Governance Frameworks
Selecting a governance framework as the foundation for your information security program provides a structured approach to managing risk, ensuring compliance, and aligning security initiatives with business objectives. Frameworks like NIST CSF, ISO 27001, or CIS Controls offer standardized guidance, helping organizations prioritize resources effectively and address both technical and organizational vulnerabilities.
By adhering to a recognized framework, organizations can demonstrate due diligence to stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and customers, fostering trust and accountability. Additionally, a framework provides scalability and flexibility, enabling the security program to adapt to evolving threats, technologies, and business needs.
CIS v8 Controls
HIPAA
ISO 27001
The CIS Controls v8 is a prioritized set of 18 cybersecurity best practices designed to help organizations mitigate the most common and impactful cyber threats. This framework emphasizes a risk-based approach, ensuring that security measures align with real-world threats and organizational priorities.
It is widely applicable across industries and tailored for scalability, making it a practical choice for organizations of any size or maturity level.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes federal requirements for safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI). It mandates covered entities and their business associates to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect PHI from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.
Additionally, HIPAA includes provisions for risk assessment, workforce training, and breach notification to ensure accountability and compliance with privacy and security standards.
ISO/IEC 27001 is an internationally recognized standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It provides a risk-based, systematic approach to managing sensitive information, ensuring its confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The framework emphasizes continual improvement, requiring organizations to identify risks, implement appropriate controls, and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their security measures.
SOC 2
NIST CSF
COBIT
SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of an organization’s controls over data security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
It is specifically designed for technology and cloud service providers handling sensitive customer data. SOC 2 compliance is verified through an independent audit and is based on the Trust Services Criteria (TSC).
The goal of SOC 2 is to provide assurance to customers and stakeholders that the organization has robust security controls to protect their data while meeting applicable regulatory and contractual obligations.
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a flexible, risk-based framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help organizations manage and reduce cybersecurity risks. Originally created for critical infrastructure, it is now widely used across industries due to its adaptability and comprehensive approach.
The framework is composed of five core functions (trust families) that outline the lifecycle of cybersecurity management: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. NIST CSF aligns with industry standards (e.g., ISO 27001) and regulatory requirements (e.g., HIPAA, PCI DSS) to provide a common language for cybersecurity across diverse organizations.
COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) is a globally recognized framework developed by ISACA for governance and management of enterprise IT. It provides organizations with principles, practices, tools, and models to align IT processes with business goals, manage risks, and ensure compliance. COBIT helps bridge the gap between technical IT teams and business leaders by focusing on how IT delivers value, manages risks, and supports organizational objectives.
The latest version, COBIT 2019, emphasizes governance and management objectives grouped into five trust families (or domains), each addressing different aspects of IT governance.