ITS 4910 - Information Trends/Research and Design Project

Module 3

This lesson presents some background on the second week. Objectives important to this lesson:

1. What is this week about?
   
2. Current assignments
   
   

Concepts:

This week you are assigned to create an overall security policy. It is the main policy for your organization, and it should say so. It should be written at a high level, and it should be endorsed by the highest level of authority in your organization. It should also be endorsed by every level of authority. Why? Because many people will not pay attention to a set of rules unless their immediate supervisor/manager tells them to do so.

A policy is a rule, or a set of rules, that affects how we want our organization and its employees to function. The idea behind a policy may start with a principle, which is often a broad, general statement of what we believe to be right, true, or beneficial. A policy is more detailed, and more specific about what we expect our people to do. It must be clear and it must be enforceable.

Some virtues of good security policies:

• They are the first line of defense from internal and external attacks.
• They control and manage changes to our systems.
• They provide a statement about who does what in an emergency.
• They reduce the cost of wasted or counterproductive efforts.
• They provide a means to comply with laws and regulations.

Being clear is better than being formulaic. People need to understand your policy. In this week's assignment, you need to follow the example template provided to you (purpose, scope, objectives), but don't be constrained by the text itself. Follow the form, but state the message clearly so your employees will not stop reading after the first line. Make sure you do not leave out the required information, but say it in your own business-like way.

There is a rubric specific to this assignment. It is shown on the assignment page in Canvas.

In the image above, I am showing you the top three grading elements for the assignment. They correspond to an A, a B, and a C response. Use this as a reference for your work. Before submitting your work, make sure you have done your best.