Information security management: far beyond technical support

Standardized guidelines and specifications can be used as a basis for information security, such as ISO/IEC 27001, BSI-Grundschutz or other IT-Grundschutz standards and norms. Threats and vulnerabilities in processes, systems, servers and applications (i.e., assets) within the ISMS are analyzed and evaluated, while measures and controls are set and monitored for effectiveness. By using specialized ISMS software, companies can digitalize and professionalize their ISMS and all related business processes. This creates a wide range of benefits for companies, from supporting a planned certification to providing an opportunity to dovetail risk management or compliance management with information security.

Organizations should take all relevant challenges into consideration at an early stage of the ISMS implementation to ensure its success. One prime example is closing talent gaps in cybersecurity. Many CISOs realize that they don't have adequate personnel to counter every cyberthreat that their companies face each day. They also need to recognize the attack surfaces of the organization with regard to information security. Reacting to a security breach is challenging enough, but predicting one is even harder. Dealing with insider threats is another key issue to consider during the implementation of an ISMS tool because the human element is one of the most difficult factors to predict. It is essentially impossible to eliminate this insider threat because people are fallible in a way that machines and algorithms are not. Intentional breaches of guidelines, such as unauthorized access to sensitive information, must be addressed as well.