Iso 27004 2016
Iso 27004 2016
Iso 27004 2016
S TANDARD 2 7004
Second editio n
2 0 1 6- 1 2 - 1 5
Reference numb er
I SO /I EC 2 7 0 0 4: 2 0 1 6(E )
© I SO /I E C 2 0 1 6
ISO/IEC 2 7004: 2 01 6(E)
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Contents Page
Foreword .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. iv
Introduction . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . v
1 Scope . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . 1
2 Normative references . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 1
5 Rationale . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 2
5 .1 The need for measurement . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 2
5.4 Benefits . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 3
6 Characteristics . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 4
6.1 General . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4
7 Types of measures . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 7
7 .1 General . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 7
7 .2 Performance measures .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . 7
7 .3 E ffectiveness measures . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 8
8 Processes . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 9
8 .1 General . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 9
8 .3 .1 General . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . 1 1
8.3.2 Identi fy current security practices that can support information needs . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 11
8.8 Review and improve monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation processes . . .. . . . . . . . . 15
Bibliography . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 5 8
Foreword
I SO (the I nternational O rgani zation for Standardiz ation) and I E C (the I nternational E lec trotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
memb ers of I S O or I E C p ar ticip ate in the development of I nternational Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields o f technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields o f mutual interest. Other international
organi zation s , governmental and non- governmental, in l iaison with I SO and I E C , al so take p ar t in the
work. In the field o f in formation technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
I SO/I EC J TC 1 .
T he procedures used to develop this do cument and those intended for its fur ther maintenance are
describ ed in the I S O/I EC D irec tives , Par t 1 . I n p ar ticu lar the di fferent approval criteria needed for
the di fferent types o f document should be noted. This document was dra fted in accordance with the
editorial ru les of the I SO/I E C D irec tives , Par t 2 (see www. iso . org/direc tives) .
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some o f the elements o f this document may be the subject
o f patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identi fying any or all such patent
rights. Details o f any patent rights identified during the development o f the document will be in the
I ntro duc tion and/or on the I S O lis t of p atent declarations received (see www. iso . org/p atents) .
Any trade name used in this document is in formation given for the convenience o f users and does not
cons titute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning o f ISO specific terms and expressions related to con formity assessment,
as well as information about I SO ’s adherence to the World Trade O rganization ( WTO) principles in the
Technical B arriers to Trade (TB T ) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword. html.
T he com mittee res p ons ible for this do cument is I SO/I E C J TC 1 , Information technology, Sub committee
SC 2 7, IT Security techniques.
This second edition o f ISO/IEC 27004 cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 27004:2009),
which has been technically revised.
This edition includes the following significant changes with respect to the previous edition:
A total res truc turing of the do cument b ecause it has a new purp os e – to provide guidance on
I SO/I EC 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 – which, at the time of the previous edition, did not exis t.
The concepts and processes have been modified and expanded. However, the theoretical foundation
(I SO/I EC 1 593 9) remains the s ame and several of the examples given in the previous edition are
Introduction
T h i s do c u ment i s i ntende d to a s s i s t orga ni z ation s to eva luate the i n formation s e c urity p er forma nce
and the e ffe c tivene s s o f an i n formation s e c u rity ma nagement s ys tem i n order to fu l fi l the re qu i rements
can b e s upp or tive of decis ions relating to I SM S governance, management, op erational effec tivenes s and
continual improvement.
As with other I SO/I EC 2 70 0 0 documents , this document shou ld b e cons idered, interpreted and adap ted
to s u it e ach organ i z ation’s s p e c i fic s ituation . T he concep ts and appro ache s a re i ntende d to b e bro ad ly
app l ic able but the p a r tic u l ar me as u re s that any p ar tic u lar orga n i z ation re qu i re s dep end on conte xtua l
fac tors (s uch as its s i z e, s e c tor, matu rity, i n formation s e c urity ri s ks , compl i ance obl igation s a nd
T his document is recommended for organi z ations implementing an I SM S that meets the requirements
I S O/I E C 2 70 01 or i mp o s e any obl igation s up on organ i z ation s to ob s er ve the gu idel i ne s pre s ente d .
1 Scope
T his do cument provides guidelines intended to as s is t organi zations in evaluating the information
s e c u rity p er formance and the e ffe c ti vene s s o f a n i n formation s e c urity ma nagement s ys tem i n order to
b) the mon itori ng and me a s urement o f the e ffe c tivene s s o f a n i n formation s e c u rity management
c) the ana lys i s a nd eva luation o f the re s u lts o f mon itori ng and me a s u rement.
2 Normative references
T he fol lowi ng do c u ments are re ferre d to i n the tex t i n s uch a way th at s ome or a l l o f thei r content
con s titute s re qu i rements o f th i s do c u ment. For date d re ference s , on ly the e d ition cite d appl ie s . For
u ndate d re ference s , the late s t e d ition o f the re ference d do c ument (i nclud i ng a ny amend ments) appl ie s .
