Administrative controls characterize the human factors of security involving all levels of personnel within an enterprise and determine which users are authorized to access what resources and information by such means as: – Employees are provided with training and awareness programs – Enterprises should be prepared for disasters and have recovery plans – Separation strategies…

The advanced electronic signature is a digital signature to uniquely identify the signer based on an advanced certificate. The signature keys are utilized with a high degree of confidence by the signatory (who has sole possession of the signing key). An electronic signature is observed to be advanced, under eIDAS,  if it has met several…

An asset may be intangible (e.g., humans, data,  software, information, capability, function, trademark, service, copyright,  image, patent, intellectual property, or reputation) or tangible (for instance, a physical item such as hardware, computing platform, firmware, network device, or other technology components). The value of an asset is decided by stakeholders in case of an event of…

An I.T. team maintains an asset inventory to make sure they provide an organization with the I.T. resources they need in a cost-effective, efficient manner. The asset data stored in this inventory includes location, users, performance, maintenance and support, documentation, licenses, lifecycle stage, compliance, cost, and more. I.T. assets can include: – Hardware – servers,…

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the procedure of creating preventive and recovery systems to counter potential cyber threats to an enterprise or to ensure process continuity in the case of a cyberattack. BCP’s secondary goal is to make sure operational continuity before as well as during the execution of disaster recovery. The planning entails personnel…

Classified national security information, also known as classified information, means information that has any predecessor order to require protection against unauthorized disclosure or has been regulated pursuant to E. O. 12958 as amended by E.O. 13292 and is marked to specify its classified status when in documentary form.

Cybersecurity controls are specifically designed mechanism that is used to prevent, detect and reduce cyber-attacks and threats to data, including intrusion prevention systems and DDoS mitigation.

The basic goal of access control in the CIA triad is to preserve and secure the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of systems, information, and resources.

Corrective actions are methodical steps taken by an organization to close gaps, correct errors, or resolve other problems that have been found within the enterprise’s security program and for which the underlying or root cause has also been identified.

Corrective controls come into action after an information security problem or incident has been detected. These controls are there to make improvements, remedy flaws and guide corrective action.

A crisis management support team is a group of cybersecurity experts responsible for identifying and addressing crises within an enterprise. Their tasks include carrying out actions of accessing the current events, outlining the potential risks, and minimizing the fallout.

A crisis management team is a group of cybersecurity experts responsible for identifying and addressing crises within an enterprise. Their tasks include carrying out actions of accessing the current events, outlining the potential risks, and minimizing the fallout. 

Critical infrastructure describes the physical assets and I.T. systems that are so vital to the enterprise that their destruction or incapacity would have a devitalizing impact on the economic or physical security or public health and safety.

All material, including devices, documents, or equipment that, contains cryptographic information and is essential to the authentication, encryption, or decryption of telecommunications.

Cryptographic techniques are used to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data in the presence of an antagonist. Various cryptographic methods based on the security needs and the threats involved, such as public key cryptography and symmetric key cryptography, can be used during the transit and storage of the data.

 All material, including devices, documents, or equipment that, contains cryptographic information and is essential to the authentication, encryption, or decryption of telecommunications.

Data classification is a method for categorizing and defining files and other critical business information based on their information sensitivity. It’s mainly used in big corporations to build security systems that follow strict security compliance guidelines but are also effective in small environments.

Data recovery is the method of restoring data that has been lost, corrupted, accidentally deleted, or made inaccessible. In enterprise I.T., data recovery typically refers to the restoration of data to a desktop, server, laptop, or external storage system from an existing backup.

Data restore is the process of recovering backup data from secondary storage and restoring it to a new location or its original location. A restore is performed to move data to a new location or to return data that has been stolen, lost, or damaged to its original condition.

Detective controls are the primary components of a cybersecurity program in providing visibility into breaches, malicious activity, and attacks on an enterprise’s I.T. environment. These controls include continuous monitoring, logging of events, and alerting that facilitate effective I.T. management.

Deterrent controls are administrative mechanisms (such as policies, standards, procedures,  laws, guidelines, and regulations) that are used to advise the execution of security within an enterprise.

A Digital Certificate can be described as an electronic file that is tied to a cryptographic key pair to authenticate the identity of an individual, website, device, organization, user, or server. It is also known as an identity certificate or a public key certificate.

A digital signature refers to a mathematical technique used to establish the authenticity and integrity of software, message, or digital document. It’s the digital equivalent of a stamped seal or a handwritten signature but offers far more inherent security.

Critical events such as cyber–attacks, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, etc.), or hardware failures like routers or servers that affect the activities of an enterprise.

