10 Information Security Policies Every Organization Should Implement

Creating and implementing information security policies (ISPs) may seem like a formality to some. However, ISPs can form the backbone of your organization’s data security posture. Information security policies and procedures may help you prevent breaches of sensitive data as well as safeguard your reputation and finances by defining what’s allowed within your organization and what’s not.

Nonetheless, developing an efficient security policy may be a lengthy and daunting task. That’s why we’ve come up with a list of the 10 best ISPs, complete with useful tips on how to implement one.

What is an information security policy?

Provide guidance for your organization’s data security.

An information security policy outlines an organization’s security rules, regulations, and strategies for maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical data.

Simply put, an information security policy is a plan that shows how your organization protects sensitive information and data assets from security threats. ISPs also define strategies and procedures for mitigating IT security risks.

An information security policy is a set of rules and guidelines on how to use, manage, and protect sensitive data. ISPs address all aspects related to enterprise data security, including the data itself and the organization’s systems, networks, programs, facilities, infrastructure, internal users, and third-party users.

An ISP applies to all users within your organization and its networks. It connects people, processes, and technologies so they can work together to prevent data breaches.

Organizations may have either separate ISPs addressing various aspects of information security or one ISP covering multiple domains. Information security policies and IT security policies may range from high-level documents outlining an organization’s general data security principles and objectives to policies covering specific issues, such as network security or password management.

In addition to the many common elements across information security policies, your policy should reflect specific aspects related to your industry, local regulations, or organizational model. For example:

• Healthcare organizations in the US must meet strict data protection rules set by HIPAA.
• Financial institutions must adhere to PCI DSS, SWIFT CSP, SOX, etc. 
• Manufacturing companies must meet ISO 27001 and some other compliance standards to protect their customers’ data.
• Government agencies must comply with FISMA, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, etc.

Organizations that violate the requirements of these documents may face huge fines and other legal issues.

7 benefits of implementing information security policies

Provide guidance for your organization’s data security.

Implementing a robust information security policy is crucial for maintaining the integrity of your sensitive data, protecting your organization against cyber incidents, and ensuring regulatory compliance. A well-designed ISP can improve your organization’s security posture, helping you to:

1. Set clear data security goals

An ISP provides your employees with clear guidelines for handling sensitive information within your organization. This may help improve general cybersecurity awareness and decrease the number of unintentional insider threats.

2. Guide the implementation of proper cybersecurity controls

By defining security goals, an ISP can help your security officers deploy appropriate software solutions and implement relevant security measures to achieve them.

3. Respond to incidents promptly and efficiently

By defining step-by-step incident response actions, ISPs can help your cybersecurity team proactively address potential risks and vulnerabilities. Therefore, your organization can respond promptly to security incidents and mitigate possible consequences.

4. Meet IT compliance requirements

An ISP can help your organization comply with SWIFT CSP, GDPR, SOX, and other standards, laws, and regulations. It’s also worth mentioning that standards and laws such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001 require organizations to have an information security policy.

5. Increase accountability of users and stakeholders

When they clearly define roles and responsibilities for each user and stakeholder within your organization, ISPs can help your employees understand the part they play in safeguarding sensitive information. ISPs can also promote a sense of ownership and responsibility among users and stakeholders, resulting in increased accountability.

6. Maintain the organization’s reputation

A commitment to information security standards and practices fosters trust among customers. Additionally, ISPs help reduce the number of data security incidents, further raising customer loyalty and cultivating a positive image of your brand.

7. Increase operational efficiency

Having clear policies in place can help your organization keep its data protection strategy standardized, consistent, and synchronized. This way, your cybersecurity team will expend less time and effort tackling cybersecurity issues.

What does an efficient information security policy look like?

Make your ISPs serve their purposes.

We recommend creating an information security policy based on the three principles of the CIA triad: confidentiality (C), integrity (I), and availability (A).

It’s vital to understand how each rule contributes to the implementation of these principles. Below, we delve into the key features that can help you create an efficient information security policy covering the three CIA principles.

