Jun 19 2012

Achieve Best Practice & Win New Business with International IT Standards

Category: cyber security,ISO 27k — DISC @ 3:38 pm

International IT Standards help organizations achieve best practice systems and management of their IT processes. Certification against standards can help organizations protect their critical assets, rebuff cyber attacks, help win new business and achieve compliance against regulatory requirements.

ISO27001: Cyber Security Standard (Cheapest price on the web)
ISO27001 helps businesses create a best in class Information Security Management System (ISMS), safeguarding its information assets, protecting its reputation
.
ISO22301: Business Continuity Standard (Published last Month)
ISO22301 sets out the requirements for a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) and helps organizations ensure they are prepared should an disruptive incident occur, and more importantly, continue trading and return to business as usual as quickly as possible

ISO20000: IT Service Management Standard (Best Seller)
ISO20000 enables IT organizations (whether in-house, outsourced or external) to ensure that their IT service management processes are aligned. This standard specifies the requirements for an service management system (SMS). This standard will help you develop, implement, establish an SMS.

Tags: BCMS, isms, iso 27001, iso20000, ISO22301, SMS

Mar 26 2012

IT Governance helps SMEs protect themselves from cybercrime

Category: ISO 27k — DISC @ 1:45 pm

Check out the ITG site for details

IT Governance Ltd, the global provider of cyber security management solutions, has announced a value-add offer in March. Organisations that buy the No3 ISO27001 Comprehensive Toolkit before the end of March will receive the Cybersecurity Self Assessment Tool free, making double savings on resource and time.

The No3 ISO27001 Comprehensive Toolkit contains highly practical books, document templates and risk assessment tool, also providing a 100% return on investment. It helps organisations tackle cybersecurity issues quickly and efficiently, whilst considerably improving their cybersecurity defences.

The recent Symantec Threat Awareness Survey uncovered that over 50% of the 1,900 SME’s interviewed, thought that they were immune to cybercrime because they were too small.

However, Symantec’s report found that since 2010 40% of all attacks were on SME’s. Ross Walker, Symantec director of small business for Symantec UK, commented “hackers are going after ‘low hanging fruits’ these are the companies who are less security aware and do not have the proper defences in place”.

Alan Calder, CEO of IT Governance, says “The best way to build robust and effective cyber defences is by implementing ISO27001, the world’s cybersecurity standard. An ISO27001-compliant Information Security Management System (ISMS) promotes customer confidence, helps vendors win new business and improves organisational efficiency”.

The easiest way to implement an ISO27001-compliant ISMS, especially for SMEs, is with the No 3 Comprehensive ISMS ISO27001 Toolkit. It provides organisations with all the tools they will need for the implementation of an information security management system (ISMS).

The No 3 Comprehensive ISMS ISO27001 Toolkit includes copies of the three key standards (ISO27001, ISO27002 and ISO27005), the Risk Assessment Tool (vsRisk™), the Documentation Template Toolkit and manuals that describe in practical detail how each aspect of the ISMS should be tackled.

One user of the Toolkit said: “Using the templates was the only way that we could deliver a first edition ISMS in under six months. Our deliverable was a work in progress, but miles ahead of where they would have been without the templates”.

Organisations that buy the No 3 Comprehensive ISMS ISO27001 Toolkit before the end of March will receive the Cybersecurity Self Assessment Tool free. It enables any organisation to quickly assess and demonstrate which areas of the organisation are up to scratch and where more attention is required.

Organisations can purchase the ISO27001 Comprehensive Toolkit here!

Tags: Information Security Management System, isms, iso 27001, iso 27002, ISO 27004, iso 27005, iso 27006, iso27003

Jul 13 2011

Do US companies do enough for their cyber security?

Category: cyber security,ISO 27k — DISC @ 9:51 pm

IT Governance Ltd, the ISO27001 and information security experts have reported that they are making a number of free resources available for download from their US website to help US companies meet the challenges of increased cyber crime.

