An Information Asset Profile (IAP) will help you to characterize you information assets to ensure you're providing the necessary level of security protection. An IAP is one of the primary inputs necessary for a successful threat risk assessment (TRA).
The information in this article is based on work done at Carnegie Mellon University on Information Asset Profiling but has been extended based on our work implementing information security with our clients.
Information security (IS) requires the classification and valuation of the information assets to ensure that the right level of protection for those assets is provided. The required level of protection is usually determined by using a risk assessment.
A Threat Risk Assessment(i.e. TRA) is the first part of any risk management methodology. It is use to determine the extent of the potential threat and the risk associated with a companies information assets. The output of this process helps to identify appropriate safeguards for reducing or eliminating risk during risk mitigation.
The threat risk assessment methodology encompasses nine primary steps:
An Information Asset Profile (IAP) provides the information characteristics required in the first step shown above. The IAP allows information owners to profile (i.e. classify and value) their information assets; this is usually a requirement of an IS Policy to ensure the protection of a company's information assets. Of course Julio Jones Elite Jersey , if you're going to profile your assets, you will need to know what they are ... an IAP must be preceded by a complete inventory of your information assets and their security requirements.
Using an Information Asset Profile allows a company to:
- provide a consistent, unambiguous, and agreed upon description of an information asset; - feed strategic information security activities Deion Sanders Elite Jersey , such as threat and risk assessments used to determine potential negative impacts; - help with the selection of proper security controls and best practices by insuring security requirements are addressed; - refine policy and procedure by defining the information asset, its user-base, its custodians, its ownerstewardship Qadree Ollison Jersey , its boundaries, and its characteristics.
The Information Asset Profile defines the information itself, the people involved in its creation and use, and the processes or procedures that rely on the information. The primary contents are: Asset Name John Cominsky Jersey , Asset Description, Owner, Stakeholders, Custodial Aspects Kendall Sheffield Jersey , (i.e. Custodians ... paper or electronic, and Locations), Security and Privacy Requirements, and Classification and Valuation.
Any Kaleb McGary Jersey , or a combination, of the following techniques can be used to gather information about the information asset: a questionnaire, on-site interviews, document reviews Chris Lindstrom Jersey , or automated scanning tools.
In summary the benefits of the Information Asset Profile are:
- allows owners to profile their information assets to meet Information Security Policy requirements for the protection of those assets; - validates the security aspects of the processes relying on the information; - provides the information profiling required as the first step of a threat risk assessment; - defines security requirements for new information systems applications; - requires the CISO to provide the following services: o assistance to owners on how to complete an IAP, o central storage and control for all completed IAPs.Starting your own online business can prove quite frustrating initially, especially if you haven't got any idea of where to begin. As there is so much competition and the online environment is constantly evolving things can soon become very overwhelming.
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