After events like a cyber attack, natural disaster,  or even business disruptions, disaster recovery is an organization’s method of regaining access and control of its I.T. infrastructure. A variety of disaster recovery (D.R.) methods are implemented as part of a disaster recovery plan. D.R. is a crucial aspect of business continuity.

“Electronic record” means record, data, or data generated, audio or visuals stored, received, or shared in an electronic form or computer generated micro fiche or microfilm.

An electronic signature, or e-signature, authenticates that an individual who demands to have created a message is the one who created it. A signature can be defined as another layer of authentication and security as a schematic script related to a person.

A security gap assessment is a thorough analysis of an enterprise’s security defenses against various forms of cyberattacks. Its purpose is to identify the ‘gaps’ between their current state of security and their desired state, considering specific industry standards as well.

A digital certificate refers to an electronic “password” that allows a person or an organization to share data securely over the web on the public key infrastructure (PKI). Digital Certificate is also called an identity certificate or a public key certificate.

In-house recovery means recovery of a dedicated physical server or an in-house server amid data replication or when there is a disaster.

Access Rights are the permissions an individual user or an organization application holds to read, write, delete, modify, or otherwise access a computer file, change settings or configurations, or add or remove applications. An organization’s technology administrator can configure permissions for files, folders, servers, or specific applications on the computer.

An information asset is a body of data defined and managed as a single entity so that it can be understood, protected, shared, and utilized effectively and have manageable and recognizable value, content, risk, and lifecycles.

Information asset management, also known as IAM, is the organization’s information assets (including its metadata and data) that are a key area of focus for the  EIM programs and information governance within an organization.

The CIA triad is a well-accepted model that enterprises use to evaluate their security capabilities and risk in case of a cyberattack. Confidentiality is a set of rules implemented to limit access to information, whereas integrity is the assurance that the information is accurate and trustworthy, and availability is a warranty of reliable access to…

ISMS or information security management system (ISMS) is a set of procedures and policies for systematically managing an enterprise’s sensitive information. The goal of an ISMS is to detect and minimize the risk while ensuring business continuity by proactively countering the impact of a security breach.

ISO 27001 Awareness refers to the knowledge and understanding of your organization’s personnel regarding ISO 27001 regulatory compliance and its components.  The awareness helps educate your personnel on risks, threats, incidents, and breaches and teaches them how to treat sensitive data, software, and assets. It also helps them work efficiently during breach instances and mitigate…

ISO 27001 Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is a part of the overall objective of ISO 27001, i.e., providing a strong and reliable information security framework for your organization. It refers to the structured approach to upholding an organization’s ability to continue its business operations efficiently during security upheaval and afterward. The key steps involved in…

ISO 27001 Data Destruction is an integral component of the overall framework that deals with data management when disposing of your organization’s sensitive and personal data. The standard specifies that the data you collect should be erased when it is no longer serving its purpose and should never be recovered. Here is what goes into…

The ISO 27001 is divided into 14 domains. The reason why ISO 27001 is divided into these domains is that it gives a more structured approach towards a holistic framework, and each one of these domains handles a significant part of the objectives. ISO 27001 Domains are:  These domains ensure personnel, data, controls, and systems…

ISO 27001 KPIs are measures of your company’s ISMS efficiency and effectiveness. These measurements or metrics can be employed to assess the effectiveness of your company’s incident response, access control, and other practices. These metrics reveal the areas that should be run at an acceptable efficiency level. The following are some of the KPIs: Other…

ISO 27001 risk treatment plan is a component of the overall ISO 27001 framework that deals with your business’s treatment and implementation of plans regarding identified security risks. This risk treatment plan is crucial for your organization as it allows you to devise ways to mitigate any potential risk and reduce downtime, financial losses, etc….

ISO 27001 Security Awareness Training is crucial to the overall ISO 27001 security objective. According to the framework, all company employees, whether contractors or freelancers, should receive awareness education and training along with regular updates in organization policies and procedures. Again, it also depends on the job function. Usually, security awareness training is given to…

The ISO 27001 Security Metrics are critical metrics that present an insight into your company’s performance and progress relative to the ISMS compliance standards. These metrics enable your organization to measure success daily and provide an easy-follow method for regulatory compliance. Key aspects of ISO 27001 Security Metrics: These metrics support your company in making…

ISO third-party Audit is an examination conducted by an independent body to assess how your organization applies and implements the recommended measures. In this case, how security is implemented in your company and its effectiveness and efficiency are audited.  Third-party audits verify your organization and examine its compliance with a globally accepted framework’s standards. They provide…

A lead auditor training has the necessary expertise and skills to perform an Information Security Management System (ISMS) audit by implementing widely recognized audit procedures, principles, and techniques.

