Positive and Negative Findings of the ISO/IEC 17799 Framework

The ISO/IEC 17799 standard is commonly viewed as a necessary element in information security management. However, there is no empirical evidence of the usefulness of the standard in practice. To study this issue, this study analyses the implementation experiences of four organisations that have implemented the ISO/IEC 17799 standard. Through semi-structured interviews, the results of the study suggest that clients’ needs and competitive advantage are the major reasons for implementing the standard. Furthermore, the implementation of the standard has increased the understanding of information security in all personnel groups and the understanding of security has broadened from the technical aspects to corporate security. As downsides of implementing the ISO/IEC 17799 standard, the costs and increased amount of work were mentioned as the worst. In addition, the difficulties in deploying the standard, and the readability of the standard were criticised. The standard was also criticised because it does not directly affect the quality of the end product or service; it only has an indirect effect owing to the improved information security practices

Implementing an effective information security awareness program

The aim of this project and dissertation is to develop an effective information security awareness program that can be implemented within an organization. The project starts with a literature study that focuses on the requirements for an information security awareness program, research that has already been done in this area and behavioural issues that need to be considered during the implementation of such a program. A secondary deliverable of this project is to develop a web-based security awareness program that can be used to make employees more security aware and that should compliment a total security awareness program within an organization. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the problem statement, the objectives and structure of the project and dissertation, and the approach that was followed to solve the problem. In chapter 2 the concept of security awareness and the different components it consists of, are defined. The difference between awareness, training, and education, and the importance of implementing a security awareness environment within an organization, will be explained. Chapter 3 discusses the ISO 17799 security standard and what it says about security awareness and the importance of employee training. The security awareness prototype that was developed as part of this study plays a role in achieving the training objective. The Attitude problem is the focus of chapter 4. In order for a security awareness program to be effective, people’s attitude towards change must be changed. It is also important to measure the behavioural change to make sure that the attitude towards change did change. The security awareness prototype is introduced in this chapter and mentioned that this can be used to assist an organization to achieve their security awareness goals. Chapter 5 introduces the security awareness prototype in more detail. This prototype is an example of a web environment that can be used to train users to a higher degree of security awareness. Chapter 6 goes into more detail about the structure of the security awareness web environment. Access control and how it is achieved is explained. The objectives of the 10 modules and the test at the end of each module are also mentioned. Links and reports can also form part of this prototype to make it a more comprehensive solution. Chapter 7 provides an overview of a case study that I researched. It focuses on research done by Hi-Performance Learning about the human factor that is involved in any training program. I explain how they succeeded in addressing this and people’s sensitivity towards change. Chapter 8 explains the importance of choosing the right course content, learning media and course structure and how this led me to develop a web-based security awareness prototype. Other mechanisms like posters and brochures that can be used as part of a comprehensive security awareness program are discussed in chapter 9. Chapter 10 concludes the dissertation by providing an overview of how the security awareness program can be implemented and managed within an organization. A summary of how the objectives of this project and dissertation were met, are given at the end of this chapter.Von Solms, S.H., Prof

Business process security maturity: a paradigm convergence

Information technology developments in software and hardware have enabled radical changes in information systems, culminating in the paradigm Business Process Management. There has been a concomitant rise in the importance of information security and security engineering due to the increased reliance by society on information. Information is seen as a critical success factor which needs protection. Information security is the response to increased hazards created through recent innovations in Web technology and the advent of intra and inter enterprise-wide systems. Security engineering is based on a variety of codes of practice and security metrics which aim at ameliorating these increased security hazards. Its aim is to produce a balanced set of security needs which are integrated into the system activities to establish confidence in the effectiveness of the security counter-measures. It is generally accepted that security should be applied in an integrated approach, for example, in Information Systems development. This has proved to be a noble thought but is the exception to the rule. Security, historically, is generally applied as an after-thought in an Information Technology implementation. This motivated the concept of formulating a model of integrating security inherently within the paradigm of BPM. The overarching requirements of the model are to align the overall organisational security initiatives and ensure continuous improvement through constant evaluation and adaptation of the security processes. It is the intention of this research to show that these requirements are achievable through aligning the process management methodology of BPM, with the security paradigms of Information Security Management (using the ISO 17799 standard) and security engineering (using the Systems Security Engineering Capability Maturity Model – SSE-CMM). The aim of the Business Process Security Maturity model as the output of this research, is to link the SSE-CMM, as the security metric and appraisal method, to the ISO 17799 security standard, which provides the guidance for the information security management framework and security control selection, within the Business Process Management environment. The SSE-CMM, as the security version of the Capability Maturity Model, provides the necessary strategy to control the security engineering processes that support the information systems and it maintains that as processes mature they become more predictable, effective and manageable. The aim of the model is to provide an integrated, mature security strategy within the business process and monitor and correct the security posture of the implemented counter-measures

Physical Security Assessment of a Regional University Computer Network

Assessing a network\u27s physical security is an essential step in securing its data. This document describes the design, implementation, and validation of PSATool, a prototype application for assessing the physical security of a network\u27s intermediate distribution frames, or IDFs (a.k.a. wiring closets ). PSATool was created to address a lack of tools for IDF assessment. It implements a checklist-based protocol for assessing compliance with 52 security requirements compiled from federal and international standards. This checklist can be extended according to organizational needs. PSATool was validated by using it to assess physical security at 135 IDFs at East Tennessee State University. PSATool exposed 95 threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities in 82 IDFs. A control was recommended for each threat, hazard, and vulnerability discovered. The administrators of ETSU\u27s network concluded that PSATool\u27s results agreed with their informal sense of these IDFs\u27 physical security, while providing documented support for improvements to IDF security

