Top 32 Cyber Security Standards

The organizations work in a risky environment and thus are always vulnerable to threats. To overcome this, many organizations and agencies have come up with various regulations that business needs to follow for better security. The regulations are known as standards.

The companies need to follow them to avoid any lawsuit against them. Some of them are not mandatory and still following these frameworks can reduce many vulnerabilities with simple measures. The idea is to make cybersecurity explicit with laid down norms.

They have methods, guidelines, reference frameworks, etc. that companies can follow easily. This applies to all company types, be it any industry or of any size, they remain uniform for all. The security team can undergo training for some of the complex ones otherwise, they are quite easy to understand.

Many such standards exist and they moderate themselves with technology evolution as well. But their importance remains the same over time.

Cyber Security Standards

Some of the most important Cyber Security Standards that companies should keep in mind are as follows:

1. ISO

International Organization for Standardization is the central organization responsible for formulating specifications for several products and services. These standards are to ensure that products and services are safe and efficient.

International trade works on these standards. ISO dates back to 23 February 1947 and is a non-governmental international organization. It has 162 member countries who contribute to making these standards for every industry.

a. ISO 27000

The ISO 27000 Series is an information security standard by the organization in collaboration with the International Electrotechnical Commission. It provides a framework for information security management to avoid the risk of cyber-attacks. It has many categories under it like –

b. ISO 27001

This standard lays down instructions for the organization to manage its confidential information. It suggests a process that starts from the establishment, implementation, operation, monitoring, maintenance, and lasting improvement.

c. ISO 27000

This standard is an extension of the previous one that defines the terminologies relevant for cybersecurity in an organization.

d. ISO 27002

This standard puts forward the guidelines that organizations need to follow for information security management practices. This mainly takes into account the selection and implementation of the information security risk environment.

e. ISO 27005

It supports the 27001 standards and lays down points to keep in mind during the risk management approach. The companies need to understand ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 first to comply with this standard. NGOs, PSUs, and commercial organizations can follow this standard.

f. ISO 27032

This standard is particular to cybersecurity in terms of collaborations, partnerships, or anything that requires information-sharing arrangements.

2. IT Act

The Information Technology Act is an Indian standard of the year 2000. It provides a legal infrastructure similar to the United Nations Model Law on E-Commerce 1996. It monitors the cyber network in India starting from 2008 with an aim to boost electronic commerce trade. The government is also able to maintain reliable electronic records with this act.

There are 13 chapters, 94 sections, and 4 schedules in this act. The initial 14 sections are for digital signatures, sections 43 to 47 for penalties, section 48 to 64 for appeals, sections 65 to 79 deal for offenses, and the rest are miscellaneous.

3. Copyright Act

The Copyright Act 1957 controls the ownership of a product or service in a tangible form of expression. This may include – books, videos, movies, music, etc. This is to protect the skills of creators and who can access the manufacturing rights to those.

It includes –

1. Copyright owners rights
2. Protection Eligibility
3. Copyright Duration
4. Copyright Claim

It does not include –

1. Procedures and Processes
2. Intangible form of work
3. Symbols with familiarity
4. Titles, short phrases, and slogans
5. Typographic ornamentation, lettering, and coloring

4. Patent Law

This law is for protecting new inventions that include scientific discovery, business practices, coding algorithms, and many more things. The law makes it a right of the inventor to exclude others from using and manufacturing their invention. The patent is not valid for – natural object or process, known discovery, not useful, and not obvious invention.

5. IPR

Intellectual property rights are the way by which creators can benefit from their inventions or discovery. It is a part of Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It allows the protection of interests as a result of scientific or artistic productions. They can practice monopoly on the use of the item for a specific period.

6. PCI DSS

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard allows organizations to accept payment through their gateway. Because they end up storing user data, this standard allows up-to-date systems with regular security assessments. This standard was put forward by a group of famous card brands.

7. HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ensures that hospitals keep all patient-related information confidential. It has strict punishment if the hospital doesn’t have a strong network security team. These teams need to maintain reports, encrypt transactions, and other measures so the patient feels safe.

8. FINRA

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is responsible for handling funds and financial transactions. It makes the financial system secure for user data protection in organizations. All organizations must follow this standard and practice fair finance.

9. GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation is by the European government for user data protection. The organization under this standard has to secure user’s data and cannot access it without authorization. This is to ensure that users feel safe in sharing their data at all times.

10. NIST CSF

It is a framework for managing cybersecurity risk according to research available on existing best practices in critical infrastructures. It has flexible regulations allowing non-US and non-critical infrastructure organizations to implement it as well.

11. FISMA

The Federal Information Security Management Act is for strengthening cybersecurity at federal agencies and offices. It is a US law that comes under the E-Government Act of 2002. The agencies must follow this act for confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. This includes their own information and information related to other agencies or contractors

12. UL 2900

UL is a safety organization that came out with a series of UL 2900 standards. These standards are to ensure that manufacturers mention all the technologies used in products, protect sensitive data and eliminate vulnerabilities.

The UL 2900-1 talks about general cybersecurity requirements, UL 2900-2-1 about medical products, UL 2900-2-2 for industrial systems, and UL 2900-2-3 for signaling systems.

