What should an organization allocate to ensure the maintenance and improvement of the information security management system?
Scenario 8: SunDee is a biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in California, US. Renowned for its pioneering work in the field of human therapeutics, SunDee places a strong emphasis on addressing critical healthcare concerns, particularly in the domains of cardiovascular diseases, oncology, bone health, and inflammation. SunDee has demonstrated its commitment to data security and integrity by maintaining an effective information security management system (ISMS) based on ISO/IEC 27001 for the past two years.
In preparation for the recertification audit, SunDee conducted an internal audit. The company's top management appointed Alex, who has actively managed the Compliance Department's day-to-day operations for the last six months, as the internal auditor. With this dual role assignment, Alex is tasked with conducting an audit that ensures compliance and provides valuable recommendations to improve operational efficiency.
During the internal audit, a few nonconformities were identified. To address them comprehensively, the company created action plans for each nonconformity, working closely with the audit team leader.
SunDee's senior management conducted a comprehensive review of the ISMS to evaluate its appropriateness, sufficiency, and efficiency. This was integrated into their regular management meetings. Essential documents, including audit reports, action plans, and review outcomes, were distributed to all members before the meeting. The agenda covered the status of previous review actions, changes affectingthe ISMS, feedback, stakeholder inputs, and opportunities for improvement. Decisions and actions targeting ISMS improvements were made, with a significant role played by the ISMS coordinator and the internal audit team in preparing follow-up action plans, which were then approved by top management.
In response to the review outcomes, SunDee promptly implemented corrective actions, strengthening its information security measures. Additionally, dashboard tools were introduced to provide a high-level overview of key performance indicators essential for monitoring the organization's information security management. These indicators included metrics on security incidents, their costs, system vulnerability tests, nonconformity detection, and resolution times, facilitating effective recording, reporting, and tracking of monitoring activities. Furthermore, SunDee embarked on a comprehensive measurement process to assess the progress and outcomes of ongoing projects, implementing extensive measures across all processes. The top management determined that the individual responsible for the information, aside from owning the data that contributes to the measures, would also be designated accountable for executing these measurement activities.
Based on the scenario above, answer the following question:
Does SunDee's approach align with the best practices for evaluating and maintaining the effectiveness of an ISMS?
Scenario 1:
HealthGenic is a leading multi-specialty healthcare organization providing patients with comprehensive medical services in Toronto, Canada. The organization relies heavily on a web-based medical software platform to monitor patient health, schedule appointments, generate customized medical reports, securely store patient data, and facilitate seamless communication among various stakeholders, including patients, physicians, and medical laboratory staff.
As the organization expanded its services and demand grew, frequent and prolonged service interruptions became more common, causing significant disruptions to patient care and administrative processes. As such, HealthGenic initiated a comprehensive risk analysis to assess the severity of risks it faced.
When comparing the risk analysis results with its risk criteria to determine whether the risk and its significance were acceptable or tolerable, HealthGenic noticed a critical gap in its capacity planning and infrastructure resilience. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, HealthGenic reached out to the software development company responsible for its platform. Utilizing its expertise in healthcare technology, data management, and compliance regulations, the software development company successfully resolved the service interruptions.
However, HealthGenic also uncovered unauthorized changes to user access controls. Consequently, some medical reports were altered, resulting in incomplete and inaccurate medical records. The company swiftly acknowledged and corrected the unintentional changes to user access controls. When analyzing the root cause of these changes, HealthGenic identified a vulnerability related to the segregation of duties within the IT department, which allowed individuals with system administration access also to manage user access controls. Therefore, HealthGenic decided to prioritize controls related to organizational structure, including segregation of duties, job rotations, job descriptions, and approval processes.
In response to the consequences of the service interruptions, the software development company revamped its infrastructure by adopting a scalable architecture hosted on a cloud platform, enabling dynamic resource allocation based on demand. Rigorous load testing and performance optimization wereconducted to identify and address potential bottlenecks, ensuring the system could handle increased user loads seamlessly. Additionally, the company promptly assessed the unauthorized access and data alterations.
To ensure that all employees, including interns, are aware of the importance of data security and the proper handling of patient information, HealthGenic included controls tailored to specifically address employee training, management reviews, and internal audits. Additionally, given the sensitivity of patient data, HealthGenic implemented strict confidentiality measures, including robust authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication.
In response to the challenges faced by HealthGenic, the organization recognized the vital importance of ensuring a secure cloud computing environment. It initiated a comprehensive self-assessment specifically tailored to evaluate and enhance the security of its cloud infrastructure and practices.
During which of the following processes did HealthGenic notice a critical gap in its capacity planning and infrastructure resilience?
Which of the following processes may involve increasing risk in order to pursue an opportunity?
TESTED 05 Nov 2024
