Monday, July 30, 2007

Information Security Policy 101 – Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy



Part 17 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

Some organizations call on the support of a third-party and/or vendor rarely. Other organizations have third-party support personnel in and out of various areas all day, every day. Most organizations fall somewhere in the middle. I cannot think of a single organization that has not allowed a third-party and/or vendor at least physical access to restricted areas to conduct seemingly innocent tasks.

Question: What governs a vendor and/or other third party's access?

Answer: Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy.

NOTE: Some organizations have already negotiated detailed contracts with vendors and other third-party entities. In some instances an existing contract may need to be appended, a new contract drawn up, or a waiver request approved.

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Vendor Access Policy is to establish the
rules for vendor access to %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources and support
services (A/C, UPS, PDU, fire suppression, etc.), vendor responsibilities, and
protection of %ORGANIZATION% information. Vendor access to
%ORGANIZATION% Information Resources is granted solely for the work
contracted and for no other purposes.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Third-Party/Vendor Access Policy typically applies to those persons involved in contracting third-party/vendor support and representatives of the third-party/vendor itself.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Vendor Access Policy applies to all individuals that are
responsible for the installation of new %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource
assets, and the operations and maintenance of existing %ORGANIZATION%
Information Resources, and who do or may allow vendor access for support,
maintenance, monitoring and/or troubleshooting purposes.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy
The Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy is longer and more in-depth than some of the policies we have covered most recently. Use the information gleaned from your business assessment to determine to what extent your policy should be detailed towards the information resources you are trying to protect.

TIP: Have your legal department (or whoever is in charge for negotiating contracts) review the policy in detail. You may also choose to have your legal department assist you in the drafting of this policy.

SAMPLE THIRD-PARTY/VENDOR ACCESS POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Vendors must comply with all applicable %ORGANIZATION% policies, practice standards and agreements, including, but not limited to:
@ Safety Policies
@ Privacy Policies
@ Security Policies
@ Auditing Policies
@ Software Licensing Policies
@ Acceptable Use Policies
- Vendor agreements and contracts must specify:
@ The %ORGANIZATION% information the vendor should have access to
@ How %ORGANIZATION% information is to be protected by the vendor
@ Acceptable methods for the return, destruction or disposal of %ORGANIZATION% information in the vendor’s possession at the end of the contract
@ The Vendor must only use %ORGANIZATION% information and Information Resources for the purpose of the business agreement
@ Any other %ORGANIZATION% information acquired by the vendor in the course of the contract cannot be used for the vendor’s own purposes or divulged to others

Conclusion
The draft, approval, and implementation of a Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy will assist in ensuring that information security is forethought in contract negotiations and no longer an afterthought. Seasoned information security personnel understand the benefit of information security applied early on vs. retrofitting an existing solution with security after the fact.

Download the SAMPLE VENDOR/THIRD-PARTY ACCESS POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Virus Protection Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Software Licensing Policy”
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Information Security Policy 101 – Software Licensing Policy



Part 16 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

“The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is gearing up for a final push to convince companies to fill in their voluntary audit forms.” – VNUNet.com UK

“Thirty-five percent of the world's software is pirated. Software piracy is not only a crime, but it can destroy computers and data.” – Business Software Alliance

There is little doubt that the use of unlicensed and/or pirated software can pose significant risk to an organization’s information resources and assets. Risks can range from malware installation to significant fines. You may notice that there is some slight overlap between the Software Licensing Policy and our Acceptable Use Policy. If you remember, there was mention of using “unauthorized” software in our Acceptable Use Policy.

NOTE: A well-written software licensing policy can limit the amount of time required to satisfy BSA requests for information because it demonstrates proactive action on the part of the organization.

TIP: Many Windows-based organizations grant their users local administrator rights to their workstations. Disallowing this practice can significantly reduce the risk of users installing unauthorized and/or unlicensed software.

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Software Licensing Policy is to establish
the rules for licensed software use on %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Software Licensing Policy applies to all of an organization’s information resource users.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Software Licensing Policy applies equally to all
individuals that use any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Software Licensing Policy
Like many of the policies already covered in this series, the Software Licensing Policy is short and simple. The policy makes management’s views regarding software licensing “official”.

