1. How can a security framework assist in the design and implementation of a security infrastructure?

Designing a working plan for securing the organization s information assets begins by creating or validating an existing security blueprint for the implementation of needed security controls to protect the information assets. A framework is the outline from which a more detailed blueprint evolves. The blueprint is the basis for the design, selection, and implementation of all subsequent security policies, education and training programs, and technologies. The blueprint provides scaleable, upgradeable, and comprehensive security for the coming years. The blueprint is used to plan the tasks to be accomplished and the order in which to proceed.

What is information security governance?

Governance is “the set of responsibilities and practices exercised by the board and executive management with the goal of providing strategic direction, ensuring that objectives are achieved, ascertaining that risks are managed appropriately and verifying that the enterprise’s resources are used responsibly.”1 Governance describes the entire process of governing, or controlling, the processes used by a group to accomplish some objective. Just like governments, corporations and other organizations have guiding documents—corporate charters or partnership agreements—as well as appointed or elected leaders or officers, and planning and operating procedures. These elements in combination provide corporate governance. Each operating unit within an organization also has controlling customs, processes, committees, and practices. The information security group’s leadership monitors and manages all of the organizational structures and processes that safeguard information. Information security governance, then, is the application of the principles of corporate governance—that is,