The Foundations of a Successful Information Security Policy#

A well-written policy statement is the foundation of a successful information security architecture. This serves as the foundation for all other directives, standards, processes, guidelines, and supporting documentation. Some key elements to consider before writing the policies to be compliant can be found below…

Identify your objectives – Before you begin developing a policy, regulation, or procedure, you must first decide what you want to talk about. It cannot be an abstract idea. Before you begin, you must have a clear picture of what has to be completed in the paper.

Know your audience - Just as crucial as knowing what you’re going to write about is knowing who your audience is. When developing a policy, the intended audience is frequently the whole employee population (all employees); when writing procedures, the intended audience is considerably smaller. Your rules, standards, and procedures’ success or failure will be determined by how successfully you target the targeted audience.

Find the hook - Employees must understand how the paper will affect their lives. So establish why it is significant to the target reader right away. This type of statement is commonly used to get people’s attention. The hook must be related to the aim and how it affects them.

Know your subject – The finest rules, standards, and processes are those that adequately handle the subject. Investigate how others have tackled the issues you need to address.

If you require something, ask for it – A policy or process without a stated goal is a waste of time. If there is a requirement for a response or a compliance concern, make sure the reader understands what is anticipated and when it is expected.

Maintain concise and precise language – this is not the time to write your doctorate thesis. Keep your message short and to the point. Don’t overuse words or brag about your expanded vocabulary. This notion is related to understanding your audience. When drafting a broad policy statement, use the language of your organization, and when developing a topic-specific policy or procedure, use the language of the relevant department.

Use the established style – Investigate the structure and style of current rules and procedures. Stick to what is expected rather than becoming inventive. The policy or method will be accepted more readily if it resembles what the readers are accustomed to.

Use the active voice — An active voice phrase is one in which the performer of the action is the subject of the verb. The topic is acted upon in passive sentences; passive sentences utilize passive voice. The use of the active or passive voice in writing is a question of style rather than accuracy. Most handbooks, on the other hand, encourage utilizing active voice, which they define as more natural, direct, vibrant, and brief. The passive voice is thought to be wordy and weak.

Other policies should be read – not only information security policies, but as many as feasible. The important element to remember here is that a policy does not have to be a lengthy paper. So go at other rules and procedures to see how they address the subject.

Use a conversational approach — This is a personal opinion, but it has been found that utilizing a style that is most like a conversation is the greatest way to get the message over to the audience over the years.