Abstract
This study originated from the realisation that the information security industry has identified the information security policy as one of the most important information security management controls. Within the industry there are, however, differing views as to what constitutes an information security policy, what it should contain, how it should be developed and how it should best be disseminated and managed. Numerous organisations claim to have an information security policy, but admit that it is not an effective control.
The principal aim of this study is to make a contribution to the information security discipline by defining what an information security policy is, where it fits into the broader information security management framework, what elements an effective policy should contain, how it should be disseminated and how the document is best kept relevant, practical, up-to-date and efficient. The study develops and documents various processes and methodologies needed to ensure the effectiveness of the information security policy, such as the dissemination process and the information security policy management lifecycle.
The study consists of five parts, of which Part I serves as introduction to the research topic. It provides background information to the topic and lays the foundation for the rest of the dissertation. Chapter 1 specifically deals with the research topic, the motivation for it and the issues addressed by the dissertation. Chapter 2 looks at the concept of information security management and what it consists of, highlighting the role an information security policy has to play in the discipline. Chapter 3 introduces the various international information security standards and codes of practice that are referred to, examined and analysed in the dissertation. This chapter specifically highlights how and to what extent each of these address the topic of the information security policy.
Part II introduces the concept of the information security policy. Chapter 4 provides the background to what an information security policy is and where it fits into the broader structure of an organisation’s governance framework. Chapter 5 specifies what an effective information security policy is and what components are needed to ensure its success as an information security control.
Part III expands the components of an effective information security policy as introduced in Chapter 5. This part consists of Chapters 6 to 8, with each of these addressing a single component. Chapter 6 further investigated the development of the information security policy. The dissemination of the document is discussed in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 expands the concept of the information security policy management lifecycle.
Part IV consists of Chapter 9, which deals with a case study applying the various processes and methodologies defined in the previous part. The case study deals with a fictitious organisation and provides detailed background information to indicate how the organisation should approach the development and dissemination of the information security policy. Some of the examples constructed from the case study include a sample information security policy and a presentation to be used as introduction to the information security policy.
The dissertation is concluded in Chapter 10. This chapter provides a summarised overview of the research and the issues addressed in it.
Prof. J.H.P. Ehlers