I S O and I E C maintain term inological datab ases for use in s tandardiz ation at the fol lowing addres ses:
— I EC E lec trop edia: avai lable at http://www. elec trop edia. org/
a) Rationale (C lause 5 ) ;
c) Typ e s o f me a s u re s (C laus e 7 ) ;
d) P ro ces s es (C lause 8) .
T he ordering of these clauses is intended to aid unders tanding and map to I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1
o f mon itori ng a nd me as u rement pro duce s data wh ich i s then a na lys e d . T he re s u lts o f ana lys i s a re
I n addition, Annex A de s c rib e s a me as u rement mo del for i n formation s e c u rity, i nclud i ng the relation s h ip
b etween the comp onents of the meas urement model and the requirements of I S O/I EC 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 .
Annex B provides a wide range of examples . T hese examples are intended to provide prac tical guidance
on how organ i z ation s c an mon itor, me a s u re, ana lys e and eva luate thei r cho s en I S M S pro ce s s e s and
are a s o f i n formation s e c u rity p er formance . T he s e e xample s u s e the s ugge s te d templ ate given i n Table 1 .
Annex C provides a fur ther example us ing an alternative free-form text-b ased format.
5 Rationale
T he overa l l obj e c tive o f an I S M S i s the pre s er vation o f con fidenti a l ity, i ntegrity a nd ava i labi l ity o f
in formation within its scop e. T here are I SM S ac tivities that concern the planning of how to do this , and
the i mplementation o f tho s e plan s . H owever, by them s elve s , the s e ac tivitie s c an no t gua rante e that the
re a l i s ation o f tho s e plan s fu l fi l the i n formation s e c u rity obj e c tive s . T here fore, i n the I S M S a s defi ne d
by I S O/I E C 2 70 01 , there a re s evera l re qui rements to eva luate i f the pl an s a nd ac tivitie s en s u re the
5 . 2 F u l fi l l i n g th e I S O / I E C 2 7 0 0 1 r e q u i re m e n ts
ISO/IEC 27001:2013, 9.1 requires the organization to evaluate the in formation security per formance
and the e ffectiveness o f the ISMS. Measure types able to fulfil these requirements can be found in
C lause 7.
a) what needs to be monitored and measured, including in formation security processes and controls;
b) the methods for monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation, as applicable, to ensure valid
results;
c) when the monitoring and measuring shall be per formed;
d) who shall monitor and measure;
e) when the results from monitoring and measurement shall be analysed and evaluated; and
f ) who shall analyse and evaluate these results.
T he mapping of these requirements is provided in Figure 1 .
Finally, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, 9.1 requires the organization to retain appropriate documented
information as evidence of the monitoring and meas urement res u lts (S ee 8 .9) .
I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 al so notes that metho ds selec ted shou ld pro duce comp arable and repro ducible
5 .3 Validity of results
I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 b) requires that organiz ations cho ose metho ds for meas urement, monitoring,
analysis and evaluation to ensure valid results. The clause notes that to be valid, results should
be comparable and reproducible. To achieve this, organizations should collect, analyse, and report
meas ures , taking the fol lowing p oints into cons ideration:
a) in order to get comp arable res u lts on meas ures that are b ased on monitoring at different p oints in
times, it is important to ensure that scope and context o f the ISMS are not changed;
b) changes in the methods or techniques used for measuring and monitoring do not generally lead to
comparable results. In order to retain comparability, specific tests such as parallel application o f
the original as well as the changed methods can be required;
c) i f subjective elements are part o f the methods or techniques used for measuring and monitoring,
specific steps can be needed to obtain reproducible results. As an example, questionnaire results
should be evaluated against defined criteria; and
d) in some situations, reproducibility can only be given in specific circumstances. For example, there
are s ituations where res u lts are non-repro ducible, but are valid when aggregated.
5 . 4 B e n e fi ts
Fulfilling ISMS processes and controls and ensuring in formation security per formance can provide a
number o f organizational and financial benefits. Major benefits can include:
a) Increased accountability: Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation can increase
accountability for in formation security by helping to identi fy specific in formation security
processes or controls that are implemented incorrectly, are not implemented, or are ine ffective.
b) Improved information security performance and ISMS processes: Monitoring, meas urement,
analysis and evaluation can enable organizations to quanti fy improvements in securing in formation
within the scope o f their ISMS and demonstrate quantifiable progress in accomplishing the
organization’s in formation security objectives.
c) Evidence of meeting requirements: Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation can
provide documented evidence that helps demonstrate fulfilling o f ISO/IEC 27001 (and other
s tandards) requirements , as wel l as appl icable laws , ru les , and regu lations .
d) Support decision-making: Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation can support risk-
in formed decision-making by contributing quantifiable in formation to the risk management
pro ces s . It can al low organi z ations to meas ure s ucces ses and fai lures of p as t and current
in formation security investments, and should provide quantifiable data that can support resource
al location for future inves tments .
6 Characteristics
6.1 General
Monitoring and measurement is the first step in a process to evaluate in formation security per formance
and I SM S effec tivenes s .