July 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ — IT Governance Ltd, the ISO27001 and information security experts have reported that they are making a number of free resources available for download from their US website (www.itgovernanceusa.com) to help US companies meet the challenges of increased cyber crime. This week the company has published a white paper on cyber security which can be downloaded from here http://www.itgovernanceusa.com/cyber-security.aspx

Cyber security has become an issue for every nation in the world. In the US over the last 3 months there have been data breaches against high-profile organizations including Fox, Sony, Gmail, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and major government departments. Two weeks ago, the Arizona State Police again became the victim of a cyber attack. The hack was announced on Twitter less than a week after a previous attack from Lulz Security.

US companies need to do their utmost in order to defend themselves form hackers and protect their information assets. At present, key changes in the US legislation are being discussed, and sooner or later, it is likely that strict data security measures will be imposed on organizations, which they will need to comply with. Organizations who do not act now may face serious fines in the future or even become the subject of a class action lawsuit, if the loss of customer’s data is established. Such was the case with Sony in April when a Canadian Play Station Network (PSN) user claimed damages in excess of $1 billion. This followed another lawsuit filed by an American PNS user. The consequences for companies compromising customers’ data can be severe, leading to both big financial implications and reputation damage.

IT Governance, which specializes in cyber security and compliance solutions, has published a white paper on their US website that provides information on some of the key developments US companies and their directors or IT managers need to be aware of in order to protect their business from cyber attacks. The white paper can be downloaded for free here: http://www.itgovernanceusa.com/cyber-security.aspx

Alan Calder, CEO of IT Governance, comments, “There are a few essential steps that organizations should be following if they are to implement an effective security strategy. Most organizations would only take certain measures if they are given the reasons why they should be doing this and know that their investment of time and money is worth. What is a more convincing reason than the data breaches we all witness? At IT Governance, we not only advise customers what should be done, but also provide guidance and solutions to their problems. We have the most comprehensive range of resources across a number of areas, from books and toolkits through to e-learning and software tools.”

US companies can be doing more than taking partial measures to fight cyber crime. Implementing best practice in information security management has become the most popular approach to tackling cyber security; demonstrating to both customers and business partners that an organization is working to the highest standard. Accredited certification to ISO27001 gives an organization internationally recognized and accepted proof that its system for managing information security – its ISMS or cyber security readiness – is of an acceptable, independently audited and verified standard. Everything US companies need to know about ISO27001 is explained on this website: http://www.27001.com

Tags: isms, iso 27001

May 06 2009

Rise of cybercrime and management responsibility

Category: Information Security,Information Warfare — DISC @ 5:08 pm

ITIL Security Management
Image via Wikipedia
According to SF Chronicle article by Deborah Gage (May 8, 2009, c2) consumer reports magazine’s annual “State of the Net” survey finds that cybercrimes has held steady since 2004, with one out of five consumers becoming victims in last two years at a cost to economy of $8 billion. Consumer report can be found on at www.consumerreports.org

Uncertain economic time brings new threats and scams and most of the security experts agree that there’s a possibility of increase in cybercrime for this year. Survey also found that around 1.7 million people were victims of identity theft and 1.2 million had replaced their computers because of infected software.

First why all the signs are showing uptick in cybercrimes and second what are we going to do about it.

Management should start considering security as total cost of ownership instead of wasting time on what is ROI of information security. If there is a security breach, somebody in the management should be held accountable not an IT or security personnel. Management will keep demonstrating lax attitude toward data protection and security in general unless there are serious consequences like spending time in jail for lack of security controls (basic due diligence) and not taking appropriate actions for the risks that posed a significant threat to the organization.

PCI, HIPAA and SOX compliance are a good start in a right direction for management to take information security into consideration, but these compliance initiatives don’t address the security of a whole organization. They address security risks of a business unit in an organization. If management is really serious about security then ISO 27002 code of practice is one of the option which should be considered to address the security of the whole organization and ultimately organization should achieve ISO 27001 certification which will build a comprehensive information security management system to manage ongoing risks.

