Security Governance

Security governance defines the roles and responsibilities that the board of directors and senior management play with regards to information security. And it is the set of policies, responsibilities, and procedures related to defining, managing, and overseeing security practices at an organization level as a whole. The development of a security governance program is achieved only with the support and sponsorship of senior management. Moreover, the senior leadership ensures that information security programs are effective as well as have alignment with stated business goals and business objectives in the organization, in addition to ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. And it is senior management’s control over an organization’s security program. Furthermore, security governance in an organization helps to ensure information security risks are managed appropriately and makes sure that appropriate security training for personnel at each level of the organization are provided properly.

Security governance ensures that enterprise IT resources are used responsibly and efficiently. And it enables organizations in monitoring of information security, using security metrics, risk management, and auditing procedures. Besides, it provides policy enforcement and senior management accountability and liability issues.

Security governance is the set of all organizational processes and strategies involved in defining and managing information security policies and procedures. It includes the oversight to ensure that those policies and procedures follow the direction of the organization’s strategy and mission. All security governance endeavors are enterprise wide and integrated into the business requirements and processes of the organization. And it would decrease the risk of civil or criminal liability to the organization’s senior leadership. Because security governance is ultimately the responsibility of the board of directors (BoD) and senior management.

Security governance is used to establish and maintain an information security governance framework and supporting processes to make sure that the information security strategy is aligned with organizational goals and objectives. Furthermore, it refers to a collection of top-down activities intended to control the security organization from a strategic perspective to ensure that information security supports the business. And it defines objectives, strategy, policy, priorities, standards, processes, controls, program and project management, and reporting activities. Moreover, security governance is usually maintained by security governance group or committee who represents personnel from all functional units.

A governance committee is a group of executives and leaders who regularly meet to set the direction of the company’s security function and provide guidance to help the security function align with the company’s overall mission and business strategy. Moreover, governance committees review ongoing and planned projects, operational metrics, and any other security matters that may concern the business as a whole. The primary objective of a governance committee is to provide oversight for the company’s security function, while ensuring that the security function continues to meet the needs of the organization and its stakeholders.

Establishing a security aware culture requires all levels of the organization to consider security as integral, and part-and-parcel of its activities. The organization’s governance structure, when setting the vision for the organization, should ensure that protecting the organization’s assets and meeting the compliance requirements are integral to acting as good stewards of the organization. Once the organization’s governance structure implements policies that reflect its level of acceptable risk, management can act with diligence to implement good security practices.