In order to determine what to monitor and measure, the organization should first consider what it
wishes to achieve in evaluating in formation security per formance and ISMS e ffectiveness. This can
al low it to determine its in formation needs .
O rgani z ations shou ld next decide what meas ures are needed to s upp or t each discrete information
need and what data are required to derive the requisite measures. Hence, measurement should always
corres p ond to the information needs of the organi zation .
Monitoring determines the status o f a system, a process or an activity in order to meet a specified
in formation need.
Systems, processes and activities which can be monitored include, but are not limited to:
a) implementation o f ISMS processes;
b) incident management;
c) vulnerability management;
d) configuration management;
e) security awareness and training;
f ) access control, firewall and other event logging;
g) audit;
h) risk assessment process;
i) risk treatment process;
j) third party risk management;
4 © I SO /I E C 2 0 1 6 – All rights res erved
ISO/IEC 2 7004: 2 01 6(E)
in formation, etc.) that can be used to support other measures. In the process o f defining attributes to be
meas ured, additional monitoring can b e required to provide s upp or ting in formation .
Note that monitoring can al low an organiz ation to determ ine whether a risk has materiali zed, and
thereby indicate what action it can take to treat such a risk itsel f. Note also that there can be certain
types o f in formation security controls that have the explicit purpose o f monitoring. When using outputs
of s uch control s to s upp or t meas urement, organiz ations shou ld ens ure that the meas urement proces s
takes into account whether the data used was obtained be fore or a fter any treatment action was taken.
As an example, cons ider I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 7. 2 c) , which requires an organi zation to take ac tion, where
applicable, to acquire necessary competence. An organization can determine whether all individuals
who require training have received it and whether the training was delivered as planned. T his can b e
measured by the number or percentage o f people trained. An organization can also determine whether
the individuals who have been trained actually acquired and retained the necessary competence (which
can b e meas ured with a p os t-training ques tionnaire) .
With regards to I SM S pro ces ses , organi zations shou ld note that there are a numb er of claus es in
ISO/IEC 27001 that explicitly require the e ffectiveness o f some activity to be determined. For example,
I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 10 .1 d) requires organiz ations to review the effectiveness of any corrective
“
action taken ”.
In order to per form such a review, the e ffectiveness o f corrective actions should first be
determined in terms o f some defined form o f measure. In order to do this the organization should first
define an appropriate in formation need and a measure, or measures, to satis fy it. The process for doing
this is explained in C lause 8 .
I SM S pro ces ses and ac tivities that are candidates for meas urement include:
a) planning;
b) leadership;
c) risk management;
d) policy management;
e) resource management;
f ) communicating;
g) management review;
h) documenting; and
i) auditing.
With regards to in formation security per formance, the most obvious candidates are the organization’s
in formation security controls or groups o f such controls (or even the entire risk treatment plan). These
control s are determ ined through the pro ces s of risk treatment and are referred to in I S O/I EC 2 70 01 as
necessary controls. They can be ISO/IEC 27001:2013, Annex A controls, sector-specific controls (e.g. as
defined in standards such as ISO/IEC 27010), controls specified by other standards and controls that
have been designed by the organization. As the purpose o f a control is to modi fy risk, there are a variety
of attributes that can b e meas ured, s uch as:
j) the degree to which a control reduces the likelihood o f the occurrence o f an event;
k) the degree to which a control reduces the consequence o f an event;
l) the frequency o f events that a control can cope with be fore failure; and
m) how long after the occurrence of an event do es it take for the control to detec t that the event has
o ccurred.
Organizations should define specific time frames in which to monitor, measure, analyse, and evaluate,
based on individual in formation needs, required measures, and the li fecycle o f data supporting
individual measures. The data supporting measures can be collected more frequently than the analysis
and reporting o f such measures to individual interested parties. For example, while data on security
incidents can be collected continually, reporting o f such data to external interested parties should be
based on specific requirements, such as severity (possibly requiring immediate notification as in the
case of a rep or table breach) or aggregated values (as might b e the cas e for attemp ted intrus ions which
Organizations should note that in order to satis fy certain in formation needs, be fore analysis and
evaluation can pro ceed, an appropriate volume of data needs to b e col lec ted in order to provide
a meaning ful basis for assessment and comparison (e.g. when conducting statistical analysis). In
addition, the processes o f monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation can need testing and
fine-tuning be fore the resulting measures can be use ful to the organization. Organizations should
there fore determine a limit to the duration o f any fine-tuning (so as to proceed with the real objective,
measurement o f the ISMS) and for how long monitoring and collection should continue be fore analysis
and evaluation can commence.
Organizations can adjust their measurement time frames, as they update their measurement activities,
to address specific environmental changes listed in 8 . 2 . For example, if an organiz ation is trans itioning
from a manual data source to an automated source, a change in frequency o f collection can be required.
Fur thermore, a b asel ine is needed to comp are two sets of meas ures taken at di fferent p oints in time
and potentially by di fferent methods but aiming to fulfil the same in formation need.