[TABLE=2]

Related articles by Zemanta

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: Information Security, International Organization for Standardization, isms, iso 27001, iso 27002, Operating system, Policy, Security

Jan 30 2009

ISO 27k and CMMI

Category: Information Security,ISO 27k — DISC @ 2:00 am

To become a successful business in today’s market, optimized information security controls may be the panacea for unmet security needs. One way to achieve optimized information security control is to perform ISO assessment and assess the organization security posture based on ISO 27002 code of practice and map each control with Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) to find out the current CMMI level for each control. information The goal is to address the organization security needs as a whole, and assess how different departments and business functions are addressing the current business security requirements. The CMMI has five levels and evaluate security controls based on levels, not on specific objectives. Each level provides the basis for the next level where it is not possible to get to the next level without complying with previous level. ISO 27002 is a comprehensive framework which can be utilized to obtain the baseline upon which to build each level. For each control in ISO 27002, maturity levels are defined using maturity definition found in CMMI. In the assessment report maturity level of each control of ISO 27002 standard can be evaluated. Utilizing the color coded scheme provided by CMMI model, create a one page ISO control summary for executives which will not only help them to understand the current security posture but also can be instrumental for measuring progress and resource allocation.

The scope of the ISO27k standards includes various aspects of IT. The introduction to ISO 27002 states clearly: “Information can exist in many forms. It can be printed or written on paper, stored electronically, transmitted by post of using electronic means, shown on films, or spoken in conversation. Whatever form information takes, or means by which it is shared or stored, it should always be appropriately protected.”

Benefits of ISO 27k framework:
o Framework addresses the security issues for the whole organization and limit data breaches
o Address compliance with various regulations like (SOX, HIPAA, and PCI) without creating silos.
o Reduce total cost of security by decreasing total number of controls required
o Perception of your business that you are serious about information security not just compliance
o Enhance partners and vendors confidence to do business with your organization
o Future deciding factor for national and especially international partners for more business
o Internationally recognized standard which addresses security awareness for the whole organization

isotocmmi

Assessment will give an organization a high level view of their current security posture and provide a road map for security strategy in a sense what needs to be addressed first utilizing risk based approach. This is also a good start if your organization is interested in the Information Security Management System (ISMS) or ISO 27001 certification. ISO 27001 is the standard for the certification which includes the set of requirements for ISMS. Justifiable scoping is the key to a quick and successful certification; organization may adjust their scope in a re-certification attempt. Perhaps in the first attempt you may need to include just a web portal in your scope and the entire infrastructure behind supporting that portal. Once the ISMS project scope is determined, here are some steps you can follow to prepare for ISO 27001 auditors.

1. Based on your scope, create an asset list
2. Find out asset threats and vulnerabilities and classify the asset based on CIA scale
3. Come up with risk matrix based on impact and likelihood of the risk
4. Create priorities based on impact and likelihood of the risk
5. Based on priorities, implement appropriate controls for risks which needs to be addressed
6. Do the risk assessment again, PDCA improve ISMS

“ISO27001 is a structured, technology-neutral, vendor-agnostic specification and code of practice for information security management in organizations of all sizes that should be adopted as part of an organization’s overall risk management strategy.”

This should give you a jump start to certification. You have already started the process of certification because most of the documentations in the risk assessment will become part of certification process later and will lead you to 12 steps which are part of PDCA cycle. ISMS certification process utilized Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle methodology which continually improve information security management system and meet the contractual, legal, and regulatory requirements for information security.

ISO assessment is utilized to analyze the current security posture of an organization where each control is defined and can be color coded using the base definition found in CMMI. Therefore ISO assessment is a great first step towards the final ISO 27001 certification audit or for that matter any compliance audit.

[TABLE=2]

ISO 27k framework for today’s security challenges
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRFMfiLbNj8

Three useful titles on ISO 27k by Alan Calder

Related articles by Zemanta

Tags: Capability Maturity Model Integration, CIA scale, Information Security, Information Security Management System, International Organization for Standardization, isms, iso 27001, iso 27002, ISO/IEC 27001, PCI, PDCA, Risk Assessment, Risk management, Security, SOX HIPAA, vsrisk

Nov 26 2008

Cyber threats and overall security assessment

Category: Information Warfare,Risk Assessment — DISC @ 3:13 am

The main screen showing star names (color-code...
Image via Wikipedia

In the past when senior management (execs) needed to understand the financial implication of cyber threats and their exposures, they turned their questionnaires toward IT for relevant answers. In other words IT risk assessment was the answer in the past to understand the financial implications of cyber threats. The IT risk assessment is not the comprehensive or overall assessment of the company to understand the total implications of cyber threats. The overall assessment will not only include IT but also other departments like HR and legal etc… Basically cyber threats are neither IT issue and nor a legal or HR issue any more, it’s simply an enterprise management issue.

