Information security management

Protect valuable data and assets, maintaining trustworthiness for competitive advantage.

What is information security management?

As the digital world continues to expand, cyber threats are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and prevalent. It's essential to have a robust process in place to protect your valuable data and assets. TÜV SÜD’s information security certification service helps you to maintain the privacy of individuals, safeguard organisational assets, and preserve the trustworthiness of systems and data.

Information security management protects information from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It involves the implementation of various measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) of data and information systems. This includes:

Personal data
Financial information
Intellectual property
Trade secrets
Other valuable or confidential data

It is a continuous process that requires ongoing monitoring, updating and improvement to adapt to evolving threats and vulnerabilities. Organisations need a combination of technical controls, policies, procedures and employee awareness to establish a robust risk profile and risk appetite.

Why information security management is important

Information security management enables organisations to maintain customer trust, comply with regulations, mitigate financial risks, gain a competitive advantage, safeguard intellectual property, and proactively manage security risks.

You risk being targeted by cyber criminals, without proper processes being in place. They create data breaches, malware attacks, phishing scams, and other malicious activities. The consequences can be devastating, including lost revenue, damaged reputation, legal penalties and even bankruptcy.

How TÜV SÜD can help you with Information security management

TÜV SÜD has extensive certification experience, under various accreditations. Our experts will challenge your risk evaluation, assess the effectiveness of your information security management process, and improve your risk mitigation.

Certification demonstrates to your customers, partners and stakeholders that you take information security seriously and are committed to protecting their sensitive data. It can also help you comply with regulatory requirements and avoid costly legal penalties.

What the TÜV SÜD information security management service includes

TÜV SÜD is accredited to carry out information security related certifications. You can pursue the following steps to achieve certification:

ow Information Security is reached: risk detection, identification of weaknesses and security threats, threat assessment, take action.

Step 1: Risk detection
It is important to involve key stakeholders, including IT teams, security professionals, legal and compliance teams, and business leaders during the risk identification process. Their insights and expertise can help identify risks specific to the organisation's industry, operations and technology environment.

Step 2: Identification of weaknesses
Identify potential weaknesses that could exploit vulnerabilities in the assets. This includes external weaknesses which have an influence on performance, as well as internal weaknesses.

Step 3: Identify security threats
Identify potential threats that could exploit vulnerabilities in the assets. This includes external threats like hackers, malware and social engineering, as well as internal threats like unauthorised access or human error.

Step 4: Threat assessment
After identifying potential threats, evaluate the impact they have on your business and stakeholders.

Step 5: Take action – information security management
Successful information security management requires information security policies and controls. Risk analysis iterations are required to check the effectiveness of implemented measures, because of the ever-changing environment. Employee training and awareness programmes are also crucial to minimise risks. Lastly, to maintain information security, you need regular monitoring, assessments and improvements.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How is information security different from cybersecurity?

Information security and cybersecurity are closely related but have slightly different scopes. Both are essential components of an organisation’s comprehensive security strategy. However, information security has a broader scope
Information security not only includes digital information, but also physical documents, personnel and other assets related to information management.
Cybersecurity deals with protecting information and systems from cyberattacks. These are malicious activities carried out over digital networks or computer systems. Cybersecurity involves the protection of computers, servers, networks and electronic data from unauthorised access, damage, theft, or disruption caused by cybercriminals, hackers, or other malicious actors.

Is certification in security a must?

Information security certification is not mandatory for all organisations, but it can provide significant benefits.
A cybersecurity certificate provides proof that a product or service is compliant with a set of defined security requirements. An independent cybersecurity audit provides CIA and helps organisations demonstrate their commitment to security best practices.
Whether certification is necessary depends on several factors. This includes industry requirements, regulatory compliance, customer expectations and the organisation's specific goals and risk tolerance.

How is information security recertification rolled out?

The information security recertification process involves re-evaluation and compliance assessment of individuals, systems, or processes. This uses established security standards, policies and controls.
It is a periodic review to ensure that security measures remain effective and that the organisation's information assets are adequately protected. Our expert staff can provide more comprehensive information on information security certification and recertifications.

What is an information security management policy?

An information security policy is a set of policies, regulations, rules and practices. It provides a framework for establishing consistent security practices, mitigating risks, distributing information, and protecting valuable assets.
The information security policy therefore serves as guideline for employees and stakeholders to understand their responsibilities and obligations regarding information security.

Who is responsible for information security?

Information security responsibility is distributed among multiple stakeholders within an organisation:

Senior Management:
Senior executives, including the CEO, CIO/ CISO, must provide leadership and set the overall direction.
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO):
Is responsible for overseeing the organisation's information security programme. They develop and implement policies, standards and procedures, ensure compliance, manage security incidents, and provide security best practices.
IT Department:
Is responsible for ensuring the day-to-day security of technology resources. This includes managing networks, systems, and infrastructure, applying security patches and updates, implementing access controls, monitoring and responding to security incidents, and conducting vulnerability assessments.
Employees:
Every employee has a responsibility to contribute to information security. Awareness training and education programmes are often provided to employees.
Third-party Vendors and Partners:
Have a shared responsibility to ensure information security. Clear contractual agreements and security requirements should be established, and regular assessments conducted.

What are the three main objectives of information security management?

The three main information security objectives are often referred to as the CIA triangle:

Confidentiality – only authorised persons, facilities, or systems have access to the information.
Integrity – ensures that information remains accurate, complete and unaltered.
Availability – guarantees the accessibility and usability of information when requested by authorised users.

These three pillars work together to establish a comprehensive framework for protecting information and supporting the organisation's operations. They must prioritise within the three pillars according to the nature of their business/processes and risk appetite. By achieving confidentiality, integrity and availability, organisations can safeguard information assets, maintain stakeholder trust, comply with regulatory requirements, and mitigate risks associated with unauthorised access, data manipulation, or service disruptions.

What are the steps in the information security management lifecycle?

The information security management lifecycle typically consists of several key steps to establish, implement and maintain an effective information security programme.

Step 1: Risk assessment
Step 2: Identification of weaknesses
Step 3: Identification of threats
Step 4: Threat assessment
Step 5: Take action – Information Security Management

The information security programme lifecycle is iterative. To adapt to evolving risks and technologies steps are repeated and refined over time. To maintain an effective information security posture within the organisation the lifecycle ensures that security measures are continually assessed, implemented, monitored and improved.