Description Key Assignment Security Management DocumentUse WordTitle pageCourse number and nameProject nameYour nameDateTable of Contents (TOC)Use an autogenerated TOC.This should be on a separate pag

Week 4: Security Policies, Procedures, and Regulatory Compliance

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Table of Content

Week 4: Security Policies, Procedures, and Regulatory Compliance 3

Regulatory Requirements Introduced by the IPO 3

Essential Policies for the Company 4

Key Controls to Implement 5

Protection of Data at Rest and Data in Motion 6

References 8

Week 4: Security Policies, Procedures, and Regulatory Compliance 3

Regulatory Requirements Introduced by the IPO 3

Essential Policies for the Company 4

Key Controls to Implement 5

Protection of Data at Rest and Data in Motion 5

References 7

With SecureTech's recent IPO, the following regulatory requirements must be adhered to: Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX): IPO, SecureTech Consultants, Inc. becomes a company that has to be regulated by the Sarbanes Oxley Act, which is legislation that is much more rigorous and was passed to increase the strict standards of reporting for corporations which offers information that is significant to shareholders. SOX requires companies to implement internal controls for financial reporting to help detect and prevent fraud and improve the quality of the reports that companies disclose. Any publicly held company such as SecureTech must take adequate measures to deal with the following: The company’s financial statements should be audited independently, and the internal controls must be looked at critically, besides the material changes the company may be experiencing. Adherence to SOX is a significant aspect of the company since investor confidence, legal liability, and ethical practices in operations in the cybersecurity industry are essential.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): After going public, SecureTech Consultants, Inc. has to abide by the GDPR, which lays out rules for the management of the personal information of EU individuals. GDPR requires organizations to apply strict measures to protect the data, receive the individual’s consent for processing the data, and come up with notification within 72 hours in case of a breach. The data subjects’ rights, like the right to access and the right to erasure, must be protected by SecureTech (Lee & Geidel, 2021). For compliance with GDPR, organizations need to have a Data Protection Officer, make risk assessments for high-risk data processing operations, and follow specific general requirements for international data transfer.

To address the regulatory requirements and enhance security, SecureTech should implement the following policies: Information Security Policy: The information security policy of SecureTech documents measures the protection of information in the organization against access, disclosure, modification, or removal by those to which it was not intended. It provides requirements to apply technical and organizational measures for compliance with data confidentiality, integrity, and availability principles. It entails updated risk analysis, security orientation among workers, and often the use of encryption and access control measures to the data assets. Specific guidelines on reporting security incidents and coping measures are established to respond to such events and their consequences timelily and with the least harm to business processes and customers’ trust.

Data Protection Policy: With the implementation of secure procedures for handling and protecting processed personal data, DP policy guarantees SecureTech’s conformance with the existing regulation, in particular, GPDR. It requires strictly acquiring and utilizing the data for stated legal objectives when authorizing the data subjects. Measures such as accuracy, minimization, and limitation of data are provided to ensure that the data collected will be safe and privately held (Zaeem & Barber, 2020). The method for acquiring, sharing, and deleting data is created to manage a data breach and ensure individuals’ privacy rights while being compliant with the laws.

Acceptable Use Policy (AUP): SecureTech Company has a set Acceptable Use Policy or AUP, which outlines how the secure company assets, namely networks, systems, equipment, and devices, are to be utilized to avoid misuse and practice of securities. It lays down the code of conduct and banned practices to prevent intrusion, virus attacks, and data losses. The AUP provides guidelines for the personnel on the acceptable use of company facilities in computing the internet, email, and software installments. It focuses on compliance with the law and professional ethics, enhances performance, and prevents the mishandling or embezzlement of company resources to protect the company’s good name and interests.

To enhance security and compliance, SecureTech should implement the following critical controls: Access Controls: In the area of security controls, access to essential systems and data through RBAC, MFA, and ACLs should be reduced. Periodically consider and adjust the types of access permissions granted to match the employees’ positions. Encryption: When data is stored, make sure it is encrypted using keys that only authorized users can unlock. While the data is in transit, it should also be encrypted using the most robust encryption protocols. This makes it unreadable even if the data is intercepted or accessed by unauthorized persons. Monitoring and Logging: Strong implementation of the logging process of observing and recording the succession of activities and events regarding the network, systems, and users. This assists in the efficient monitoring of security breaches and their solutions. Patch Management: Another measure is to constantly apply patches to the installed programs, operating systems, and network devices to eliminate known risks that can be exploited.

Data at Rest

Data at rest describes information in databases, file systems, or any other storage media in SecureTech’s information technology infrastructure. This information is protected, whereas at SecureTech, the firm applies encryption methods like AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) to safeguard files and databases. That is why RBAC and other genuinely adequate access controls do not limit data accessibility and employ employee authentication techniques (Dixit & Ravindranath, 2022). Schedules for making copies of data and procedures for eradicating data also protect data from unauthorized access and acknowledge data retention laws. Such access logs’ monitoring and auditing procedures can produce a clear and timely indication of unauthorized access attempts or an abnormality while providing assurance that data at rest cannot be breached or disclosed to unauthorized personnel.

Data in Motion

Data in motion is information exchanged between devices or networks in SecureTech’s environment. SecureTech will protect the information presented in this view using secure data transfer protocols like TLS, which encodes data in transit. Such protocols ensure that data is protected and complete while in transit and cannot be intercepted or altered by others. Remote access and secure communication are some of the ways to implement virtual private networks VPNs at SecureTech. Monitoring and logging of the traffic are critical in identifying events that are out of the ordinary or even a sign of a budding security threat, primarily to check the integrity and safe passage of information in motion coupled with the considerations of regulations that may apply to some firms, such as GDPR and SOX.

Dixit, R., & Ravindranath, K. (2022). Enhancement in Security for Intercloud Scenario with the Help of Role-Based Access Control Model. In IOT with Smart Systems: Proceedings of ICTIS 2021, Volume 2 (pp. 277-285). Springer Singapore.

Lee, J., & Geidel, D. A. (2021). Mapping an Investor Protection Framework for the Security Token Offering Market: A Comparative Analysis of UK and German Law. Taiwan Law Review, (316).

Zaeem, R. N., & Barber, K. S. (2020). The effect of the GDPR on privacy policies: Recent progress and future promise. ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems (TMIS), 12(1), 1-20.