The legal process is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or organization through summons, mandate, subpoena, and warrant. 

Logical controls are the automated system that manages a person’s ability to access one or more resources, such as a workstation, application, network, or database. A logical access control system requires authentication of an individual’s identity using some mechanism such as a  biometric, personal identification number (PIN) card, or other tokens. Different access privileges can…

Management controls are actions implemented to manage the development, maintenance, and use of the system, including procedures, system-specific policies and rules of behaviour,  individual accountability, individual roles and responsibilities, and personnel security decisions.

Mandatory procedures explain the rules for how employees, partners, consultants, board members, and other endpoint users access online internet and applications resources, share data over networks, and otherwise practice responsible security.

Security personnel is physically present to guard properties, guard properties, people, assets, or more against the threat of entry, theft, assault, or criminal damage.

Occurrences where an employee or other trusted persons incidentally accesses information resulting in no harm can be considered non-information-related events.

In the context of ISO 27001, non-repudiation is one of the five pillars of information assurance. It refers to the inability to deny the validity of something and provides proof of the origin and integrity of data. Non-repudiation is guaranteed through digital signature and/or encryption.

A company is at risk of nonconformity if they are in noncompliance with the standard requirements of ISO 27001, that is, if in-event documentation specifies a process the organization is not following; or if an organization is not fulfilling contractual requirements in its dealings with third parties.

Organizational and Technical security measures imply those measures aimed at protecting personal data against accidental loss, alteration, unlawful destruction, unauthorized access, or disclosure, in particular where the processing involves data over a network, in transit,  and against all other unlawful forms of processing.

Organizational controls reduce or mitigate the risk to the organization’s assets, including people, property, and data and include any type of policy, technique, procedure, method, solution, action, plan, or device designed to help accomplish that goal.

The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA/PDSA) cycle is a simple and effective approach with a continuous loop of planning, doing, checking (or studying), and acting, and it is generally used for testing improvement measures on a smaller scale before scaling procedures and working practices.

A personal Data Filing System is any structured set of personal information which are accessible as per specific criteria, whether decentralized, centralized, or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis.

Any corporate body that deals with possesses, or handles any “sensitive personal data” or such information should maintain standard security practices and procedures relating to such data.

In practice, organizations must: – Clearly define the purpose of collecting personal data and their intention – Specify your purposes by complying with documentation obligations; – Perform transparency obligations to communicate to individuals about your purposes for collecting personal data; and – Ensure that if you plan to disclose or use personal data for any…

Qualitative risk assessment is the process of identifying risks and analyzing the impact they would have on a project. Project managers can prioritize risk as per probability and impact while detecting the main areas of risk exposure and improving understanding of project risks.

Quantitative risk assessment provides numerical characterizations of risk and relies primarily on the use of good methods, techniques, and models from the multiple disciplines employed by USACE. Thus, it comprises good economics, engineering, and environmental analysis.

The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the time duration during or after a disaster that can elapse without an enterprise restoring its processes or services to acceptable levels before it will experience unendurable consequences associated with the disruption.

During the 2 to 3 months your company is still building its quality system, you’ll need to begin searching for an ISO registrar on the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to select the registrar right for you. Registrars must fulfill the requirements of the ISO Accreditation Bodies.

The capacity of a system or component to function under specifically stated conditions for a specified period of time.

Residual risk is the risk posed to an enterprise after security measures have been put into place.

Cyber resilience is an enterprise’s ability to enable business acceleration (enterprise resiliency) by preparing for, countering, and recovering from cyber threats and adapting to known and unknown crises, adversities, threats, and challenges.

An authenticator class, type, or instantiation has added risk of false acceptance associated with its use that is, therefore, subject to added requirements.

A Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the maximum amount of data or time that an organization can lose before causing harm or risk to its business or customers. It is a measure or guideline for disaster recovery planning and data preservation. RPOs return to a previous point when your data existed in a usable format,…

Special Category Data can be understood as classified, sensitive data that demand additional security measures for the protection and explicit consent for processing the data. This category of data is clearly defined by GDPR and has outlined measures for protecting the same.

The purpose of this document is to require employees to state all the documents prescribed by the enterprise in its information security management system.

A Statement of Applicability is a document needed for ISO 27001 certification. It’s a document that declares the Annex A controls that your enterprise determined to be necessary for mitigating information security risk, including the Annex A controls that were excluded.

The primary purpose of the surveillance visits is for the certification body to assert whether your management system really works in everyday operations or not. It will focus on prospects that the certification audit wasn’t able to check: for instance, whether all the incidents are recorded, whether all corrective and preventive actions are properly recorded…