Part 1 introduced the concept of transforming a paper “security contact” into a security liaison for your organization.
My experience working with organizations is that while most have a security contact attached to an asset or functional area many of the designated contacts when asked are surprised to learn of their role. This is a sure indication of checkbox compliance and missed opportunity.
Creating a security liaison program is an exercise in taking a latent asset tied to a compliance objective and activating them to become an active participate in the overall security of the organization.
How can this be accomplished?
- Policy – Authorize the security liaison program by writing it into your overall security policy. Define the role and overall responsibilities of the liaison. I’ve found that the liaison program tends to map closely to the security steering committee so placing this section immediately following the steering committee makes sense.
- Process – Make it real. Make it auditable. Meet regularly with your security liaisons and document much as you would for the security committee. A functioning security liaison program can be used as a control at audit time to show the maturity of security within your organization.
- Empower/Enable – Assign real responsibilities. Enable your security liaisons to participate in your risk management program and other key areas. Empower them to drive improvements to the security of the organization by encouraging them to ask hard questions that may not have easy answers. Empower your liaisons by allowing them to communicate/report issues and progress to the security committee/leadership.
Final Comments
The overall goals of any security program are to reduce risk and increase security. Adding security liaisons can be a key component of your overall security strategy. A group created with zero additional headcount, authorized by policy and doing your security bidding? It is only a dream if you don’t act.