In old days the firewall was used as a major defense against potential cyber threats. The new cyber threats are sophisticated enough to demand better defense. New threats (virus, adware, worms, Trojan, spyware, spam, phishing) use modern techniques to bypass defenses. The potential risks of these new threats demand an immediate attention (of CFO or higher) and approval for resource allocation to protect against cyber threats. To make a solid business case for security ROI, senior level execs need to know the overall risk they are reducing, and their highest priority.

[TABLE=12]

ANSI and ISA have jointly released a document to assist senior management to prepare for financial implications for cyber threats. Basic essence of the guide is to provide a tool to execs to understand the financial implications of potential cyber threats to their organizations.

“The 40 page guide was put together by task force of risk management execs from more than two dozen organizations. The new guide offered by ANSI and the ISA recommends that CFO ask their various team’s questions about the biggest threats to data confidentiality, integrity and availability,” to get to know the existing controls in place and any relevant mitigation plan. Risk analysis of this information can help execs to map the cyber threats risks into correct financial terms and make better resource allocation.
The senior execs who want to implement information security as a process in their organization should consider ISO 27001 (ISMS) as a best practice, which provides a reasonable on-going due diligence to protect and safeguard organization data.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: availability, Business, Chief financial officer, cyber threats, data confidentiality, exposure, Financial services, Human resources, Insurance, integrity, isms, ISO/IEC 27001, Management, overall assessment, risk analysis, Risk Assessment, Risk management, roi, Security

Nov 04 2008

Open Network and Security

Category: Information Security,Open Network — DISC @ 7:54 pm

Made and uploaded by John Manuel - JMK{{#if: |...

Open networks are heterogeneous environment where users like to use all the applications and systems at any given time. In a heterogeneous environment, each department run different hardware and software, but you can control the protocols which will work on this environment.

Universities are famous for open network. Most Universities network is comprised of a Bank (To give loan to students), a restaurant, and a bookstore which have credit card processing ability. Students, alumni, researchers, employee and staff need access to utilize resources. Now how would you control access if same person assume all the roles mentioned above. Universities are basically transient communities, where users come back and plug-in their new devices and expect an immediate access to all the resources. Where the reputation of openness is challenge at every step of the way, now the question is how can they maintain reputation and yet control the environment based on security policies.

Reasonable security can be accomplished by focusing on a process rather than adding yet another security control. The process is based on risk assessment program where you assess your critical assets based on threat and vulnerability pair and measure the likelihood and impact of a threat if a given vulnerability is exploited.

The process start with knowing your assets – Network registration will detect when you plug-in your new equipment. Before you get an access, it detects a hardware address and username. You can also control common misconfigurations and noncompliance issues with network registration process. Some vulnerability management systems discover assets and perform vulnerability and security configuration assessment to proactively identify and prioritize risks. New vulnerabilities are accessed from trusted site on a regular basis and when vulnerabilities are identified, the management system needs to have an ability to remediate to comply with the information security policy.

Most of the departments in an open network contains different systems and applications and basically have different security appetite. Distributed IT Governance can address this issue where you develop policies and procedures which fit their needs and hand it over to the department to comply.
Open network requires pretty much open borders, Instead of securing the network/system emphasis should be on data protection.

[TABLE=9]

Recent news from AT&T to make its network open where customers can use any handset of their choice, perhaps a reaction to in response to recent moves from Verizon and Google to promote open network. Specifically Verizon announced that it would allow “any device” and “any application” to operate on its network. These open networks does provide flexibility for customers but at the same time burden lies on the shoulders of the corporations to provide right balance of security and privacy with availability of the network.

In an open network, reasonable security can be achieved by embracing ISO 27k standard and eventually acquiring ISO 27001 (ISMS) certification. Information Security Management System (ISMS) can be a great value added process to manage ongoing monitoring, maintaining and for process improvement of an open network. ISMS as a process in-place provides reasonable security safeguard to your information and certainly help to minimize the liability in the court of law.

