Effective storage security policies

There are a lot of sample information security policies floating around the Internet. If you know which policies you need, you can even purchase policy templates if you're willing to spend the money. So, what does it mean and what does it take to have a practical set of storage security policies that can work for you in the real world?

For starters, you need to perform a formal risk analysis on your storage systems. This can be done internally or part of a larger information risk assessment performed by an outside expert. If you take this project on yourself, be sure to lean on existing methodologies instead of re-inventing the wheel. The bottom line is that you've got to know which risks are present in your storage systems and which ones would have the greatest impact and likelihood of occurrence before you can implement the appropriate policies and supporting controls.

Once you determine which risks are present (and there will certainly be some), you can create policies to help with mitigation and control. The policies that you create can be storage-specific or apply across the board in your organization. In other words, you may have one or more policies that only apply to your storage systems or you can integrate your requirements into higher level security policies that apply to your entire organization. The latter is the preferr

To continue reading for free, register below or login

Requires Membership to View

To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information (all fields required):

First Name:
Last Name:
Country: Select... Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Email Address:

I would like to receive a FREE subscription to Storage magazine online.
YesNo

Do you manage, evaluate, recommend, implement, support or purchase storage products, software or services?
YesNo

What is your average annual expenditure on storage including hardware, software and services?
Please select... $20 million + $10 to $19.9 million $5 to $9.9 million $1 to $4.9 million $500K to $999K $250K to $499K Less than $250K None

What is your role in purchasing?
Technical decision maker
Financial decision maker
Determine need
Evaluate products/services
Recommend and specify products/services
Implement products/services
None

By joining SearchStorage.com you agree to receive email updates from the TechTarget network of sites, including updates on new content, magazine or event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile or unsubscribing via email.

TechTarget cares about your privacy. Read our Privacy Policy

In order to stay organized and keep things simple, you'll need to have a standard security policy template. This will make policy creation and maintenance so much simpler in the long-term than simply bundling everything into one large and unorganized document. The security template located here works well for all security policies.

Now it's time to create your actual policies. Remember -- create policies based on risks discovered and business needs. However, the following policies should be on your radar as they all relate to storage security in one way or another:

Once your policies are documented and implemented, don't let all of your diligent efforts be in vain. Work with management, and ideally an organization-wide security or IT governance committee, to make sure these policies are approved, well-accepted, properly maintained and, most importantly, actually enforced.

For more information:

Storage vulnerabilities you can't afford to miss