Build an Information Security Strategy

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Build an Information Security Strategy
Tailor best practices to effectively manage information security.

This Research is Designed For: This Research Will Help You:
This Research Will Assist: This Research Will Help You:
This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You:
This Research Will Also Assist: This Research Will Help Them:
Our understanding of the problem
Security leaders or IT leaders who are tasked
with developing a security strategy
CISOs/CSOs who would like to improve their
security strategy and ensure that it is
comprehensive enough for today’s threat
landscape
Understand current security practices
capabilities and performance
Understand your security obligations, scope,
boundaries, and responsibilities
Establish a security target state based on your
organizational context
Develop a strategy and roadmap to help you
achieve your security target state
CEOs and other business leaders who want to
understand which elements should be involved
in a good security strategy
Understand the value of good security
practices

Resolution
Situation
Complication
Info-Tech Insight
Executive Summary
Technology sophistication and business adoption, the proliferation of
hacking techniques, and the expansion of hacking motivations from
financial to now social, political, or strategic motivations have resulted in
organizations facing major security risk. Every organization needs some
kind of information security program to protect their systems and assets.
Organizations today face pressures from regulatory or legal obligations,
customer requirements, and now senior management expectations.
Performing an accurate assessment of your current security operations and
maturity levels can be extremely hard when you don’t know what to assess
or how, not to mention an assessment alone is only the starting point.
Senior management wants to know that adequate targets have been
determined and there is a robust plan on how they are going to be met.
Info-Tech has developed and tested a robust information security framework with supporting methodologies to generate your
organization’s comprehensive, highly actionable, and measurable security strategy and roadmap:
• Info-Tech’s best of breed security framework combines COBIT 5, PCI DSS, ISO 27000 series, NIST SP 800-53, and SANS
security components to ensure all areas of security are considered and covered.
• Robust security requirements gathering across the organization, key stakeholders, customers, regulators, and other
parties ensure the security strategy is built in alignment to and support of enterprise and IT strategies and plans.
• A comprehensive current state assessment, gap analysis, and initiative generation ensures nothing is left off the table.
• Tested and proven rationalization and prioritization methodologies ensure the strategy you generate is not only the one the
organization needs, but the one the organization will support.
Best of Breed
It’s hard to know which security framework is
best. Info-Tech analyzed and integrated
frameworks to ensure an exhaustive
approach to security.
Alignment
Security is still a friction point and viewed as a
cost center. Align your security strategy with
corporate and IT strategies to ensure support.
Communication
To have a strategy implemented, you need to
communicate to stakeholders in their
language and show their concerns and
perspectives were accounted for.

Use these icons to help direct you as you navigate this research
This icon denotes a slide where a supporting Info-Tech tool or template will help you perform
the activity or step associated with the slide. Refer to the supporting tool or template to get
the best results and proceed to the next step of the project.
This icon denotes a slide with an associated activity. The activity can be performed either as
part of your project or with the support of Info-Tech team analysts, who will come onsite to
facilitate a workshop for your organization.
Use these icons to help guide you through each step of the blueprint and direct you to content related to
the recommended activities.

Consulting
“Our team does not
have the time or the
knowledge to take this
project on. We need
assistance through the
entirety of this project.”
Guided
Implementation
“Our team knows that
we need to fix a
process, but we need
assistance to
determine where to
focus. Some check-ins
along the way would
help keep us on track.”
DIY Toolkit
“Our team has already
made this critical
project a priority, and
we have the time and
capability, but some
guidance along the
way would be helpful.”
Workshop
“We need to hit the
ground running and
get this project kicked
off immediately. Our
team has the ability to
take this over once we
get a framework and
strategy in place.”
Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options
Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your
needs