An organization can choose to structure their monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation
ac tivities into a meas urement programme. I t is imp or tant to note, however, that I SO/I EC 2 70 01 has no
monitors, measures, analyses and evaluates in terms o f individuals or roles. Monitoring, measurement,
analysis, and evaluation can be per formed using either manual or automated means. Whether
the measurement is per formed manually or automatically, organizations can define the following
meas urement-related roles and res p ons ibi lities:
a) meas urement client: the management or other interes ted p ar ties reques ting or requiring
measurement constructs are appropriate for evaluating in formation security per formance and the
e ffectiveness o f an ISMS, controls or group o f controls;
d) in formation owner: the p ers on or organi zational unit that owns the information that provides
i nput i nto me a s u re s . T h i s p ers on i s re s p on s ible for provid i ng the data and i s a l s o fre quently ( but
e) in formation col lec tor: the p ers on or organi zational unit res p ons ible for col lec ting, recording and
f) i n formation ana lys t: the p ers on or orga ni z ationa l u n it re s p on s ible for ana lys i ng data; and
g) in formation communicator: the p erson or organiz ational unit res p ons ible for communicating the
I ndividual s p erforming different roles and res p ons ibil ities throughout the pro ces ses can require
7 Types of measures
7.1 General
For the purp oses of this guidance, the p erformance of planned ac tivities and the effec tivenes s of the
a) p erformance meas ures: meas ures that expres s the planned res u lts in terms of the charac teris tics
o f the p lan ne d ac tivity, s uch as he ad cou nts , m i le s tone accompl i s h ment, or the degre e to wh ich
b) effec tivenes s meas ures: meas ures that expres s the effec t that reali zation of the planned ac tivities
T he s e me as u re s c an b e i n herently organ i z ation- s p e c i fic s i nce e ach organ i z ation ha s its own p a r tic u l ar
Note that the terms “p erformance meas ures ” and “effec tivenes s meas ures ” should not b e confused
with the I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 re qui rement to eva luate i n formation s e c u rity p er formance a nd I S M S
effec tivenes s .
Performance meas ures can b e used to demons trate pro gres s in implementing I S M S pro ces ses , as so ciated
pro ce du re s and s p e ci fic s e c u rity control s . Where a s e ffe c tivene s s concern s the ex tent to wh ich pla n ne d
ac tivities have b een real ised and intended res ults achieved, p erformance meas ures should concern the
help de term i ne whe ther the I S M S pro ce s s e s a nd i n formation s e c u rity control s have b e en i mp lemente d
as s p e c i fie d .
Per formance me as u re s u s e data that ca n b e ob tai ne d from m i nute s , attenda nce re cord s , proj e c t plan s ,
automate d s c a nn i ng to ol s and o ther com mon ly-u s e d me a n s o f do c u menti ng , re cord i ng , and mon itori ng
I SM S ac tivities .
T he col le c tion, ana lys i s , and rep or ti ng o f me a s u re s s hou ld b e automate d wherever p o s s ible, i n order to
reduce the cos t and effor t required and the p otential for human error.
E xample 1
When measuring the degree o f implementation o f specific in formation security controls, such as
the percentage o f laptops with hard disk encryption, the results o f this measure will likely be, at
first, less than 100%. When the result reaches and remains at 100%, it can be concluded that the
in formation systems have fully implemented the security controls addressed by this measure, and
meas urement ac tivities can refo cus on other control s in need of improvement.
E xample 2
For a new ISMS, the organization should first seek to ensure that top management attends the review
and other meetings that can b e cal led. T he planned (or intended) res u lt in this case is fu l l attendance
at all meetings, barring sickness and permitted prior commitments. The measure is simply how
many attend versus how many ought to attend, with a possible modifier that absence was for good
reason. At first, the results o f these measures might indicate a shortfall. However, with time, results
shou ld reach and remain clos e to their planned targets . At this p oint, the organi zation should b egin
to fo cus its meas urement effor ts on effec tivenes s meas ures (see 7. 3 ) .
After most per formance measures reach and remain at 100%, the organization should begin to focus its
measurement e fforts on e ffectiveness measures. Organizations should never fully retire per formance
measures because they can be help ful in pointing out specific security controls that are in need o f
improvement; however, over time, the emphasis and resources being applied to measurement should
shi ft away from these measures and towards e ffectiveness measures (see 7. 3 ) .
According to I SO/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 , it is l ikewise imp or tant to also meas ure the effec tivenes s of
the management system (discussed next). To operate a suitable ISMS, organizations should measure
p erformance and effec tivenes s at planned inter val s .
E ffec tivenes s meas ures should b e used to describ e the effec tivenes s and imp ac t that the realis ations of
the I SM S risk treatment plan and I SM S proces ses and controls have on the organi zation’s information
security objectives. These measures should be used to determine whether ISMS processes and
in formation security controls are operating as intended and achieving their desired outcomes.
Depending upon those objectives, e ffectiveness measures can be used to quanti fy, e.g.:
a) cost savings produced by the ISMS or through costs incurred from addressing in formation security
incidents;
b) the degree o f customer trust gained/maintained by the ISMS; and
c) the achievement o f other in formation security objectives.
