Businesses today are in need of multiple levels of security protection as compared to companies operating thirty years ago. Not only do physical assets (computers, servers, printers, etc.) need varying levels of protection but so do its digital assets such as company files and data. However these policies are not something that only needs to be followed by the IT department.
Employees across an organization need to be made aware of information security policies to conduct their daily business safely and securely ensuring that sensitive company data doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.
Here are a few ways written information security policies enable employees to protect company data across an organization:
Timely Reference for All Employees
Information security policies are considered “living documents,” in that they are never actually truly finished being written. These documents are constantly being updated and revised to maintain the highest possible levels of IT security. Each time the information security policies are updated, employees need to be notified of the changes. These types of policies are not something that can only be communicated to employees once a year, but rather items that should be reviewed on a regular basis.
Onboarding New Employees
When a new employee is hired, it is important to provide them with written documentation of acceptable use and other information security policies. When starting at a new company the employee needs to be properly trained on how to securely access systems such as servers, networks, and individual workstations, as well as best practices such as logging off or locking their computer monitors when leaving their desks for extended periods of time. If written documentation is presented when an employee is being taken onboard, then it provides a baseline to which employees are held accountable to make sure their day-to-day operations operate within the realm of secure business practices.
Guidelines for Temp or Contract Employees
If a company hires temporary or contract employees, information security policies can provide guidelines for how these non-permanent employees are able to access and use IT resources. Information security policies for temporary employees may specify which systems they have limited access to. Additionally, these policies can create guidelines on how employees relinquish their system access at the end of their employment term, so that data and other sensitive information don’t leak out of the office.
Navigating BYOD Policies
For companies that allow their employees to bring their own devices (BYOD), information security policies need to be written to safeguard company data when being used on personal devices. In addition to having software such as Office 365 that comes with email encryption and secure data wipe options for mobile devices, written policies need to be enacted so that employees know what they can and cannot do on their personal devices in the office, as well as what limits they have to accessing company resources on their personal devices while at home or on the go.
