Writing Information Security Policies (Landmark) (Paperback)

by Scott Barman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Administrators, more technically savvy than their managers, have started to secure the networks in a way they see as appropriate. When management catches up to the notion that security is important, system administrators have already altered the goals and business practices. Although they may be grateful to these people for keeping the network secure, their efforts do not account for all assets and business requirementsFinally, someone decides it is time to write a security policy. Management is told of the necessity of the policy document, and they support its development. A manager or administrator is assigned to the task and told to come up with something, and fast!Once security policies are written, they must be treated as living documents. As technology and business requirements change, the policy must be updated to reflect the new environment--at least one review per year. Additionally, policies must include provisions for security awareness and enforcement while not impeding corporate goals. This book serves as a guide to writing and maintaining these all-important security policies.

From the Back Cover
Finally, someone decides it is time to write a security policy. Management is told of the necessity of the policy document, and they support its development. A manager or administrator is assigned to the task and told to come up with something, and fast! Once security policies are written, they must be treated as living documents. As technology and business requirements change, the policy must be updated to reflect the new environment--at least one review per year. Additionally, policies must include provisions for security awareness and enforcement while not impeding corporate goals. This book serves as a guide to writing and maintaining these all-important security policies.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sams (November 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157870264X
• ISBN-13: 978-1578702640
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #227,015 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not thorough or rigorous, but a good set of secpol topics, July 20, 2002

By	Jeffrey R. McNeill (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - See all my reviews

Security policies are not security, and will not provide any protection. However, as the well-known formulation has it: security is a process. An organization does not "have" security, rather they participate in the process of security. Barnum explains that security policies are a component of the planning aspect of the security process, and as such can provide three advantages. The first is to insure security interoperability across an organization. The second advantage is the visibility given to the policy by management's participation in it, which provides a greater impetus for implementation. The third is to mitigate liability, presumably by the legal value of the policy, and the advantages to security that a policy-driven approach proves. Another reason mentioned is that for some organizations, policy documentation is needed for iso900x compliance. Unstated is the assumption that a security policy might result in greater security. After all, even with all the other purported advantages, a security policy is presumptively about making security better.

At 216 pages, "Writing Information Security Policies" seems just the right size to touch all the bases, but not enough for a home run in the subject area. Good worklike effort, but the diversity of subject matter, and a lack of focus and internal theoretical structure robs the work of providing insightful organizational direction, though it still pays dividends, and is ultimately very worth reading.

The book is divided into three sections. The first is titled "Starting the policy process," and includes such issues as policy needs and roles and responsibilities in the policy process. The second section is writing the security policies in the topical areas. The third is on maintaining policies, including acceptable use and compliance and enforcement. In the first section, the discussion includes such items as:

1. Identification of assets
2. Data security
3. Backups and archives
4. Intellectual property rights
5. Incident response and forensics

It is clear from these topics that though the title of the book is Information Security Policies, a more accurate one might be Information and Communication Technology Security Policies, as it is networks and software systems which are the focus throughout.

As far as real-world recommendations and a more serious framework for security policies at highly secured organizations, the reader will have to search elsewhere. However, this book amply suits the need for a series of more conversational approaches to a variety of ICT security policies and subject areas. Also of use are the distinctions between policy, procedure, and implementation, found scattered throughout this book, though unfortunately not strictly adhered to. And though the sample administrative policies found in the appendix are nowhere complete, there are helpful policy formulations throughout. In the second section, the seven major areas of discussion that offer the heart of the book are more of a topical arrangement, than any hierarchical or conceptual approach. They include security policy concerned with the following subject areas:

1. Physical
2. Authentication and network
3. Internet
4. Email
5. Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses
6. Encryption
7. Software development

There is enough that is badly worded and poorly organized in the book, but it is of real benefit--both on its own merits, and because there is little information of this kind available to practitioners and those managers who might want something that is more than a simple set of forms, but is less than a week-long course in security policy.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get it (now read why), January 31, 2002

By	E. Danielyan (London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is difficult to find a book on security or a security consultant which wouldn't tell you that an information security policy is a mandatory requirement for any security-conscious organization. However it is even more difficult to write a meaningful and working security policy document which makes sense or to find someone qualified to do that from both business and technical viewpoints. While Scott Barman's book doesn't help you with finding qualified staff or consultants, it can help you become one. In about 200 pages the author manages to explain the need for information security policies, tells you how to approach this animal and shows how to define and write policies. There is no much technical details in this book - and that's the best part of it. Technical details change very often; good business and security practices don't. With this book the author starts at the very beginning ("Why do I need a security policy?") and goes on to actually helping you write one for your organization, system, or network. With sample policies which you can use, and with a good index of resources in the appendix this book is a good choice if you need to understand and/or define information security policies.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings best practices to small companies, July 5, 2002

By	Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

What makes this book an important addition to the IT security body of knowledge is that it makes a case for, and shows how to, create and implement IT security policies in small-to-medium enterprises.

The book itself is a short, somewhat superficial, treatment of IT security policies. It has strengths and weaknesses:

STRENGTHS: It makes a compelling business case for having IT security policies, then leads you through the creation of the more common ones. This material is augmented by the book's accompanying web site that provides all of the sample policies in Appendix C in HTML format (most modern word processing programs, such as MS Word can convert this to their native format without losing any of the embedded styles). Note that the URL given in the book has changed, but it is still active and automatically redirects you to the new URL.

In addition, the book touches on important topics that you may not think of if you're attempting to develop policies on your own. For example, intellectual property rights, law enforcement issues and forensics. These are touched upon, but will raise your awareness of their importance.

WEAKNESSES: The actual development and maintenance of policies is almost an afterthought. Moreover, I thought that a structured approach to threat and vulnerability assessments should have been covered (to be fair, the author discusses major threats on practically every page). I also felt that the policies should have been linked to processes, which is the hallmark of a well written policy, and the importance of clearly defining roles and responsibilities should have been highlighted. I recommend that readers also get a copy of Steve Pages " Achieving 100% Compliance of Policies and Procedures" (ISBN 1929065493) to supplement this book. Page's book is focused solely on policies and procedures development, and will fill in the gaps left in this book.

Overall, this book deserves recognition for raising awareness of the importance of IT security policies to small companies. It also deserves credit for sticking to the fundamentals (cited weaknesses notwithstanding), without overwhelming small enterprise IT professionals who are probably wearing many hats besides IT security. For that audience this book shows the way, and earns my praise.