E ffectiveness measures can be created by combining data obtained from automated monitoring and
evaluation tools with manually-derived data about ISMS activity. This can require tracking a variety
o f measures across the organization in a manner that can be directly tied to the ISMS activities and
in formation security events. To achieve this, an organization should have an established capability to:
d) evaluate the degree to which I SM S proces ses , controls , or groups of controls have b een implemented
T hese effec tivenes s meas ures combine information ab out the real is ation of the risk treatment plan
with a variety o f in formation about resources and can provide inputs to the risk management process.
They can also provide the most direct insight into the value o f in formation security to the organization
and can b e the ones that ought to b e of mos t interes t to top management.
E xample 3
Exploitations o f known vulnerabilities are known to cause a large portion o f in formation security
incidents. The greater the number o f known vulnerabilities and the longer that they are not
addressed (e.g. patched), the greater the probability o f their exploitation by associated threats and
the greater the related risk exp os ure. An effec tivenes s meas ure can help an organi z ation determine
A training course can have specific training objectives for each course module. An e ffectiveness
meas ure can help the organi zation to determine the extent to which each trainee has unders too d
each lesson and is able to apply their new knowledge and skills. These measures usually require
multiple data points, such as: results o f post-training tests; examination o f incident data correlated
with training topics; or analysis o f help desk calls correlated with training topics.
8 Processes
8.1 General
Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation (see Figure 2) consists o f the following processes:
a) identi fy in formation needs;
b) create and maintain measures;
c) establish procedures;
d) monitor and measure;
e) analyse results; and
f ) evaluate in formation security per formance and ISMS e ffectiveness.
I n addition, there is an I SM S management pro ces s that covers the review and improvement of the ab ove
T he cre ation o f me a s ure s shou ld b egi n with identi fic ation o f i n formation ne e d s , wh ich c an a s s i s t i n the
unders ta nd i ng o f the op erationa l ch arac teri s tics and/or p er formance o f any a s p e c t o f the I S M S , s uch as
a) i ntere s te d p ar ty ne e d s;
e) examine the I SM S , its proces ses and other elements s uch as:
2) lega l, re gu l ator y, contrac tua l and orga n i z ationa l re qui rements for i n formation s e c u rity; and
3) i ntere s te d p ar ty ne e d s;
4) the i n formation s e c u rity p ol ic y and obj e c tive s , and control obj e c tive s;
5) i n formation re qui re d to me e t organ i z ationa l, lega l, regu lator y, and contrac tua l obl igations; and
g) s elec t a s ubs et of information needs required to b e addres sed in meas urement ac tivities from the
prioriti z e d l i s t; a nd
h) document and communicate the selec ted information needs to al l relevant interes ted p ar ties .
8.3 .1 General
O rgan i z ation s shou ld cre ate me a s ure s once a nd there a fter review a nd s ys tematic a l ly up date the s e
meas ures at planned inter val s or when the I SM S ’s environment undergo es s ubs tantial changes . Such
f) ach ievement o f de s i re d and s tab le re s u lts for s evera l s ub s e quent c ycle s; and
g) i ntro duc tion or d i s p o s ition o f i n formation pro ce s s i ng te ch nolo gie s and s ys tem s .
C reating or up dating s uch meas ures can include, among others , the fol lowings s tep s:
i) develop or up date me as u re s;
Up dating meas ures is exp ec ted to take les s time and effor t than the initial creation .
8.3 .2 Identify current security practices that can support information needs
O nce an i n formation ne e d i s identi fie d , orga n i z ation s shou ld i nventor y exi s ti ng me as u rement a nd
s e c u rity prac tice s as a p o tenti a l comp onent o f me a s u rement. E xi s ti ng me a s u rement and s e c u rity
a) ri s k management;
b) proj e c t management;
d) s e c u rity p ol icie s .
Me as u re s shou ld re s p ond to the i n formation ne e d . T hey c an rely on the c u rrent prac tice s or they
me a s urement pro ce s s e s . I n any c a s e, the identi fie d me as u re s shou ld b e defi ne d i n s u fficient de tai l to
T hes e and other p otential sources of data, which can b e of either of internal or external origin, shou ld
l) e as e o f i nterpre tation;
O rgani z ations should do cument each meas ure in a form that ties the meas ure to the relevant
i n formation ne e d (or ne e d s) and provide s s u ffic ient i n formation ab out the ch arac teri s tics de s c ribi ng
the me a s ure a nd how to col le c t, a na lys e , a nd rep or t it. Sugge s te d i n formation de s crip tors are provide d
in Table 1 .
T he examples in Annex B use Table 1 as a template. Two examples have an additional in formation
de s crip tor (c a l le d “ac tion” ) , wh ich defi ne s the ac tion to b e ta ken i n the event that the targe t i s no t me t.