End-to-End Network Security: Defense-in-Depth by Omar Santos
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTJSMjYd9c4

(Free Two-Day Shipping from Amazon Prime). Great books

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: AT&T, Computers, Credit card, data protection, heterogeneous, impact, Information Security, Information Security Management System, isms, iso 27001, ISO 27k, ISO/IEC 27001, IT Governance, likelihood, Network registration, Omar Santos, Reasonable security, risk assessment program, security controls, threat, Universities network, Verizon, vulnerability, vulnerability management systems

Oct 21 2008

12 Phishing Threats and Identity Theft

Category: Email Security,Identity Theft — DISC @ 7:22 pm

Have you ever thought of losing something and you cannot live without it? Yes, that something can be your identity. Phishing is a practice of luring unsuspecting Internet users to a fake Web site by using authentic-looking email with the real organization’s logo, in an attempt to steal passwords, financial or personal information. In daily life people advise to retrace your steps when you lose something. The question is how you retrace your steps on cyberspace where some uber hackers know how to erase their footsteps to avoid detection. It is difficult to find phishers in cyberspace, and jurisdictional issues make it even harder to prosecute them. Then there is an issue of trust that phishers dupe people to believe that their web site is not fraudulent to collect personal/financial information.

Amongst the financial crisis, phishing might be on the rise because for many organizations information protection might be the last thing on their mind. The FDIC has created a webpage to inform and warn consumers about “phishing.” These days phishers have targeted social network organizations LinkedIn and Facebook where their members have been duped into revealing their sensitive data.

Mainly phishing attacks are targeted to steal the identity. Now the question is, how easy it is to steal somebody’s identity? Let’s say a phisher has your name and address, and then he/she can get your Social Security number with the search on AccurInt or other personal database website. A Social Security number is not the only bounty a fraudster can find on these websites, other personal/private information is available as well at minimal cost.

In the table below are the 12 threats to your online identity which can be manipulated in phishing scams, and possible countermeasures to protect your personal and financial information. Some threats are inadequate or no security controls in place. The last row of the table is a monitoring control to identify the warning signs of identity theft.

[Table=7]

Organizations should take necessary steps to protect against identity fraud and apply whatever state and federal legislation applies to your business. Organizations which are serious about their information security should consider implementing the ISO 27001 (ISMS) standard as a best practice, which provides reasonable due diligence to protect and safeguard your information.

US Bank phishing attack exposed
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2QKQkuSB4Q


(Free Two-Day Shipping from Amazon Prime). Great books

Tags: accurint, countermeasure, cyberspace, due diligence, equifax, experian, facebook, fdic, financial crisis, fraudster, identity fraud, information protection, isms, iso 27001, jurisdictional, legislation, linkedin, phishing, prosecute, safeguard, social security, threats, transunion, uber hacker

Oct 07 2008

vsRisk and security risk assessment

Category: ISO 27k,Security Risk Assessment — DISC @ 3:18 pm

Information Security Risk Management for ISO27001 / ISO27002

The State of California has adopted ISO/IEC 27002 as its standard for information security and recommends other organizations and vendors to use this standard as guidance in their efforts to comply with California law.

To achieve an ongoing compliance, major organizations require tools to comply with standard such as ISO 27002/ISO27001. vsRisk is an easy to use Information Security Risk Assessment tool which makes risk assessment process consistent, easier and produces required documentation to achieve ISO 27001 certification . vsRisk also aligns seamlessly with standards like ISO 27002, ISO 27005 and NIST SP 800-30.

vsRisk helps organizations to develop an Information Security Management System (ISMS) asset inventory and capture business, legal and contractual requirements against each asset. vsRisk is customizable to meet specific needs when introducing new risks, vulnerabilities and controls without any additional help from a consultant. vsRisk helps you focus on assets rather than on threats and vulnerabilities. This is an approach which works by treating business processes as an asset, which is examined for their criticality, lack of security and consequences of failed process can be examined. In this regards, vsRisk is an effective and efficient tool by identifying most important points and key issues right away, which focusing on threats doesn’t.

