Putting Together an In-House IT Policy: A Guide for Small Business Leaders

As a small business owner, there are likely to be several challenges you are trying to get on top of this year. You may not have thought too much about your in-house IT policy yet. This is an integral part of your business, and getting it wrong could damage the reputation of your business and drain resources further down the road. For that reason, we have put together a guide on how you can craft your IT policy with the help of an ISO 27001 certification. So, read on.

What You Need To Know About ISO 27001

An integral part of your in-house IT policy will be your ISO 27001 policy. An ISO 27001 policy is the international standard for information security and encompasses everything regarding information security protection within your organisation, both within your in-house IT department and otherwise. Another way of talking about an ISO 27001 policy is to refer to it as a certificate.

This certificate proves to your employees, customers, and clients that you are fully aware of the risk that data breaches can bring. Of course, not only will you be aware of these potential breaches, but you will also have worked to implement a security management system that helps protect this data from getting accessed. This helps in protecting sensitive information related to your own business or the details of your customers.

Essentially, if you have an ISO 27001 policy in place, then you can build up trust with your customer-base. This will be because you have shown your commitment to cyber security, which is a growing concern amongst the general public and those within various business industries.

How ISO 27001 Templates Can Help

If you are unsure how you can achieve ISO 27001 certification, you won’t be alone. It is something that clients will expect and appreciate, but achieving it can seem overwhelming whether you’re tech-savvy or not. In cases like this, finding policy templates that make it easier for you to process may benefit you.

You could achieve the ISO 27001 standard while keeping costs down this way. High Table offers ISO 27001 policy templates that can save you time on creating the policies and documents yourself. This toolkit will include over 25 information security policies and over 25 information security management system documents. If in doubt on how to implement them, video guides will be available to assist you on your security management journey.

Templates and specialised cybersecurity policies ensure that you avoid mistakes when going for ISO 27001 status. The last thing you want to do is to invest money into achieving certification just to not act on anything that gets flagged up. If you do it yourself, it’s possible you may miss something.

Importance Of Information Security Protection And GDPR

An important element of an in-house IT policy is how GDPR plays a role. GDPR, also known as the General Data Protection Regulation, was a key implementation within the Data Protection Act of 2018. When GDPR became law in May of 2018, it changed the way businesses and employees deal with data within the workplace.

Simply put, a business will need to ensure that any data they use is protected, and that the information used is used fairly, following the regulations. Whilst it was always an issue if a company would lose or leak data of their customers, it has now become a legal requirement to protect this information.

A cyber security conceptual image

This has led to increased pressure on businesses to implement more information security protection, which can be enhanced through an ISO 27001, as mentioned above. There are seven principles of GDPR within the UK. They are:

  • Accountability
  • Purpose Limitation
  • Data Minimisation
  • Accuracy
  • Storage Limitation
  • Security
  • Lawfulness

Modern-day businesses will be expected to follow these points, so it is a good idea to read up on them often. You could consult a GDPR expert who can assess your business, or train your staff on your behalf.

Training your staff on all things data privacy and security management within your organisation will help you ensure that GDPR laws are being followed.

Changing Technology

When it comes to implementing an in-house IT policy, you should be aware of how quickly technology can change. In fact, technology can change so quickly that you may need to implement new policies, or reassess them at least, each year.

Some of the more recent trending new techs to hit the business world comes in the shape of VR. VR offers benefits both in people’s personal lives and their business lives. Technology changing offers new challenges for businesses. If they are not up for the challenge, that could mean they will fail in some way.

It is worth your time conducting market research ahead of time so that you can be adequately prepared for any technological changes that could hit your industry. This will give you a suitable amount of time to prepare for the change and draft up new policies.

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