O rga ni z ation s may i nclude th i s i n formation de s crip tor i f they con s ider it u s e fu l . T here i s no s i ngle way
to s p e c i fy s uch me as u rement con s tr uc ts and Annex C demons trates an alternative free-form approach.
meas urement clients (see Table 1) , which can b e internal or external . For example, meas ures for
add re s s i ng top ma nagement i n formation ne e d s can d i ffer from tho s e for s ys tem ad m i ni s trator
E ach meas ure shou ld corres p ond to, at leas t, one information need, whi le a s ingle in formation need
O rga ni z ation s s hou ld ta ke c are when u s i ng s ubj e c tive me a s u re s as me as u re s forme d b y combi n i ng two
I nformation
Meaning or purpose
descriptor
I n formation ne ed O ver-arch ing need for unders tandi ng to wh ich the me as ure contributes .
S ta te m e n t o f m e a s u r e m e n t, ge n e r a l l y d e s c r i b e d u s i n g a wo r d s u c h a s “p e r c e n t a ge ”,
M ea s u re
“nu mb er ”, “ fre quenc y” a nd “average”.
Formu la/s cori ng H ow the me as ure shou ld b e eva luated, ca lc u lated or s core d .
D es i red res u lt of the meas urement, e. g. , a m i les tone or a s tati s tica l me as ure or a s et of
Targe t th resholds . No te that ongoi ng monitori ng c an b e requi red to en s ure conti nued attainment
of the ta rge t.
evidence of p o or res u lts , and provides i nput to the pro ces s . D ata to provide i nput i nto the formu la .
H ow fre quently the data shou ld b e col le c te d and rep or te d . T here ca n b e a re as on for havi ng
Fre quenc y
mu ltiple fre quencies .
T h e p e r s o n re s p o n s i b l e fo r ga the r i n g a nd p r o c e s s i n g the me a s u r e . At th e l e a s t, a n
Res p on s ible p ar ties
I n for m ation O wner, I n for m ation C o l le c tor a nd M e a s u rement C l ient s ho u ld b e identi fie d .
Po tentia l data s ources can b e datab as es , tracki ng to ol s , o ther p ar ts of, the organi z ation,
D ata s ou rce
e x ter n a l o rga n i z atio n s , or s p e c i fic i nd i vidu a l role s .
Rep or ti ng How the meas u re shou ld b e col lec ted and rep or ted, e . g. , as text, nu merical ly, graphical ly (pie
format char t, li ne char t, b ar graph etc.) , as p ar t of a ‘da shb o ard’ or ano ther form of pres entation .
I t i s ver y i mp or tant to defi ne me as u re s i n s uch way a s to col le c t data once and u s e it for mu ltiple
pu rp o s e s . I de a l ly, the s ame data shou ld s upp or t a varie ty o f me a s ure s that c a n re s p ond to d i fferent
interes ted p ar ties ’ in formation needs . Note al so that what is eas ies t to meas ure need not b e mos t
Targe ts s hou ld s tate the de s i re d end s tate s for s p e ci fic me as u re s with re s p e c t to the I S M S pro ce s s e s
and control s , the ach ievement o f i n formation s e c urity obj e c tive s , and for the e ffe c tivene s s o f the I S M S
to b e evaluated.
E s tabl ishment of targets can b e faci l itated if his toric data that p er tains to develop ed or selec ted
meas ures is avai lable. Trends ob ser ved in the p as t can in some cas es provide ins ight into ranges of
p er forma nce that have e xi s te d previou sly and guide the c re ation of re a l i s tic targe ts . H owever,
organi z ations should b e cautioned that without due cons ideration, setting targets b ased up on what
wa s previou sly ach ieve d or previou s p er forma nce c an a l s o p erp e tuate a s tatu s quo or even i mp e de
continual improvement.
Fol lowi ng defi nition o f the re qui re d me as u re s , thei r compi lation s hou ld b e do c u mente d and prioriti z e d
for i mplementation b a s e d on the priority o f e ach i n formation ne e d a nd fe a s ibi l ity o f ob tai n i ng the data .
b een implemented. O nce p erformance meas ures are pro ducing targeted values , effec tivenes s meas ures
can b e implemented as wel l . S ee al so 6 .4 for guidance on when to p erform monitoring and related
ac tivities .
M anagement on different organiz ational levels needs to b e involved in developing and implementing
regu lar up date s i n appropriate formats and s tyle s , to en s u re th at it rema i n s i n forme d concern i ng the
and application.
a) i ntere s te d p ar tie s who s hou ld b e p ar tic ip ati ng i n the s e c u rity me a s u rement pro ce s s shou ld b e
b) data col le c tion and a na lys i s to ol s shou ld b e identi fie d and , i f ne e de d, mo d i fie d, to e ffe c tively and
e fficiently gather me a s u re s .
O rga ni z ation s shou ld e s tabl i s h pro ce du re s for data col le c tion, a na lys i s , and rep or ti ng o f me as u re s , for
example b y:
c) data col le c tion, i nclud i ng s e c u re data s torage and veri fic ation . T he pro ce du re s s hou ld defi ne how
data i s col le c te d, s tore d, veri fie d a nd wh ich contex t i n formation i s ne ce s s a r y for fu r ther pro ce s s i ng.