Major benefits of vsRisk tool:
1. It is the definitive ISO27001 risk assessment tool, compliant
with all the key information security standards – which means that
you can be certain that a vsRisk risk assessment will help you
achieve ISO27001 certification.
2. It is designed to be usable – your lead risk assessor and any
asset owners involved in your risk assessment are going to find
their task made easier
3. Unique features include the risk assessment wizard, which
standardizes the risk assessment process and guides asset owners
through the risk assessment process.
4. vsRisk creates a baseline from which future risk assessments can
easily be made.
5. vsRisk integrates with ISMS documentation toolkit, for even
greater usability.

“vsRisk™- the Definitive ISO 27001: 2005-Compliant Information Security Risk Assessment Tool, which automates and delivers an ISO/IEC 27001-compliant risk assessment and can assess confidentiality, integrity and availability for each of business, legal and contractual aspects of information assets – as required by ISO 27001. Providing a comprehensive best-practice alignment, it supports ISO 27001 and 27002 (ISO/IEC 17799) disciplines, and is ISO/IEC 27005 and NIST SP 800-30 compliant. It also offers a wizard-based approach that simplifies and accelerates the risk assessment process, plus integrates and regularly updates BS7799-3 compliant threat and vulnerability databases.”

The key to successful Risk Management is to protect your most important/critical assets. The importance/criticality of an asset might change over time. That is another reason to automate security risk assessment process to recalibrate your risks based on current state of security.

Risk Management to ISO27001/NIST Wizard-based risk assessment tool Simplifies compliance – To buy vsRisk tool!

Meet Stringent California Information Security Legislation with Comprehensive Toolkit

ISO27001 EXPERTS CAN HELP COMPANIES MEET STRINGENT CALIFORNIAN …
EIN News (press release) – Netherlands
vsRisk™- the Definitive ISO 27001: 2005-Compliant Information Security Risk Assessment Tool, which automates and delivers an ISO/IEC 27001-compliant risk …

Tags: asset owner, automate security risk assessment, baseline, california, isms, iso 17799, iso 27001, iso 27001 certification, iso 27002, iso 27005, nist sp 80-30, sb 1386, vsrisk

Aug 08 2008

PCI DSS significance and contractual agreement

Category: pci dss,Security Compliance — DISC @ 11:52 pm





The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry & Data Security Standard) was established by credit card companies to create a unified security standard for handling credit card information.  The retail service industry now understands the strategic significance of PCI DSS compliance, which was demonstrated when TJX announced that their system was compromised for more than 17 months, where well over 50 million customers’ credit and debit cards were breached. Retail business which fails to comply will be subject to penalties and fines, possibly lawsuits, and may lose their credit card processing capability. Non-compliance will not only expose businesses to fines and penalties but also make it vulnerable to many threats, which can exploit the vulnerabilities in the system and put your business to unnecessary risk. These risks could have been avoided with some due diligence. When business is non-compliant, any major breach will have a significant impact on business viability.


To start a process of PCI compliance, a merchant should determine if PCI DSS applies to their organization.  PCI DSS is applicable if your customer PAN (Primary Account Numbers) is stored, processed or transmitted in your organization. After determining the applicability of the standard, the merchant needs to determine where their business falls in the categorization of businesses by their bank in terms of merchant level.


Before commencing the risk assessment the assessor will perform the system profile to determine the applicability of the scope and set the boundaries of the system covered under PCI-DSS assessment. Planning is the key to success of a project; this is the phase where all the planning and project preparation will take place.   Now the key to the success of your on-going compliance is to simplify the scope of the project. The best way to achieve this to put all the PCI related assets in a precise segment to limit the merchant card holder environment.


Comprehensive risk assessment will be performed on the identified scope where risk analysis will identify the gaps based on PCI DSS standards and risk rating will prioritize the gaps for risk management.  Thorough risk analysis will generate a quality technical and process gap analysis, where you decide the mitigation/compensating controls to comply with PCI DSS.  After completion of the risk assessment the task of the risk management begins, to eliminate the gaps in your environment and to comply with the standard. Depending on the numbers of gaps the risk management team should set realistic goals to complete the tasks in hand.  Best practices recommendations suggest that the organization should eliminate/mitigate the high risks (high impact & probability) gaps to the organization, but sometime organizations decide to go after the low hanging fruits to start with their risk management process.


