All companies should be extra diligent and make cyber security a top priority. We have all seen the news stories and know that the cyber-terrorists are getting smarter and going after the big guys and the little guys. Homeland Security representatives and top Cyber-security officials have said that it is no longer a question of if, but when. Instituting a Company Cyber Security Policy has become not only a best practice, but normal practice for most large companies. But even if you’re a small business, you should seriously consider developing a cybersecurity policy framework. Without one, your business could be at risk for critical issues in cybersecurity management and your technology policies.
The policy, and the cybersecurity management will often depend on what kind of business you are running. Do you have compliance standards that need met? Do you have cyber insurance that requires a certain framework? You could have simple compliance standards all the way to the NIST cybersecurity policies.
Your policy should include a policy brief and a purpose, such as: Our company cyber security policy outlines our guidelines for preserving the security of our data and technology infrastructure.
The more we rely on technology to collect, store and manage information, the more vulnerable we become to severe security breaches. Human errors, hacker attacks and system malfunctions could cause great financial damage and may put our company at risk of financial loss and reputational damage that many companies do not recover from.
For this reason, we have implemented a number of security measures. We have also prepared instructions that may help mitigate security risks. This policy is designed to outline these instructions.
Let your team know the Why, the How and the What so that they clearly understand this is not just another page in a company handbook. Your employees must know that this policy applies to all employees of any rank, position or contract.
This policy should make it known that this is making their role with the company more secure and stable. After all, a breach would not just affect and damage the company, but also every employee, partner, customer and their families would feel the effects.
We will send you a sample cybersecurity policy template that you can use to help outline a policy for your team and get on the path to better security for your company and your team. Please use it, make it your own, and share it. The more secure businesses are, the less opportunity the cyber-terrorists have.
A cybersecurity policy template is a pre-written framework your business can use to define rules, responsibilities, and practices for protecting data, systems, and access — saving time instead of writing a policy from scratch.
Because a formal policy helps protect sensitive data, ensures consistent security practices, reduces cyber-risk, and supports compliance with regulations or internal standards.
Important rules include password management, access controls, data-handling guidelines, permitted device or cloud-use, communication and email security, incident reporting, and roles/responsibilities for employees and IT.
A template is a good starting point, but you should customize it to reflect your business’s size, data types, systems, and operations. A one-size-fits-all policy may miss important risks or controls specific to your company.