D ata veri fic ation c an b e p er forme d b y applyi ng s uch te ch n ique s a s:
3) cap turing contextual information, e. g. , the time at which a datum was col lec ted.
d) data ana lys i s and rep or ti ng o f a na lys i s o f me a s ure s . T he pro ce du re s s hou ld s p e ci fy the data
ana lys i s te ch n ique s and the fre quenc y for rep or ti ng the re s u lti ng me as u re s;
1) s core c ard s to provide s trategic i n formation b y i ntegrati ng h igh-level p er forma nce i nd ic ators;
NO TE T he s e m ay b e terme d ‘ke y p er for m a nce i nd ic ators ’ (s e e the i n for m ation s e c u rity me a s u rement
mo del i n Annex A) .
2) exe c utive a nd op erationa l da shb o ard s fo c u s e d on s trategic obj e c tive s , rather tha n on s p e c i fic
3) rep or ti ng formats ra ngi ng from s i mple and s tatic s tyle s , s uch a s a l i s t o f me as u re s for a given
time p eriod, to more sophis ticated cros s-referencing rep or ts with nes ted groupings , rol l ing
ne e d to pre s ent i ntere s te d p ar tie s with raw d ata i n a n e as y-to -re ad format; a nd
4) gauge s to repre s ent dynam ic va lue s i nclud i ng a ler ts , add itiona l graph ic a l elements and
P ro ce du re s for mon itori ng and me a s urement accompl i she d b y either manua l or automate d me an s , and
for s torage a nd veri fic ation, shou ld b e defi ne d . D ata veri fic ation c an b e p er forme d b y qua l i fyi ng the
data col le c te d agai n s t a che ckl i s t to en s u re th at the e ffe c ts on the ana lys i s o f m i s s i ng data are m i n i ma l
and th at the va lue s are corre c t or with i n re co gn i ze d b ou nd s . For the pu r p o s e o f ana lys i ng , s u fficient
data s hou ld b e col le c te d to en s u re that the re s u lts o f a na lys i s are rel i able .
O rga ni z ation s shou ld col le c t, ana lys e, eva luate a nd rep or t me as u re s to relevant i ntere s te d p ar tie s
with e s tabl i she d p erio d icity. When any o f the cond ition s s tate d i n 8 . 3 .1 o ccur, the organi zation shou ld
con s ider up dati ng its mon itori ng , me as u rement, ana lys i s , a nd eva luation pro ce s s e s .
P rior to publishing information in rep or ts , dashb o ards , etc . , the organi zation should determine how
col le c te d data and re s u lts ca n b e sh are d , a nd with whom, a s s ome i n formation s e c urity-relate d data
Moreover, there is benefit to having a process to check and evaluate the collection process to confirm
that the right measures are being collected and in a manner such that they are repeatable, precise and
cons i s tent.
Collected data should be analysed in relation to the target for each individual measure. Guidance for
per forming statistical analysis can be found in ISO/TR 10017.
The data analysis results should be interpreted. The person analysing the results (communicator)
should b e able to draw some initial conclus ions b as ed on the res u lts . However, s ince the communicator(s)
might not be directly involved in the technical and management processes, such conclusions need to be
reviewed by other interested parties. All interpretations should take into account the context o f the
meas ures .
Data analysis should identi fy gaps between the expected and actual measurement results o f an
implemented ISMS, controls or groups o f controls. Identified gaps can point to needs for improving the
implemented ISMS, including its scope, policies, objectives, controls, processes and procedures.
a) expres s their information needs in terms of the organiz ation’s ques tions concerning information
It there fore follows that the analysis o f the results o f monitoring and measurement will provide
data which can be used to satis fy the in formation needs (see Annex A) . E valuation is the pro ces s of
interpreting that data to answer the organization’s in formation security per formance and ISMS
effec tivenes s ques tions .
8.8 Review and improve monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation processes
Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation processes should continually improve with the
needs of the I SM S . C ontinual improvement ac tivities can include, among other things:
In order to fulfil the requirements o f ISO/IEC 27001:2013, 9.1, it is only necessary for organizations
to retain do cumented information as evidence of the organi zation’s monitoring and meas urements .
Organizations are at liberty to decide what is appropriate. Organizations can, for example, document
the process and the methods used to analyse and evaluate the results.
Rep or ts that are used to communicate meas urement res u lts to relevant interes ted p ar ties shou ld b e
prepared using appropriate reporting formats. The conclusions o f the analysis should be reviewed by
relevant interested parties to ensure proper interpretation o f the data. The results o f data analysis
should b e do cumented for communication to interes ted p ar ties .
T he i n formation com mu n icator s hou ld de term i ne how to com mun ic ate the i n formation s e c u rity
c) s p e ci fic me a s urement re s u lts to b e provide d, a nd the typ e o f pre s entation, tai lore d to the ne e d s o f
e ach group; a nd
d) means for ob taining feedb ack from the interes ted p ar ties to b e used for evaluating the usefu lnes s
Annex A
(informative)
T he meas urement in formation model describ ed in Figure A.1 is presented and explained in
I S O/I E C 1 593 9, and can b e applied to I SM S . I t describ es how attributes of relevant entities can b e
quanti fie d a nd conver te d to i nd ic ators that provide a basis for de ci s ion ma ki ng. T he mo del is a
s truc ture which s tar ts with l in king in formation needs to the relevant entities and attributes of concern .