SAMPLE SOFTWARE LICENSING POLICY STATEMENTS:

- %ORGANIZATION% provides a sufficient number of licensed copies of software such that workers can get their work done in an expedient and effective manner. Management must make appropriate arrangements with the involved vendor(s) for additional licensed copies if and when additional copies are needed for business activities.
- Users must refrain from knowingly violating license agreements and/or requirements.
- Third party copyrighted information or software, that %ORGANIZATION% does not have specific approval to store and/or use, must not be stored on %ORGANIZATION% systems or networks. Systems administrators reserve the right to remove such information and software unless the involved users can provide proof of authorization from the rightful owner(s).

Conclusion
A well-written Software Licensing Policy can save an organization a considerable amount of time and effort, especially given how easy it is to write and get approved. A subject of much debate is the BSA’s million dollar reward to turn-in software pirates:

BSA Rewards Page:
https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/rewardsconditions.aspx

A twist:

Would You Rat Out Your Boss for $1 Million?: http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/004849.html

Wouldn’t it be nice to take out the drama by using a simple policy and enforcement?

Download the SAMPLE SOFTWARE LICENSING POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Vendor/Third-Party Access Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Security Training and Awareness Policy”
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Information Security Policy 101 – Security Training and Awareness Policy



OK, we're back!

Part 15 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

“there is a substantial increase in the respondents’ perception of the importance of security awareness training. On average, respondents from most sectors do not believe their organization invests enough in this area.” - 2006 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey. If I were going to overspend on any one area of my information security program, it would be for information security training and awareness.

Information security personnel can write whatever they want in their policies, but if nobody is aware of the policies or trained on how they can comply with them then what good are they?

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Information Security Training and Awareness
Policy is to describe the requirements that must be met, in order ensure that each user of
%ORGANIZATION% Information Resources receives adequate training on information
security issues.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Security Training and Awareness Policy applies to all of an organization’s information resource users.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Information Security Training and Awareness Policy applies
equally to all individuals that use any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Security Training and Awareness Policy
The Security Training and Awareness Policy is a simple policy that states what management expects and gives authority to information security personnel. The policy should state general rules that the audience must comply with and lay the groundwork for the training program.

SAMPLE SECURITY TRAINING AND AWARENESS POLICY STATEMENTS:

- All new users must complete an approved Security Awareness training class prior to, or at least within 30 days of, being granted access to any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources.
- All users must acknowledge they have read and understand the ORGANIZATION% Corporate Information Security Policy
- All users (employees, consultants, contractors, temporaries, etc.) must be provided with this policy to allow them to properly protect %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources.

Conclusion
Do not underestimate the importance of a formal information security training and awareness program. Understand that many people do not understand their critical role in keeping organization assets secure.

TIP: Find things that you can use to prove a ROI in you training and awareness program. I have used help desk staff in the past for this. We took a one month time frame before information security training, where we tracked the number of laptops that came in for service from field staff with passwords on Post-it notes before training. We tracked the same afterwards then calculated a percentage and extrapolated the number over a one year period. The change was dramatic.

Download the SAMPLE SECURITY TRAINING AND AWARENESS POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Software Licensing Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Privacy Policy”
And here is the rest of it.
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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Update

To The Trusted Toolkit Blog Readers:

I have been caught up this week with a pretty serious investigation which I cannot detail publicly, so I have fallen behind on my schedule of delivering information security policies.

Stay Tuned. I will be publishing the "catch-up" postings soon. In the meantime, I suggest shoring up your incident response policy and procedures if you have not done so already. Mine are saving me a bunch of time and embarrasment this week!

Thanks for reading! Read more!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Information Security Policy 101 – Privacy Policy



Part 14 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

Writing an organization's privacy policy is not as clear-cut as it may seem. An entire book could easily be written around privacy in the workplace. What an organization states, what it actually does, and what an employee reasonably expects are all critical to privacy/employment matters. To make things worse, privacy rights are not entirely clear under the law.

Two rules of privacy rights (although you could probably come up with more):


One, Write a policy that is focused. Do NOT write “you have no expectation of privacy” as a blanket statement. Privacy is not “all or nothing”.

Two, Do what you say you are going to do consistently. Do NOT follow your policy only when there is an enforcement action. As the US Supreme Court has noted, "[W]hile police, and even administrative enforcement personnel, conduct searches for the primary purpose of obtaining evidence for use in criminal or other enforcement proceedings, employers most frequently need to enter the offices and desks of their employees for legitimate work-related reasons wholly unrelated to illegal conduct."

