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GM1 IS.AR.200(a)(1) Information security management system (ISMS)

ED Decision 2023/010/R

INFORMATION SECURITY POLICY AND OBJECTIVES

The information security policy should suit the competent authority’s purpose and direct its own information security activities. Such policy should contain the needs for information security in the competent authority’s context, a high-level statement of direction and intent of the information security activities, the principles and most important strategic and tactical objectives to be achieved by the ISMS, as well as the general information security objectives or a specification of a framework (who, how) for setting information security objectives. The information security policy should also contain a description of the established ISMS, including roles, responsibilities and references to topic-specific policies and standards.

The information security objectives should be:

— consistent and aligned with the information security policy and consider the applicable information security requirements, derived from the overarching competent authority’s objectives, and the results from the risk assessment and treatment (which, in turn, supports the implementation of the competent authority’s strategic goals and information security policy);

— regularly reviewed to ensure that they are up to date and still appropriate;

— measurable if practicable (to be able to determine whether the objective has been met), aimed to be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) and aligned with all affected responsible persons.

When defining information security objectives, e.g., based on the overarching competent authority’s objectives, the information security requirements or the results of risk assessments, it should be determined how these objectives will be achieved. The degree to which information security objectives are achieved must be measurable. If possible, it should be measured by key performance indicators (KPIs) which have been defined in advance (refer to resources such as COBIT 5 for Information Security). It is recommended to start with the definition of a limited number of information security objectives which are relevant for the competent authority, more of a long-term nature and measurable with a reasonable effort relative to the delivered benefits.