10 key features of an efficient information security policy

An efficient ISP should have the following characteristics:

1. Reliance on preliminary risk assessment

Conducting a security risk assessment will help you identify your organization’s critical assets, discover vulnerabilities, and prioritize risks. Therefore, you can focus your efforts on deciding which information security policies and requirements you need to develop.

2. Clearly stated purpose, objectives, and scope

By defining these elements, you can raise employee awareness about why you’ve implemented certain solutions, as well as your IT policies and procedures and to whom they apply.

3. Defined responsibilities

Every ISP should state who created the policy, who’s responsible for keeping it updated and aligned with the organization’s security objectives, and who’s in charge of implementing the required security procedures.

4. Clear definitions of important terms

Keep in mind that the audience for information security policies is frequently non-technical. To avoid ambiguity, make sure that your ISPs are understandable for all users, with all important technical terms being clear and concise.

5. Realistic and comprehensible requirements

Overly complex ISPs may be hard to implement. Therefore, you should develop ISPs that are realistic, comprehensible, and tailored to your organization’s specific needs. Be sure your ISP’s requirements are applicable to your organization’s cybersecurity strategy and that your employees have the means and skills to implement it.

6. Regularly updated information

To address modern cybersecurity trends and challenges, ISPs should be reviewed and updated regularly. Take note that issue-specific policies require more frequent updates, as technologies, security challenges, and other factors are constantly changing.

7. Involvement of top management

Without the support of your organization’s leaders, any ISP can fail. It’s your principals who hold the knowledge of your organization’s high-level security requirements and can help enforce ISPs among all employees.

8. Established reporting mechanisms

An efficient information security policy should include clear guidelines for how employees report security incidents and suspected policy violations. This can help you identify and address security issues promptly, minimizing potential damage.

9. Compliance with regulations

ISPs must consider the requirements of relevant industry regulations and data privacy laws. Understanding these requirements helps your organization operate within legal bounds and implement proper measures to safeguard sensitive information.

10. Alignment with business needs

The policy should strike a balance between robust security and enabling efficient business processes. Each policy should reflect your organization’s risk profile and align with its overall security strategy. Therefore, efficient ISPs prioritize protecting your most valuable assets and mitigating the risks most relevant to your operations.

Let’s now move to IT security policy examples to implement in your organization.

Information security policy types by NIST

To fortify your cybersecurity and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your critical data, your organization may have either separate ISPs covering different aspects of information security or a single ISP covering multiple domains.

If you choose the first option, you can stick to the information security policies outlined by NIST:

Because ISPs are mostly high-level documents, organizations also typically develop standards, guidelines, and procedures to simplify their implementation:

• Standards and guidelines specify technologies and methodologies for securing data and systems
• Procedures offer detailed steps for accomplishing security-related tasks

10 must-have information security policies for your organization

Below, we have compiled a list of information security policies that have proven to be beneficial for all types of organizations:

1. Acceptable use policy

Purpose	Defines the acceptable conditions for using an organization’s information
Applies to	All of the organization’s users accessing computing devices, data assets, and network resources

An acceptable use policy (AUP) can explain to your employees how your organization’s data assets, computer equipment, and other sensitive resources should be handled. Besides acceptable use, the policy also defines prohibited actions.

An AUP may have separate policy statements regarding internet use, email communications, software installation, access to the company network from home, etc.

2. Network security policy

Purpose	Outlines principles, procedures, and guidelines to enforce, manage, monitor, and maintain data security on a corporate network
Applies to	All of the organization’s users and networks

A network security policy (NSP) establishes guidelines, rules, and measures for secure computer network access and protection against cyber attacks over the internet.

With an NSP, you can also describe the architecture of your organization’s network security environment and its major hardware and software components.

3. Data management policy

Purpose	Defines measures for maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the organization’s data
Applies to	All users as well as data storage and information processing systems

A data management policy (DMP) governs the use, monitoring, and management of an organization’s data. A DMP usually describes:

• What data is collected
• How it’s collected, processed, and stored
• Who has access to it
• Where it’s located
• When it must be deleted

A DMP can help you reduce the risk of data breaches and ensure your organization complies with data protection standards and regulations such as the GDPR.