TIP: Privacy policy should be reviewed by a legal counselor that is familiar with privacy rights and law. Many corporate counselors are not experts in this area.


General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Privacy Policy is to clearly communicate
the %ORGANIZATION% privacy expectations to Information Resource users.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Privacy Policy should apply to all personnel, and in some cases (depending on your organization) contractors, vendors, and other third-parties.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Privacy Policy applies equally to all individuals who use
any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Privacy Policy
Privacy policy is a critical policy in most organizations and needs to clearly communicate what amount of privacy a user should expect when using the organization information assets.

NOTE: A very good article written by Mark Rasch; Employee Privacy, Employer Policy.

SAMPLE PRIVACY POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Electronic files created, sent, received, or stored on Information Resources owned, leased, administered, or otherwise under the custody and control of %ORGANIZATION% are not private and may be accessed by %ORGANIZATION% Information Security employees at any time, under the direction of %ORGANIZATION% executive management and/or Human Resources, without knowledge of the Information Resource user or owner.
- To manage systems and enforce security, %ORGANIZATION% may log, review, and otherwise utilize any information stored on or passing through its Information Resource systems in accordance with the provisions and safeguards provided in %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource standards. For these same purposes, %ORGANIZATION% may also capture user activity such as telephone numbers dialed and web sites visited.

Conclusion
Be careful in using a sample Privacy Policy. Be sure that it fits your organization and internal processes. A poorly written or implemented Privacy Policy can leave your organization open to a legal quagmire. Most of the investigation and forensic work I have done in the past has been governed by what the organization’s Privacy Policy stated.

Download the SAMPLE PRIVACY POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Security Training and Awareness Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Mobile Computing Policy”

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Monday, July 23, 2007

Information Security Policy 101 – Mobile Computing Policy



Part 13 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

Few things in my profession give me more shivers than the amount and sensitivity of data that is carried outside the corporate boundary every day on mobile devices such as PDAs, laptops, and Smartphones. Without effective controls mobile devices are easily lost or stolen, data transmissions are easily intercepted, and shoulder-surfing is commonplace. Nearly every week a company is forced to publicly disclose a lost or stolen laptop that contained personally identifiable data (PII).

See: http://attrition.org/dataloss/, http://breachalerts.trustedid.com/, http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/breaches.html, http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm


Often information security is a discipline that constantly attempts to balance the risk of using a technology versus the business benefits gained as a result from such use. How can an information security professional effectively balance the risks inherent with using mobile devices while still allowing the business to benefit from their use?

In order to provide protection to the data that may be contained on a mobile device, organizations must extend protections and controls to such devices. Protection starts with policy.

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Mobile Computing Security Policy is to
establish the rules for the use of mobile computing devices and their connection to the
network. These rules are necessary to preserve the Integrity, Availability, and
Confidentiality of %ORGANIZATION% information.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Mobile Security Policy applies to all individuals in the organization that use, possess, manage, secure, and/or approve the use of mobile devices.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Mobile Computing Security Policy applies equally to all
individuals that utilize mobile computing devices and access %ORGANIZATION%
Information Resources.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Mobile Computing Policy
If an organization does not use or allow the use of mobile devices, then a simple statement in an Acceptable Use policy may be all that is needed. If the organization does allow the use of mobile computing devices, general rules around this usage need to be communicated to all relevant personnel. As with all policies, the Mobile Computing Policy should state general rules, leaving room supporting documentation (procedures, standards, and guidelines) to define the specifics.

NOTE: At least 35 states have laws regarding security breach notification and most have safe harbor provisions around data that has been encrypted.

SAMPLE MOBILE COMPUTING POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Only %ORGANIZATION% approved portable computing devices may be used to access %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources.
- Portable computing devices must, at a minimum be password protected in accordance with the %ORGANIZATION% Password Policy.
- %ORGANIZATION% Confidential data should not be stored on portable computing devices. However, in the event that there is no alternative to local storage, all Confidential %ORGANIZATION% data must be encrypted using approved encryption techniques, wherever possible.

Conclusion
Due to the increased risks that mobile computing devices pose to many organizations and the increased reliance on these devices to complete “business critical” tasks, it is recommended that a stand-alone Mobile Computing Policy be developed.