13. NERC

It is a standard for the electrical power industry and its security that started in 2003. NERC 1300 is the most famous standard that addresses all the security needs of the power industry. CIP-002-3 – CIP-009-3 are the latest versions of this standard addressing bulk electric systems security.

14. FIPS

The Federal Information Processing Standards has 140 series under it, all issued by the US Government. These standards are specific to cryptography modules which organizations need to keep in mind. FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3 are the current standards that companies are following.

15. Cyber Essentials

Cyber Essential is a scheme that the UK government follows for information assurance. The National Cyber Security Centre monitors it and promotes its use for ethical practice in information security. It also consists of an assurance framework that companies can follow for information protection from threats.

16. British Standard Institution

The Federal Office for Information Security standards lays down criteria for various aspects of information security. Both companies and users can use BSI standards to secure their data.

BSI Standard 100-4 talks about business management while 200-1 defines a security management system. It takes into account some of the regulations by ISO standards as well.

The BSI Standard 200-2 defines the methodology for a security management system. And BSI Standard 200-3 has details about IT baseline protection.

17. IEC 62443

The IEC 62443 standards are for Industrial Automation and Control Systems. It divides the products into categories like General, Policies and Procedures, System, and Component.

The first one deals with concepts, models, and terminology. The category defines an effective IACS security program. The third category has the zone and conduit, design model. And the fourth category has details about product development and technical requirements.

18. ETSI EN 303 645

The ETSI EN 303 645 standards are specified for consumer Internet of things devices. The developers and manufacturers follow this while dealing with Internet-connected consumer devices align with the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU.

19. CIS Controls

The CIS controls is a long list of instructions for hardening technical infrastructure and reducing risks. It keeps adding frameworks under it to provide direct operational advice and reduce overall organizational risk. It complements the existing risk management frameworks so the companies can get faster results in information security.

20. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

IETF doesn’t need any sort of memberships and has open standards for the Internet protocol suite. There are other regulations too like applications, Internet, operations, etc. Which this framework addresses.

21. IASME

This framework is for small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can follow relevant cybersecurity measures. The main aim is to accredit the organization’s cybersecurity posture similar to ISO 27001 certification. Moreover, it has free cybersecurity insurance in the United Kingdom.

22. SOC

It is a framework by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that mandates proper security for personal customer information. SOC has instructions for data breach risks and cybersecurity postures with external and internal threat analyses. It has 61 requirements to address several cybersecurity issues.

23. COBIT

The Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies bring together IT security, governance, and management under one framework.

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association is in charge of this framework. This is ideal for companies wanting production quality with ethical security practices. It meets the demands of all stakeholders when it comes to the cybersecurity framework.

24. COSO

Committee of Sponsoring Organizations is another name famous for managing cybersecurity risks. It has rules for monitoring, auditing, etc. with 17 requirements divided into five different categories. They are –

1. Control environment
2. Risk assessments
3. Control activities
4. Information and communication
5. Monitoring and controlling

They all coordinate to complete the security task with efficiency and are known as cybersecurity strategies.

25. TC CYBER

The Technical Committee on Cyber Security puts forward a framework for telecommunication standards in European zones. It has regulations for privacy awareness and communication security while using telecommunication channels.

26. HITRUST

Health Information Trust Alliance is for securing the health industry and its use of technology for protection. This makes health organizations more efficient while managing risks and planning regulations. This security proposal aligns with GDPS and HIPPA regulations.

27. CISQ

Consortium for IT Software Quality is for the developers who make software applications. This defines the size and quality of a software program that developers need to keep in mind to avoid risks and vulnerabilities. This removes possible threats, securing software applications.

28. Ten Steps to Cybersecurity

It is a program by the UK’s Department for Business for spreading knowledge about cybersecurity and how it affects a business. This is to ensure that companies make well-thought decisions and avoid cyber risks. The language is simple so that more and more employees can easily understand it.

29. FedRAMP

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program have standardized guidelines for governmental organizations. It comes with security packages and assessments for IT infrastructure and cloud products.

FedRAMP allows real-time cybersecurity programs with only the latest and reliable technologies. It often collaborates with cloud and cybersecurity experts to increase automation for monitoring.

30. NY DFS

The New York Department of Financial Services has regulations for everything under DFS registrations, charters, or licenses. It has rules for financial security postures and business interaction. It promotes security infrastructure for protecting IT assets and detects cybersecurity events.

31. SCAP

The Security Content Automation Protocol defines the standards for the communication of security products and tools.

The idea is to standardize the security issue communication process and configuration. This way, the companies can maintain data using universal criteria and formats. They can utilize the verification and installation process automatically without compromising the system or network security.

32. ANSI

The American National Standards Institute lays down standards for Industrial Automation and Control Systems. It is applicable for all organizations and has four subcategories.

The first one is about security models, terminologies, and concepts. The second category is for IACS cybersecurity programs. The third and fourth defines the system integration and security requirements.

Conclusion

These were some of the most important standards that are crucial to follow for better security. All these frameworks have experts behind their developments and thus are highly reliable. The extensive research makes them efficient as well.

All these things can lead to organizations saving up time and money by avoiding cyber threats. These things are enough to say that following cybersecurity standards can yield positive results for companies.