Your organization’s DMP may also contain a list of data protection tools and solutions. Consider supplementing this list with Ekran System — a universal all-in-one insider risk management platform that can help you fight insider threats and avoid account compromise, data breaches, and other cybersecurity incidents.

Ekran System can help your organization ensure secure data management with the help of these capabilities:

• User activity monitoring (UAM), which enables you to monitor and record all user activity in your infrastructure to let you track how employees and vendors handle your sensitive data
• Privileged access management (PAM), which allows for granular access to critical data for all privileged and regular users within your organization’s system

4. Access control policy

Purpose	Defines the requirements for managing users’ access to critical data and systems
Applies to	All users and third parties with access to the organization’s sensitive resources

An access control policy (ACP) describes how access to data and systems in your organization is established, documented, reviewed, and modified. An ACP contains a hierarchy of user access permissions and can define who accesses what.

Consider building your ACP around the principle of least privilege by only giving users the access necessary for their direct job responsibilities.

Ekran System’s PAM functionality can help you secure, optimize, and enhance privileged access management in your organization, allowing you to:

• Get full visibility over all users in your infrastructure and control their access rights
• Secure user accounts with the help of two-factor authentication
• Limit the time for which access is granted
• Provide more visibility into the actions of privileged users working under shared accounts

5. Password management policy

Purpose	Outlines requirements for securely handling user credentials
Applies to	All users and third parties possessing credentials to your organization’s accounts

A password management policy (PMP) governs the creation, management, and protection of user credentials in your organization. A PMP can enforce healthy password habits such as sufficient complexity, length, uniqueness, and regular rotation.

A PMP may also delineate who’s responsible for creating and managing user passwords in your organization and what password management tools and capabilities your organization should have.

Ekran System can arm you with robust password management capabilities, enabling you to:

• Generate credentials for and deliver them to all users in your infrastructure
• Provide users with temporary or one-time access
• Rotate passwords manually or automatically
• Store passwords securely with military-grade AES 256-bit encryption

6. Remote access policy

Purpose	Defines requirements for establishing secure remote access to an organization’s data and systems
Applies to	All users and devices that access your organization’s infrastructure from outside the corporate network

Remote access in your organization deserves special attention if your employees regularly telecommute. To avoid the interception of network data from unsecured personal devices and public networks, your organization should develop remote access policies (RAPs). A set of remote access policies outlines security procedures for accessing your organization’s data via remote networks, virtual private networks, and other means.

Ekran System can help secure remote access to your organization’s data and systems, allowing you to:

• Monitor and record the activity of users connecting from outside your corporate network
• Control access to the corporate network from personal devices
• Verify user identities with two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Secure admins’ remote access using SSH key management

Ekran System works with many network protocols and types of remote access: Citrix, Terminal, Remote Desktop, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Virtual Network Computing (VNC), VMware, NetOP, Dameware, and others.

7. Vendor management policy

Purpose	Governs an organization’s third-party risk management activities
Applies to	All vendors, suppliers, partners, and other third parties accessing your corporate data and systems

A vendor management policy (VMP) can help your organization conduct third-party information security risk management. A VMP prescribes how your organization can identify and deal with potentially risky vendors. It may also outline preferred measures to prevent cyber incidents caused by third parties.

In addition to mitigating direct third-party risks, a VMP may address supply chain issues by describing how your organization should check the compliance of third-party IT infrastructure with your cybersecurity requirements.

Ekran System’s third-party monitoring tools allow your organization to:

• Get video records and monitor RDP sessions of third parties in your system
• Search through vendors activity logs by multiple parameters such as visited URLs, opened apps, and typed keystrokes
• Set up a workflow for approving third-party access requests
• Provide your vendors with one-time or temporary access to critical endpoints

The platform’s advanced protection mode makes it impossible for a privileged third party or other malicious insider to stop the Ekran System Client from monitoring their actions.

8. Removable media policy

Purpose	Outlines rules for using USB devices in your organization and specifies measures for preventing USB-related security incidents
Applies to	All users of removable media

A removable media policy governs the proper and secure use of USB devices such as flash memory devices, SD cards, cameras, MP3 players, and removable hard drives.

