program.

In reality it may be easier to say what is not in a security program than what is in one. Every organization's security program is different, because each organization has its own threats, risks, business drivers and compliance requirements. But even though every security program is different, they are usually made up of the same elements, as shown in the following illustration.

Most organizations do not fully understand what a security program is, what goes into it and how to build it. We can look to the industry's best practices for some guidance. The guideline most commonly used around the world to build security programs is ISO 17799, which was derived from the de facto standard British Standard 7799 (BS 7799). It is an internationally recognized information security management standard that provides high-level, conceptual recommendations on enterprise security. It consists of two parts. Part 1 is an implementation guide with guidelines on how to build a comprehensive information security infrastructure. Part 2 is an auditing guide based on requirements that

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A security program should use a top-down approach, meaning that the initiation, support and direction come from top management and work their way through middle management, and then to staff members. In contrast, a bottom-up approach refers to a situation in which the IT department tries to develop a security program without getting proper management support and direction. A bottom-up approach is always less effective, not broad enough and doomed to fail. It is also usually fully focused on technology, and many of the security management controls are missing. A top-down approach makes sure that the people actually responsible for protecting the company's assets (senior management) are driving the program.

About the author:
Shon Harris is a CISSP, MCSE and President of Logical Security, a firm specializing in security educational and training tools. Shon is a former engineer in the Air Force's Information Warfare unit, a security consultant and an author. She has authored two best selling CISSP books, including CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, and was a contributing author to the book Hacker's Challenge. Shon is also the co-author of Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook.

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