Download the SAMPLE MOBILE COMPUTING POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Mobile Computing Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Physical Security Policy”
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Information Security Policy 101 – Physical Security Policy



Part 12 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

In some organizations “physical” security and “information” security are separated into different groups or teams. Whether this is a good idea or not has been the subject of some debate over the years. One issue that should not be debated is the tight interdependence between the two.

Information security is a balance of physical, logical, and administrative controls. Every control must have its roots written in somewhere in policy.

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Physical Security Policy is to establish the
rules for the granting, control, monitoring, and removal of physical access to
Information Resource facilities.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Physical Security Policy applies to any person or entity that has the potential to physically interact with information resources or facilities that house information resources under the control of an organization. The policy is specifically written to provide direction to those individuals whom are charged with maintaining physical security.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Physical Security Policy applies to all
%ORGANIZATION% individuals that install and support Information Resources, are
charged with Information Resource security and data owners.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Physical Security Policy
The form that a Physical Security Policy takes is dependant on many factors. This article is written with small to medium sized organizations in mind. These organizations do not typically have the staff to support a separate physical security group and/or opt to integrate physical security into a single information security program. In order to determine where a physical security policy fits best in an organization the earlier business assessment should be used.

NOTE: Physical security policy is a must in almost all organizations. If physical security is not adequately defined and applied, all other controls could be easily defeated.

SAMPLE PHYSICAL SECURITY POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Physical security systems must comply with all applicable regulations including but not limited to building codes and fire prevention codes.
- Physical access to all %ORGANIZATION% restricted facilities must be documented and managed.
- All Information Resource facilities must be physically protected in proportion to the criticality or importance of their function at %ORGANIZATION%.

Conclusion
The science involved with physical security is often specialized and there seem to be a limitless supply of available technologies and controls that can be applied. The physical Security Policy should be written in broad enough terms as to not restrict the use of any one specific control. The policy does not usually require an in-depth knowledge of all the available controls, whereas the application and implementation typically do. In most cases, I write the policy then call upon physical security consultants to design effective controls.

NOTE: If you have a keen interest in the physical nature of information security and would like to demonstrate your mastery, check out the Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification from ASIS International.

Download the SAMPLE PHYSICAL SECURITY POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Mobile Computing Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Password Policy”
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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Information Security Policy 101 – Password Policy



Part 11 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

Passwords get a bad rap. Nobody likes them, users, administrators, and information security personnel alike. Users don’t like passwords because us “information security police” make them so complex and hard to remember, administrators don’t like them because they have so many that they have to remember, and information security personnel don’t like them because they are arguably the most insecure means of authentication.

All the more reason and justification for a Password Policy.

A Password Policy should be required in all organizations that rely on passwords as a source of authentication.

Let’s get to it.

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:.
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Password Policy is to establish the rules for the creation, distribution, safeguarding, termination, and reclamation of %ORGANIZATION% user authentication mechanisms.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Password Policy aptly applies to any person or entity uses a password.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Password Policy applies equally to all individuals who use any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Password Policy
The Password Policy should communicate the general rules for password creation, use, storage, transmission and destruction (the “lifecycle”). Most likely the policy will state many general security “best practices” of password management along with some home grown statements based on the business assessment.

NOTE: People will inevitably break some rules in password policy. It is proven that the number and severity of incidents can be reduced by training and awareness. Give users a better way to do things rather than telling them what they cannot do.

SAMPLE PASSWORD POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Password history must be kept to prevent the reuse of passwords
- Stored passwords are classified as Confidential Data and must be encrypted

Conclusion
A Password Policy is not just an efficient method of communicating good password management practices, but it is also an implement for enforcement. A well-written and implemented Password Policy can significantly reduce the amount of risk to the organization’s information.

Download the SAMPLE PASSWORD POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Physical Security Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Network Access Policy”
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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

107,000 More Records Compromised



This time it's 27,000 names, addresses, and credit cards numbers lost by Kingston Technology Company and 80,000 names, addresses, and social security numbers lost by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Kingston Technology (27,000)
Wouldn't you know it, there is no mention of this breach anywhere on Kingston's homepage.