Best-Practice
Toolkit
1.1 Introduce security
management
1.2 Understand business and
IT strategy and plans
1.3 Define security obligations,
scope, and boundaries
1.4 Define risk tolerance level
1.5 Assess security risk profile
2.1 Assess current security
capabilities and
performance
2.2 Review pen test results
2.3 Define security target state
3.1 Identify security gaps
3.2 Build initiatives to bridge
the gap
3.3 Estimate the resources
needed
3.4 Prioritize gap initiatives
3.5 Determine start time and
accountability
4.1 Finalize security roadmap
and action plan
4.2 Build a security charter
4.3 Build the security program
organizational structure
4.4 Create a change and
communication plan
4.5 Develop a metrics program
4.6 Develop a security services
catalog
Guided
Implementations
Review the scope of the
security strategy plans
Define the organizational
risk tolerance
Assess the security risk
profile of the business
Perform a current state
assessment of the security
controls
Determine the future target
state of the security
controls
Identify existing gaps and
create gap initiatives to
close the gaps
Determine the benefit,
cost, and resources
needed for each initiative
Build a roadmap based on
the security initiatives
Optimize your strategy
Onsite
Workshop
Module 1:
Assess Security Requirements
Module 2:
Perform a Gap Analysis
Module 3:
Continue the Gap Analysis
Module 4:
Plan for the Transition
Phase 1 Results:
• Security obligations
statement
• Security scope and
boundaries statement
• Security risk profile
• Defined risk tolerance level
Phase 2 Results:
• Current security capabilities
• Target future state defined
Phase 3 Results:
• Security program gaps
identified
• Gap initiatives defined
• Estimated effort, budget,
and resource readiness
assessment
Phase 4 Results:
• Security roadmap and
action plan
• Security charter
• Change and communication
plan
• Metrics program
• Security services catalog
Assess Security
Requirements
Perform a
Gap Analysis
Develop
Gap Initiatives
Plan for the
Transition
Information security project overview

Workshop overview
Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
Workshop Day 1 Workshop Day 2 Workshop Day 3 Workshop Day 4 Workshop Day 5
Activities
Assess security
requirements
Perform a gap analysis Develop gap initiatives Plan for the transition
Communicate and
implement
1.1 Introduce security
management
1.2 Understand business
and IT strategy and
plans
1.3 Define security
obligations, scope,
and boundaries
1.4 Define risk tolerance
level
1.5 Assess security
pressure posture
2.1 Assess current
security capabilities
and performance
2.2 Review pen test
results
2.3 Define security target
state
3.1 Identify security gaps
3.2 Build initiatives to
bridge the gap
3.3 Estimate the
resources needed
3.4 Prioritize gap
initiatives
3.5 Determine start time
and accountability
4.1 Finalize security
roadmap and action
plan
4.2 Create a change and
communication plan
4.3a Build a security
charter
4.3b Build the security
program
organizational
structure
4.3c Develop a metrics
program
4.3d Develop a security
services catalog
5.1 Finalize deliverables
5.2 Support
communication efforts
5.3 Identify resources in
support of priority
initiatives
Deliverables
1. Security obligations
statement
2. Security scope and
boundaries statement
3. Defined risk tolerance
level
4. Security pressure
posture
1. Security capabilities
and performance report
2. Security future state
1. Future state–current
state gap analysis
2. Initiatives to address
the gap
3. Estimated effort
needed
4. Budget & resource
readiness analysis
1. Security roadmap and
action plan
2. Security charter
3. Change and
communication plan
4. Metrics program
5. Security services
catalog
1. Security strategy and
roadmap
deck/document
2. Mapping of Info-Tech
resources against
individual initiatives

Info-Tech’s framework integrates several best practices to
create a best-of-breed security framework
COBIT
5
ISO 27000 Series
Comprehensive standard
providing best practices
associated with each control
PCI-DSS
Provides more detailed
instructions than most other best
practices but not much breadth
SANS Twenty Critical
Security Controls
Provides a great list of controls
for effective cyber defence
NIST SP800 Series
Provides a detailed list of security
controls along with many
implementation best practices
intended for federal information
systems and organizations
COBIT 5 for Security
More principle and process-based
than other best practices
SANS
Critical
Controls
NIST
SP800-
53
ISO
27000
series PCI-DSS
Info-Tech’s Best-of-Breed
Information Security
Framework