A framework for secure mobile computing in healthcare

Mobile computing is rapidly becoming part of healthcare’s electronic landscape, helping to provide better quality of care and reduced cost. While the technology provides numerous advantages to the healthcare industry, it is not without risk. The size and portable nature of mobile computing devices present a highly vulnerable environment, which threaten the privacy and security of health information. Since these devices continually access possibly sensitive healthcare information, it is imperative that these devices are considered for security in order to meet regulatory compliance. In fact, the increase in government and industry regulation to ensure the privacy and security of health information, makes mobile security no longer just desirable, but mandatory. In addition, as healthcare becomes more aware of the need to reinforce patient confidence to gain competitive advantage, it makes mobile security desirable. Several guidelines regarding security best practices exist. Healthcare institutions are thus faced with matching the guidelines offered by best practices, with the legal and regulatory requirements. While this is a valuable question in general, this research focuses on the aspect of considering this question when considering the introduction of mobile computing into the healthcare environment. As a result, this research proposes a framework that will aid IT administrators in healthcare to ensure that privacy and security of health information is extended to mobile devices. The research uses a comparison between the best practices in ISO 17799:2005 and the regulatory requirements stipulated in HIPAA to provide a baseline for the mobile computing security model. The comparison ensures that the model meets healthcare specific industry requirement and international information security standard. In addition, the framework engages the Information Security Management System (ISMS) model based on the ISO 27000 standard. The framework, furthermore, points to existing technical security measurers associated with mobile computing. It is believed that the framework can assist in achieving mobile computing security that is compliant with the requirements in the healthcare industry

A framework for secure mobile computing in healthcare

Mobile computing is rapidly becoming part of healthcare’s electronic landscape, helping to provide better quality of care and reduced cost. While the technology provides numerous advantages to the healthcare industry, it is not without risk. The size and portable nature of mobile computing devices present a highly vulnerable environment, which threaten the privacy and security of health information. Since these devices continually access possibly sensitive healthcare information, it is imperative that these devices are considered for security in order to meet regulatory compliance. In fact, the increase in government and industry regulation to ensure the privacy and security of health information, makes mobile security no longer just desirable, but mandatory. In addition, as healthcare becomes more aware of the need to reinforce patient confidence to gain competitive advantage, it makes mobile security desirable. Several guidelines regarding security best practices exist. Healthcare institutions are thus faced with matching the guidelines offered by best practices, with the legal and regulatory requirements. While this is a valuable question in general, this research focuses on the aspect of considering this question when considering the introduction of mobile computing into the healthcare environment. As a result, this research proposes a framework that will aid IT administrators in healthcare to ensure that privacy and security of health information is extended to mobile devices. The research uses a comparison between the best practices in ISO 17799:2005 and the regulatory requirements stipulated in HIPAA to provide a baseline for the mobile computing security model. The comparison ensures that the model meets healthcare specific industry requirement and international information security standard. In addition, the framework engages the Information Security Management System (ISMS) model based on the ISO 27000 standard. The framework, furthermore, points to existing technical security measurers associated with mobile computing. It is believed that the framework can assist in achieving mobile computing security that is compliant with the requirements in the healthcare industry

Realizing Business Benefits from Company IT Standardization: Case Study Research into the Organizational Value of IT Standards, Towards a Company IT Standardization Management Framework.

From a practical point of view, this research provides insight into how company IT standards affect business process performance. Furthermore it gives recommendations on how to govern and manage such standards successfully with regard to their selection, implementation and usage. After evaluating this research Business may wish to reconsider the way it currently views the value of company IT standards and the manner with which it deals with them.

The ISO/IEC 27002 and ISO/IEC 27799 information security management standards : a comparative analysis from a healthcare perspective

Technological shift has become significant and an area of concern in the health sector with regard to securing health information assets. Health information systems hosting personal health information expose these information assets to ever-evolving threats. This information includes aspects of an extremely sensitive nature, for example, a particular patient may have a history of drug abuse, which would be reflected in the patient’s medical record. The private nature of patient information places a higher demand on the need to ensure privacy. Ensuring that the security and privacy of health information remain intact is therefore vital in the healthcare environment. In order to protect information appropriately and effectively, good information security management practices should be followed. To this end, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a code of practice for information security management, namely the ISO 27002 (2005). This standard is widely used in industry but is a generic standard aimed at all industries. Therefore it does not consider the unique security needs of a particular environment. Because of the unique nature of personal health information and its security and privacy requirements, the need to introduce a healthcare sector-specific standard for information security management was identified. The ISO 27799 was therefore published as an industry-specific variant of the ISO 27002 which is geared towards addressing security requirements in health informatics. It serves as an implementation guide for the ISO 27002 when implemented in the health sector. The publication of the ISO 27799 is considered as a positive development in the quest to improve health information security. However, the question arises whether the ISO 27799 addresses the security needs of the healthcare domain sufficiently. The extensive use of the ISO 27002 implies that many proponents of this standard (in healthcare), now have to ensure that they meet the (assumed) increased requirements of the ISO 27799. The purpose of this research is therefore to conduct a comprehensive comparison of the ISO 27002 and ISO 27799 standards to determine whether the ISO 27799 serves the specific needs of the health sector from an information security management point of view