Apparently the data was taken through unauthorized access of purchase information made at www.shop.kingston.com. What makes this interesting is that this breach supposedly happened in September, 2005 but went undetected until "recently".

Who is the victim?
"After confirming what data was accessed and who was affected, Kingston had to gather the appropriate contact information and arrange for consumer protection services and materials to notify the impacted consumers," the spokesman said.

Sound Familiar?
"The note added that, for the moment at least, there is no evidence that the illegally accessed data has been misused"

Kingston has an impressive track record of protecting information, and I get the feeling that they will only improve.

News: Computerworld
Letter to the New Hampshire Attorney General

Louisiana Board of Regents (80,000)
The Louisiana Board of Regents has a link on their homepage to some additional details.

I have to admit, this one has me a little miffed! I do not like how the data was compromised, how long it took to detect it, or the official Board of Regents (BOR) response.

The Compromise
A student found/stumbled on the data using Google. The student found a database of student names and 150 other files that he claimed contain up to 75,000 more names of students and employees. This information was accessible from the Internet without any protection whatsoever. According to BOR:

Groups Potentially Affected

Any student who was enrolled in the 10th grade at a Louisiana public high school and took the EPAS (Educational Planning and Assessment) Plan test between 2001 and 2003.
Any Louisiana public college or university faculty or staff member who was employed in either 2000 or 2001.


It is unclear how long the data may have been exposed, but it may have been "as long as two years".

The Response
The official response leaves something to be desired, for sure! Basically, all the BOR seems to have done is make the data inaccessible and offer some tips for those who may have been affected. How about STOP USING SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AS IDENTIFICATION!!!

While researching this incident, I found a document titled "File Layout STS Student Transcript System". Data Element Name: State Identification Number --> Social Security Number, if available. Otherwise, a temporary number assigned according to LDE guidelines.

News: WDSU News Channel 6
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Information Security Policy 101 – Network Access Policy



Part 10 in the Information Security Policy 101 Series

This is now the 10th entry into the “Information Security Policy 101” series. Are these policies starting to blur at all? Are they all starting to look the same? Believe it or not, the policies look similar on purpose and there are statements in one that may be found in another (also on purpose). The repetition can make things a little boring for the information security personnel, but it really does help “normal” people retain the information.

The Network Access Policy is found in many organizations, or at least the language of the policy statements. Often I will find Network Access Policy statements included in an Acceptable Use Policy instead. Tomayto tomahto.

As always…

General Policy Format
All information security policies should have the following sections at a minimum:

Purpose – This is the stated purpose of the policy and clearly communicates why it was written.

SAMPLE:
Purpose
The purpose of the %ORGANIZATION% Network Access Policy is to establish the rules for the access and use of the %ORGANIZATION% network infrastructure. These rules are necessary to preserve the integrity, availability and confidentiality of %ORGANIZATION% information.

Audience – This section of the policy states who the policy statements apply to, or who is governed by them. A Network Access Policy aptly applies to any person or entity that access the organization’s network either locally or through a WAN, VPN, modem, wireless, etc.

SAMPLE:
Audience
The %ORGANIZATION% Network Access Policy applies equally to all individuals with access to any %ORGANIZATION% Information Resource.

Policy – The section that contains the actual policy statements.

Other sections that may be added to security policies could be definitions, scope, responsibilities, etc.

Network Access Policy
The Network Access Policy is a simple policy that should outline some basic ground rules that people need to follow when using the organization’s network.

NOTE: Although the statements in a policy may seem basic and common sense to the author, don’t assume that they are for everyone.

STORY: I once had a user complain to me that a policy I wrote for a client company was too simple and common sense.

SAMPLE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENTS:

- Remote users may connect to the %ORGANIZATION% corporate networks only after formal approval;
- Remote users may connect to %ORGANIZATION% Information Resources using only the protocols approved by %ORGANIZATION% IT;

Conclusion
The Network Access Policy is simple and you may be able to get away with ditching it in favor of adding the required statements to your Acceptable Use Policy. This decision is up to you. The business assessment exercise could help you in this decision. I almost always separate the policy statements for easy-of-reference, simplified reviews and changes, and reinforcement through repetition.

Download the SAMPLE NETWORK ACCESS POLICY.

Next in the series: “Information Security Policy 101 – Password Policy”

Previous: “Information Security Policy 101 – “Network Configuration Policy”
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