How can you ensure information security during organizational change?

Big organization change when implemented brings may bring a sense of tension as people need to understand new processes, tools, and services. It may disrupt or worsen the current state of information security controls. Hence, establishing a baseline is crucial - identity what is currently in place - issues, weaknesses, RACI, governing regulations and contractual obligations. Consider also people’s behavior and interests. There should be involvement of stakeholders from all groups in the enterprise and manage their expectations. In other words make them part of the program so they get to appreciate more and be able to manage resistance of a cyber transformation.

Businesses can maintain a strong information security posture and reduce the potential risks associated with transitions by implementing these practices (security risk assessment, include security in change planning, communication and awareness, access controls, vendor and third-party security, incident response planning, change management) into the planning and execution of organizational changes. Information security must be seen as a fundamental component of the change management process as a whole.

1. Meet the leaders of the organization. 2. Understand their expectation from Info Sec team. 3. Understand vision & mission of the organization & leaders. 4. Go through the existing policies, procedure , plans. 5. Meet or understand governance, risk, compliance aspect of the organization. 6. Familiarize yourself with organization & its IT infra. 7. Review post incidence response reports & lesson learned. 8. Do GAP Assessment. 9. Prepare plan. 10. Get approval from leaders. 11. Implement. 12. Review. 13. Improvise.

Most organisational change is focused on understanding and improving the business operations and things like security practices can be either ignored or given a lower priority. As a result there is a risk of existing good practices being stopped or changed without the impact being understood.

A risk assessment is where it all starts. Get an understanding of the purpose and goals of the organizational change from a business perspective. Ask questions, and then ask more questions. Explore the risks, taking a threat modeling approach. Document what you have learned and rate the criticality of all risks identified. Basically a risk register. Work with the business on risk mitigation plans. Get consensus and agreement (in writing if necessary). Embed requirements into the change process, whether that be a project plan or change review board approach. When the change is complete, conduct a review and make sure that risk mitigation steps were implemented as agreed.

Define the scope, objectives, and timeline of the change: Clarify what you want to achieve How you will measure success How long it will take You also have to clarify the Roles Responsibilities Expectations of the stakeholders ensure that they are aligned and committed to the change. - Develop a communication strategy: Keep the stakeholder engaged and informed about the change and progress. Request feedback and input from the stakeholders. - Prepare a contingency plan: Address the potential risks and scenarios that could threaten the business. Develop mitigation and recovery strategies.

For information security during organizational change, carefully plan the change to minimize impact. Define the scope, objectives, timeline, and stakeholder roles and responsibilities. Develop a communication strategy to inform employees, customers, partners, and suppliers about the change and its implications for information security. Also, prepare a contingency plan addressing potential risks and scenarios that might compromise information security. This proactive planning approach helps maintain a secure environment throughout the transition.

Carefully plan by setting up dedicated teams for rebranding tasks like data migration, compliance, etc. Use the IT helpdesk to conduct training sessions and circulate knowledge-based articles, and use that as a communication strategy to help the user migration process.

The organization must have a standardized change management process. These processes help in defining the impact of a change and RACI for such changes. Although change management is said to be used in organizations widely, it is often overlooked which can cause very expensive projects to fail, thereby adding costs to failure.

You need to have change management process implemented to provides a structured approach to implementing changes in information security protocols, technologies, and processes. It ensures that changes are systematically assessed, planned, communicated and monitored to reduce the risk of unwanted disruptions and subsequent business impacts Apart from above, you also need to evaluate and take necessary course of action on compliance, legal and regulatory requirements that falls under change?

Ensuring information security during organizational change is critical. Implement a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential vulnerabilities. Utilize robust encryption protocols, update access controls, and conduct thorough employee training on security protocols.

Fostering a security-first mindset is paramount while implementing changes securely. Embracing this approach involves not just adhering to policies and standards but ingraining a culture where security takes precedence and is everyone's responsibility. By instilling this mindset, the focus shifts towards proactive measures, ensuring that controls, tools, and techniques are not merely applied but strategically aligned with the overarching security principles. Vigilant monitoring and testing become a collective responsibility, reinforcing the commitment to a secure environment. Documentation and reporting then serve not just as compliance measures but as tangible evidence of the organization's unwavering dedication to a security-first ethos.

When implementing organizational changes, do so securely by adhering to established information security policies, procedures, and standards. Apply appropriate controls, tools, and techniques. It's crucial to monitor and test the changes to ensure they meet expected outcomes and don't introduce new vulnerabilities. Document and report the change process for tracking progress, performance, and compliance with relevant regulations and audits. This approach helps maintain a robust security posture throughout the transition.

Magyarországon az auditok esetében figyelembe vesznek egy k?lt?zést, de az audit felkészülés er?forrásait már ritkábban tudják átcsoportosítani, erre érdemes kiemelt figyelmet fordítani, mert sok munka vész kárba.

To maintain information security during organizational change, training and educating staff is vital. Equip them with the knowledge and skills to handle information securely. Update and reinforce relevant security policies, procedures, and standards, ensuring staff understand the implications of non-compliance. Cultivate a security-conscious culture where staff are encouraged to report security incidents or issues. This proactive approach helps safeguard sensitive information throughout the organizational transition.