Practical component level of Information Security Program
Framework
InformationSecurityFramework
GovernanceManagement
Context and Leadership Evaluation and Direction Compliance, Audit and Review
Information Security Charter
Culture and Awareness
Information Security
Organizational Structure
Security Risk Management
Security Strategy and
Communication
Security Policies
Security Compliance
Management
External Security Audit
Management Review of
Security
Internal Security Audit
Prevention
Detection
Response and Recovery
Measurement
Identity and Access Management
Identity Security
Data Security
Hardware Asset Management
Data Security & Privacy
Infrastructure Security
Network Security
Metrics Program
Endpoint Security
Malicious Code
Application Security
Vulnerability Management
Cryptography
Management
Physical Security
Configuration and Change
Management
Vendor Management
Security Threat Detection Log and Event Management
Security Incident Management
Security eDiscovery and
Forensics
Backup and Recovery
Information Security in BCM
Continuous Improvement
Change and Support HR Security
HR Security
Cloud Security

Domain level of Information Security Program FrameworkInformationSecurityFramework
Governance
Management
Prevention
Detection
Response
and
Recovery
Assurance Measurement
Metrics Program
Continuous
Improvement
Context and
Leadership
Evaluation
and
Direction
Compliance,
Audit and
Review
Management Commitment
Strategic Alignment
Confident or Risk/Compliance Posture
Defence in Depth
People, Process, Technology
Flexibility to Trends
Result-Orientated
Transparency
Continuous Improvement

Info-Tech’s Information Security Methodology and Maturity
Level Model
Context and
Leadership
Evaluation and
Direction
Compliance
and Review
Prevention Detection
Response
and Recovery
Measurement
ML: 5
ML: 4
ML: 3
ML: 2
ML: 1
Each security area has five
possible maturity levels
• This generates a security maturity
matrix and is the basis for the
framework.
Collectively, these seven areas form Info-Tech’s information Security Framework
• These areas were designed by Info-Tech to be process- and management-based areas that can
be evaluated independently of each other.
• Each security component has many sub-components
1
2
All seven security areas are evaluated on the
five-level maturity model
• Using info-Tech scoring methodology, sub
components are evaluated individually with the
aggregate scores generating the component scores.
3
Target scores for each security area are identified
• The security maturity model is used to identify maturity levels that meet
the organization’s security requirements.
• From the current state maturity levels and target levels, gaps are
identified and developed into initiatives to be completed.
4
The best advice I can give is to bring everything together
end to end. Don’t limit yourself in any one focused
area…If you take an end-to-end approach instead of
trying to focus on specific areas and compartmentalize
them, you will be 100% more successful.
– Technology Services, USA
Building a holistic framework ensures that all
your bases are covered while preventing
duplications of the same functions, resulting
in a more efficient program.

Navigate the 4 phases of the blueprint using this table of
contents and deliverables
Phase 1: Assess security
requirements
Phase 2: Perform a gap
analysis
Phase 3: Develop gap
initiatives
Phase 4: Plan for the
transition
1.1 Introduce Security Management 2.1 Assess current security
capabilities
3.1 Identify security gaps 4.1 Finalize the security roadmap and
action plan
Template: Information Security
Strategy Workbook Template
Tool: Information Security Program
Gap Analysis and Roadmap Tool
1.2 Understand business and IT
strategy plans
2.2 Review penetration test results 3.2 Build initiatives to bridge the gap 4.2 Build a security charter
Prerequisite: Penetration Test
Results Report
Template: Information Security Charter
Template
1.3 Define security obligations,
scope, and boundaries
2.3 Define security target state 3.3 Estimate resources needed 4.3 Build the security program
organizational structure
Template: Security Governance
Organizational Structure Template
1.4 Define risk tolerance level 3.4 Prioritize gap initiatives 4.4 Create a change and
communication plan
Information Security Communication
Plan Template
1.5 Assess security risk profile 3.5 Determine start time and
accountability
4.5 Develop a metrics program
Tool: Security Pressure Posture
Analysis Tool
Tool: Security Metrics Tool
4.6 Develop a security services
catalog
Template: Security Services Catalog

Build an Information Security Strategy

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