The policy aims to mitigate the risks of contaminating IT systems and disclosing sensitive data as a result of using portable devices. In addition to establishing rules for the proper use of removable media, consider implementing dedicated software solutions to enhance your organization’s USB device security.

Ekran System’s USB device management functionality enables your organization to:

• Continuously monitor USB device connections
• Create a list of allowed and prohibited USB devices
• Get notifications and automatically block the connection of prohibited USB devices

Ekran System supports monitoring of almost any device connecting via a USB interface, including mass storage devices, Windows portable devices, modems and network adapters, wireless connection devices, and audio and video devices.

9. Incident response policy

Purpose	Guides the organization’s response to a data security incident
Applies to	Your organization’s security officers and other employees, information systems, and data

Similarly to an incident response plan, an incident response policy outlines the actions your organization should take in case of a data security incident, with detailed response scenarios for each type of incident. This type of policy also specifies the roles and responsibilities for dealing with the incident, communication strategies, and reporting processes in your organization.

An incident response policy may also describe recovery activities, focusing on containing the incident and mitigating its negative consequences. It may also include post-incident investigation procedures.

Ekran System can enhance incident response in your organization, allowing your security officers to:

• Set predefined and custom user activity alerts
• Get immediate notifications on suspicious events via email
• Respond to detected events by blocking users, showing them a warning message, or stopping the application

10. Security awareness and training policy

Purpose	Establishes your organization’s requirements for raising employees’ security awareness and conducting corresponding training
Applies to	Security officers and other staff organizing cybersecurity awareness training sessions

It doesn’t matter how many data security policies and rules you establish if your employees are unaware of them. A security awareness and training policy aims to raise your personnel’s cybersecurity awareness, explain the reasons for following ISPs, and educate employees on common cybersecurity threats.

This policy defines how your organization conducts training, how frequently that training happens, and who’s responsible for holding training sessions.

Employee activity monitoring in Ekran System can also help increase employees cybersecurity awareness, allowing you to:

• Collect examples of data security incidents to showcase during training
• Show employees warning messages to educate them about forbidden activity
• Evaluate how your employees cope with a simulated cyber attack by monitoring their actions and generating user activity reports

Note:

When developing your organization’s information security policies, pay attention to the requirements of cybersecurity standards, laws, and regulations relevant to your country and industry.

Now that we know what information security policies are worth developing, let’s take a quick look at the implementation process.

How to implement an information security policy in your organization

Implementing an information security policy for employees typically requires a structured approach with several key stages. These stages can be summarized as follows:

1. Assess the risks

This initial stage involves identifying and evaluating the organization’s information assets, potential threats, and vulnerabilities. The assessment can help you understand the risks and prioritize security measures.

2. Outline the policy

Based on the risk assessment results, create your information security policy. Consider outlining all possible rules, procedures, and guidelines depending on the defined scope and the type of information security policy you are going to implement.

3. Implement the policy

Once you’ve outlined a policy, it’s time to put it into action. This stage includes assigning a specialized team to be responsible for policy implementation, creating instructions on how to comply with the policy, and implementing security controls to mitigate the identified risks.

4. Communicate the policy

Communication about the ISP is essential to its success. Therefore, educate employees, contractors, and other stakeholders about the information security policy, its importance, and their individual responsibilities in adhering to it.

5. Monitor the policy’s effectiveness

It’s critical to assess the effectiveness of the implemented security controls and policies. This involves reviewing logs, conducting audits, and identifying any gaps or areas for improvement. The policy itself should also be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure it remains relevant and effective in the evolving threat landscape.

These implementation stages have a cycle-like nature, with the information gained from monitoring and maintenance feeding back into the risk assessment and policy development stages.

Conclusion

Information security policy standards and practices are useful for maintaining your organization’s cybersecurity posture and protecting critical assets. That’s why we highly recommend you consider implementing the examples of IT security policies we have highlighted in this article. They can help your organization prevent and respond to data security incidents, implement proper cybersecurity controls, and meet IT compliance requirements.

To further enhance your security posture, use Ekran System, a reliable insider threat management platform that can help you prevent data breaches, malicious insider activity, and account compromise.