IT Governance Blog on IT governance, risk management, compliance and information security.

The long awaited International Standard – IS0 22301 – has now been published and is available to purchase.

ISO 22301 BCMS Requirements will replace the British Standard BS25999-2. Deploying a BCMS that is ISO 22301-compliant will allow your organisation to demonstrate to stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders – that your organisation is prepared for disruptive incidents that might otherwise affect you achieving your organisational goals.

Key Features and Benefits:

• A standard that specifies the requirements for a BCMS. Deploying a BCMS and achieving certification against the standard demonstrates an organisation is prepared should a disruptive incident occur, and that your organisation should be able to continue should an incident occur.
• The requirements in the standard can be applied in any type or size of organisation, no matter the location, making it widely applicable.
• Why risk damage to your organisation’s turnover, profits and reputation by not being prepared should a disruptive incident occur?

Organisations suffering a disruptive incident without a BCMS in place could face the following consequences:

• Loss of customers
• Reputational damage
• Monetary loss
• Potentially going out of business.

Order the International Standard for business continuity today!

Will the Information Commissioner’s Office be knocking on your door?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced last week that the first NHS organisation has been fined for a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. The Aneurin Bevan Health Board (ABHB) has been issued with a penalty of £70,000 after information relating to a patient’s health was sent to the wrong person.

Stephen Eckersley, the ICO’s Head of Enforcement confirmed:

“The health service holds some of the most sensitive information available. The damage and distress caused by the loss of a patient’s medical record is obvious, therefore it is vital that organisations across this sector make sure their data protection practices are adequate.”

For further information, please see the ICO News Release: 30th April 2012.

In common with the National Health Service, all Public Sector organisations are required by law to be compliant to the Data Protection Act 1998 and fully obligate their responsibilities with respect to the processing of the personal information of their key stakeholders.

	DPA Foundation Course Price: £440

The new Smart Card Training Range has been developed to help organisations tackle important IT issues such as information security, ITSM, business continuity, cloud computing and soft skills.

The The ISMS Card Game is the first in this series and will help organisations teach their staff about information security. Often a complex and seemingly difficult subject to approach the ISMS Smart Card game makes tackling this issue accessible and interactive for even the least technical minded of individuals.

The ISMS Card Game will help train staff – in a fun and low impact way – about the importance of information security and what to do in the situations they will face in their own workplace.

	The ISMS Card Game Price: £9.95

Businesses are increasingly choosing to outsource their IT function. The attraction of outsourcing IT is that it enables a company to obtain an efficient and responsive IT system, while at the same time allowing the company to focus on its core strengths.

However, many organisations who outsource their IT, come across these pitfalls:

1. Real Cost:The real cost of having an outsourced IT company is somewhat different to the quote you were originally given. You will have to pay for extras such as call outs and unnecessary upsales
2. Time:If you have an emergency, it will have to wait until your outsourced IT company can get to you
3. Liability:When your outsourced IT company comes in, they pose a liability to your company in terms of security measures. Do you trust them fully? Who’s to say they won’t walk off with one of your hard drives?
4. Loss of work:When an employee’s machine goes down, they will lose the ability to work until the outsourced IT department can make it in to resolve the issue which can be costly.
5. Priority: Are you your outsourced IT’s number one priority? Chances are the company who pays the most is!

Source: Tech Republic

Outsourcing IT: A Governance Guide is a “ground-breaking” book that offers you a guide to the many pitfalls of IT outsourcing. It will provide you with clear criteria for the application of governance principles to the outsourcing process, and thereby enable you to implement IT outsourcing so that it supports your overall business goals.

	Outsourcing IT: A Governance Guide Price: €56.95

Outsourcing Professional Body of Knowledge (OPBOK)

IT Outsourcing Contracts: A Legal and Practical Guide

A Guide to Global Sourcing – Offshore Outsourcing and Other Global Delivery Models

It’s a huge week for Facebook. The social network giant is set to float on the Nasdaq stock market with a potential valuation of $100 billion.

Facebook has been gearing up for floatation by looking at increasing their revenue generating streams in recent weeks with the purchase of Instagram, the launch of their own App Center and the trial of ‘paid for posts’ in New Zealand. Facebook lead the way in social media, yet they are well aware that there is work to be done to adapt to the rise of the Smartphone and the competition posed from rivals Google and Apple.

However Facebook adapt to these challenges there is one certain fact: Businesses need to embrace and harness the power of Social Media, as it isn’t going to go away.

	Social Media Governance Toolkit Price: $299.95

IT security in your business, or Information Security(as it is more commonly known) is one of the single most important issues you should be tackling in order to protect your information assets.

Many organisations store information which is confidential or of high importance on computers. This ‘information’ can be anything from customer details to bank information and sensitive company data. The more important the data is, the higher the risk of losing it is.

At www.itgovernance.eu, we have a complete library of books, software and tools to help you protect your company’s information. Written by experts and practitioners and covering topics such as hacking & crimeware, Chinese Cyberwarfare, Cyber Risks and Mobile Security, we’ve got it covered.

Start your Information Security library with Cyber Risks for Business Professionals: A Management Guide. This guide will help you understand cyber risks and cyber crime on a management level, providing you with the appropriate knowledge to protect your company.

	Cyber Risks for Business Professionals: A Management Guide Price: €47.95

IT Induction and Information Security Awareness

Information Security Awareness Bundle

Ten Rules of Information Security for the Smaller Business

Question: Why do so many organisations NOT have an effective IT governance framework in place?

Answer: The CEO often doesn’t realise what one is, or the HUGE benefits it can bring.

Needless to say that creating an effective IT governance framework is probably not on the CEO’s top list of challenges. But make them aware of the benefits and you might just change their perception…

• Competitiveness
• Increased efficiency of IT services whilst driving down costs
• Meet all your regulatory and statutory compliance requirements
• IT can facilitate and drive business change, helping meet business objectives

CEO’s and boards continue to demand value and better services from their IT departments. Exceed expectations by creating a IT governance framework. Implement an effective IT governance framework in your organisation with the IT Governance Framework Toolkit.

	IT Governance Framework Toolkit Price: £495
	The toolkit includes a free Olympics Policies & Checklist