When the risk management process gets close to finishing and you are well on your way to comply with PCI DSS, you might think that perhaps your job is done. Well in a way, it’s just a beginning of a process where your organization is supposed to maintain the compliance with PCI DSS.  Based on expert opinion, PCI DSS is a process not a project. What you have done so far, is baseline your environment. Ongoing compliance is achieved by monitoring the relevant PCI DSS controls. Ongoing compliance will depend on the quality of the merchant’s information security management system (ISMS). A strong  ISMS would include thorough monitoring, logging and reviewing controls to maintain and improve system security over time.  You can develop an automated PCI monitoring process to achieve consistent results and sustain compliance by continuously monitoring your system. ISMS (based on ISO 27001) certainly can be a great value to manage ongoing monitoring, maintenance and improvement cycle.


In a sense, PCI is neither a regulation nor a standard but a contractual agreement between the merchant and their acquirer bank, when merchants start transmitting PAN data that makes them contractually obligated to comply with PCI DSS. To understand their obligations, the merchant should make a proactive effort to understand their acquirer’s particular interpretation of PCI DSS requirements to get compliant.  Ongoing compliance will require adequate resources and automated controls in place to routinely monitor, maintain, review and improve the required systems. Ultimately, ongoing PCI compliance will enhance business efficiency and reduce the potential impact of adverse publicity on your business image.


 












Documentation Compliance Toolkit

PCI Compliance

Practical guide to implementation (Soft Cover)

Practical guide to implementation (Download)



PCI Compliance
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NUTs-aFtOA

Tags: business efficiency, business image, compensating controls, comprehensive, contractual agreement, gap analysis, isms, iso 27001, merchant card holder, mitigate, pan, pci compliance, pci dss, risk analysis, Risk Assessment, risk management process, tjx

Aug 08 2008

ISO27k and compliance

Category: Information Security,ISO 27k — DISC @ 2:42 am

Security review is performed to identify and analyze risks and weaknesses in the current security posture of an organization. An ISO assessment is performed utilizing international standard ISO 27002 and company security policy, the purpose of the review is to evaluate the information security posture of an organization based on international standard. The level of compliance will indicate how close your organization is to meeting the key objectives for each 133 controls defined within 11 security control clauses collectively containing a total of 39 main security categories and one introductory clause introducing risk assessment and treatment.

It is important to not only assess the control for completeness (all relevant areas are addressed) and comprehensiveness (each individual area is covered completely), but also this balanced framework serves as the basis for both measuring an organization’s effectiveness in addressing risk and structuring an organization’s overall security program. Because ISO 27002 requirements are largely a superset of other major regulations, achieving ISO 27002 compliance positions most organizations to be well on their way to meeting the requirements of SOX, HIPAA and GLBA.

To achieve ISO compliance, thorough assessment utilizing all 133 controls will provide mitigating solution guidelines for gaps. To give your business an edge, conduct a security review based on ISO controls, if you would like to compare your security practices with international standard.
The result of the assessment will not only establish and maintain security policy, but also validates the policy’s completeness, design new controls and provide a road map to mitigate risks. An assessment of risks will determine what issues need to be addressed and provide a guideline to meet security regulations and a road map to build a world class ISMS (Information Security Management System).

ISO27001 is an international standard which is considered as an information security best practice or due diligence and is part of the security controls and audit controls specification document. ISO27002 is a code of practice which recommends guidelines for information security management systems and is closely linked to ISO 27001. ISO27001 continues to provide comprehensive best-practice advice and guidance to private and public organizations around the globe on how to design and implement a compliant information security management system ISMS.
An ISMS is not simply a set of documents. Maintaining and improving ISMS allows it to grow over time to address new business requirements. An ISMS is simply a system which addresses information security risks facing an organization and identifies the level of organization compliance with applicable regulations.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: glba, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, hipaa, Information Security, Information Security Management System, isms, iso 27002, iso assessment, iso compliance, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, sox

« Previous Page