Toda mudan?a gera apreens?o e inseguran?a nas equipes, é fun??o da conscientiza??o treinar os usuários para que as etapas de seguran?a a serem realizadas, possam ser compreensíveis e fáceis de seguir. Mantendo a integridade e disponibilidade das informa??es, além de cuidar da gest?o dos acessos aos documentos. é possível utilizar infográficos, imagens e exemplos de telas com os procedimentos a serem seguidos, visando facilitar a compreens?o de todos.

Kiválóan párhuzamba állítható feladat a NIS2/IEC ISO27001:2022 felkészüléssel. Szükséges és elengedhetetlen az oktatás, itt a lehet?ség a szintlépésre, hogy az éves egyszeri k?telez?en bejelentkez?s online oktatás helyét átvegye egy gyakorlati és hasznos hosszabb távú képzés.

Training and "training the trainers" is a very important aspect of the change management process. This step not only ensures that the teams are very well aware of the tools and solution to be used, but also how to get help if they fail to understand some of the processes. This helps improve the utilization of the tools and processes, thereby helping organizations to actually land the project for mass adoption.

Train and educate the staff... but once, once in a year, once another change was made...? Or after repeated, policy violating events? Often, when I've met a situation, it was based on trust: I trust you with my credentials, use them. I trust you, you may let anyone in the closed areas. I trust you will not read the threwn out documents. I trust you will not read my logged-in stuff, when I lend you my station. I trust you, and will not register that you took the keys to an office, because it is "just a minute". And once there is trouble...? Education must be taken seriously: staff members have to understand the bigger picture and the possible consequences, and have to be regularly reminded - we are humans and we trust.

To track progress and ensure success, monitoring key metrics such as website traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates is important. Also, maintaining a perfect compliance score and receiving user feedback helps review and improve the change process. This ensures that the desired benefits are delivered without compromising security.

To safeguard information security during organizational changes, it's crucial to review and refine the process. Gather and analyze feedback, data, and metrics to assess the change's effectiveness and identify any gaps or errors. Implement corrective actions to resolve issues and enhance the information security posture. Additionally, update your information security policies, procedures, and standards to reflect the changes and their impacts, ensuring a continuous improvement in your security approach. This thorough review helps maintain robust security while adapting to organizational transformations.

Again, proper change management processes must be used, which has the last couple of steps to monitor & assess the changes, and work on the improvement plans. The Plan-Do-Check-Act, has always been the key aspect of ITIL, and find its relevance in this aspect as well.

Végig kell látogatni személyesen minden fels?vezet?t és begy?jteni a tapasztalatokat, eloszlatni a maradék kételyeket. Erre nem elég egy mail sorozat.

If your company policies make it possible, make rounds. You can look for clues: are staff members implementing basic rules, like clear desk, not displaying/sharing login credentials? Has a new colleague struggles? Or a former trusted member is showing signs of bad practices? Do they need (re)education/mentoring, or other kind of help? Once you know about stuff, you can help staff members with it. Gossip. Chatter. Mingle. These are also useful tools of monitoring and a way of getting feedback. Has anyone tried quizzes or fun games (at a teambuildig event)? You can scan the staff's knowledge, practices without the anxiety factor. (Had a fun GDPR education - good answers were rewarded, bad answers were discussed and lessions learned.)

A common example of organizational change that leaves many organizations unnecessarily exposed to risk are mergers and acquisitions. Bringing a new company under the broader umbrella means contending with overlapping IP addresses, a lack of ubiquity in the network security rule set, and operating procedures that may no longer be acceptable under the new security policy. Consider leveraging a cloud proxy-based platform for the application of network security policies. Common services like IDS/IPS, FW, sandboxing, and DLP can be applied uniformly across many organizations, entirely independently from the existing network and security stack. This approach will simplify and reduce the time to onboard a new organization.

Here are some points to consider: Risk Assessment and Planning: Conduct a thorough risk assessment specific to the organizational change. Identify potential security risks and develop a plan to mitigate them. Clear Communication: Keep all stakeholders, including the IT and security teams, informed about the changes. Clear communication helps in identifying and addressing potential security concerns early. Employee Training and Awareness: Provide training and raise awareness about security practices among employees, especially if their roles or responsibilities are changing. Emphasize the importance of security in the new organizational context.

One of the biggest IS risks associated with organisational change is the increased likelihood of insider threat due to employees at risk of losing their jobs exfiltrating information whilst they can. This could be client lists, intellectual property etc. Implementing effective DLP practices (including considering physical security improvements) are essential.

Another thing that I believe would be beneficial is periodic “planned attacks” with a metric system to assess the actual preparedness of staff towards a real attack. This would help measure the efficacy of the constant training and awareness program being conducted.

observabilty, visibility eszk?z?k s?r? ellen?rzése, siem támogatása, hiszen valószín?leg sok lesz a false positive riasztás. Legyen az elemz?knek kávé és fánk.