Accounting

Securing an IT Organization through Governance, Risk Management, and Audit

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The implementation of appropriate security controls for an information system is an important task that can have major implications for the operations and assets of an organization. Security controls are the management, operational, and technical safeguards or countermeasures prescribed for an information system to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its information. There are several important questions that should be answered by organizational officials when addressing the security considerations for their information systems:
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What security controls are needed to adequately protect the information systems that support the operations and assets of the organization in order to accomplish its assigned mission, protect its assets, fulfill its legal responsibilities, maintain its day-to-day functions, and protect individuals?
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Have the selected security controls been implemented or is there a realistic plan for their implementation?
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What is the desired or required level of assurance (i.e., grounds for confidence) that the selected security controls, as implemented, are effective in their application? An effective IT security program should include
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Periodic assessments of risk, including the magnitude of harm that could result from the unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the organization;
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Policies and procedures that are based on risk assessments, cost-effectively reduce information security risks to an acceptable level, and ensure that information security is addressed throughout the life cycle of each organizational information system;
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Subordinate plans for providing adequate information security for networks, facilities, information systems, or groups of information systems, as appropriate;
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Security awareness training to inform personnel (including contractors and other users of information systems that support the operations and assets of the organization) of the information security risks associated with their activities and their responsibilities in complying with organizational policies and procedures designed to reduce these risks;
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Periodic testing and evaluation of the effectiveness of information security policies, procedures, practices, and security controls to be performed with a frequency depending on risk, but no less than annually;
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A process for planning, implementing, evaluating, and documenting remedial actions to address any deficiencies in the information security policies, procedures, and practices of the organization;
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Procedures for detecting, reporting, and responding to security incidents; and
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Plans and procedures to ensure continuity of operations for information systems that support the operations and assets of the organization.
It is of paramount importance that responsible individuals within the organization understand the risks and other factors that could adversely affect their operations and assets. Moreover, these officials must understand the current status of their security programs and the security controls planned or in place to protect their information systems in order to make informed judgments and investments that appropriately mitigate risks to an acceptable level. The ultimate objective is to conduct the day-to-day operations of the organization and to accomplish the organization’s stated missions using defined processes of governance, risk management, and audits.
Information is a key resource for all organizations. The information and communications technologies (ICTs) that support information continue to advance at a rapid pace. They are also under increasing attack. Destructive security breaches against financial, retail, and energy providers indicate a need for defined management frameworks that address technology-related risk at an acceptable level. Many organizations recognize this challenge but need help charting a road map to protect valuable business assets. They need an approach that draws on the success of others through manageable processes and measurable improvement. This book describes proven practices to exploit opportunity through a better understanding of organizational risk and active management processes. This book enables the reader to implement Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) methods as an effective way to use the Cyber security Framework (described in the following paragraph). Application of these components enables communication about priorities and activities in business terms, turning potential organizational risk into competitive advantage. In 2013, U.S. President Obama issued Executive Order (EO) 13636, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. The EO called for the development of a voluntary risk-based cybersecurity framework (the Cybersecurity Framework, or CSF) that is “prioritized, flexible, repeatable, performance-based, and cost-effective.” The CSF was developed through an international partnership of small and large organizations, including owners and operators of the nation’s critical infrastructure, with leadership by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The CSF provides a risk-based approach that enables rapid success and steps to increasingly improve cyber security maturity. Because these values closely mirror the governance and management principles provided in COBIT, those practices were used in the CSF as an implementation road map. This book provides details of the CSF with emphasis on the processes directly related to governance, risk management, and audit. Additionally, the book maps to each of the CSF steps and activities the methods defined in COBIT 5, which resulted in an extension of the CSF objectives with practical and measurable activities. Achieving CSF objectives using COBIT 5 methods helps to leverage operational risk understanding in a business context, allowing the ICT organization to be proactive and competitive. This approach, in turn, enables proactive value to the ICT organization’s stakeholders, converting high-level enterprise goals into manageable, specific goals rather than an unintegrated checklist model.
While the CSF was originally intended to support critical infrastructure providers, it is applicable to any organization that wishes to better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk. Nearly all organizations, in some way, are part of critical infrastructure. Each is connected to critical functions as a consumer through the global economy, through telecommunication services and in many other ways. Improved risk management by each member of this ecosystem will, ultimately, reduce cybersecurity risk globally.

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English

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978-1-4987-3732-6

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NONE

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