For e xample, the i n formation ne e d c an b e how wel l the employe e s are i n forme d ab out the i n formation
p ersonnel and resources . E xamples of relevant entities in an I SM S are: risk management proces s ,
aud iti ng pro ce s s , i n formation cla s s i fic ation, management o f acce s s rights , i n formation s e c u rity p ol ic y,
T he meas urement in formation mo del help s to determine what the meas urement planner needs to
I S O/I E C 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 , 9.1 re qu i re s that organ i z ation s eva luate the i n formation s e c u rity p er forma nce
and the e ffe c tivene s s o f the I S M S . T h i s o ften i nvolve s the identi fic ation o f i nd icators , and from the s e,
accord i ng to the s ign i fic ance a nd i mp or tance o f the i nd ic ators to the organ i z ation’s pu rp o s e s , key
p er forma nce i nd ic ators (KPI – s ome ti me s a l s o re ferre d to as ‘key s ucce s s i nd icators ’ ) c a n b e identi fie d .
To determine s uch indicators , an organi zation can es tablish b ase meas ures and derive a meas ure from
T he meas urement mo del in this Annex (us ing b ase meas ure, derived meas ure, p erformance indicator
and me a s urement re s u lt) i s an exa mple o f the appro ach to fu l fi l the I S M S re qu i rements for me a s u rement.
T here a re o ther p o s s ible ways o f lo oki ng at the pro ce s s o f me as u rement, ana lys i s and eva luation .
Annex B
(informative)
B.1 General
T he examples in Annex B fol low the principles set out in this do cument. T he table b elow
map s me a s u rement con s truc t example s to s p e ci fic cl au s e s or control obj e c tive nu mb ers in
I S O/I EC 2 70 01 : 2 01 3 .
7. 5 . 2 , A. 5 .1 . 2 B . 3 Pol ic y review
9. 2 , A .1 8 . 2 .1 B . 6 Aud it program me
10 B .7 I mprovement ac tion s
10 B . 8 S e c u rity i nc idents co s t
A.1 2 . 2 .1 B . 2 4 Anti-malware
descriptor called “action” is included. This defines the action to be taken in the event that the target is
not met. Organizations may include this in formation descriptor i f they consider it use ful. Indeed, there
is no single way to speci fy such measurement constructs and Annex C demons trates an alternative
free-form approach.
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Quanti fy resources which are being allocated to in formation security with respect
to origi na l budge ts
Formu la/s cori ng Al lo cate d res ou rces/u s ed res ources with i n a budgeted p erio d of ti me
Target 1
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To evaluate whether the policies for in formation security are reviewed at planned
intervals or i f significant changes occur
M ea s u re Percentage o f policy reviewed
Formu la/s cori ng Number o f in formation security policies that were reviewed in previous year/
Number o f in formation security policies in place * 100
Targe t Green: >80, Orange >=40%, Red <40%
I mplementation evidence Document history mentioning review o f document or document list indicating
date of las t review
Frequency Collect: a fter planned interval defined for reviews (e.g. yearly or a fter significant
changes)
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: Policy owner who has approved management responsibility
for the development, review and evaluation o f the policy
Relationship ISO/IEC 27001:2013, A.5.1.2: Review o f the policies for in formation security
I SO/IEC 2 70 01: 2 01 3 , 7. 5 . 2 : C reating and updating of documented information
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Assess management commitment and in formation security review activities
regard i ng management review ac tivities
Formu la/s cori ng a) Divide [management review meetings per formed] by [management review
mee tings s chedu le d]
achievement o f the control objective and no action. Even i f it fails, it should be still
over 0 . 5 to conclude the lea s t ach ievement. With regard to i nd ic ator b) , C omputed
confidence limits based on the standard deviation indicate the likelihood that an
actual result close to the average participation rate will be achieved. Very wide
confidence limits suggest a potentially large departure and the need for contingency
planni ng to dea l with th i s outcome.
1 . 2 Per management review mee ti ngs to date, count managers planned to attend
and add a new entry with a de fault value for unplanned meetings per formed in an
ad ho c manner
Rep or ti ng format Line chart depicting indicator with criteria over several data collection and reporting
p erio d s with the s tatement of me as urement res u lts . T he numb er of data col lec tion
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Assess exposure o f the organization to in formation security risks
M ea s u re a) High and medium risks beyond acceptable threshold
b) Timely review o f high and medium risks
Formu la/s cori ng a) Threshold for high and medium risks should be defined and responsible parties
aler te d i f the th reshold i s breached
Targe t 1
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d C ompletenes s of the aud it pro gram me
Me as ure Total numb er of audit p erformed comp ared with the total numb er of audits planned
Formu la/s cori ng (Total number o f audits per formed) / (Total number o f audits planned) * 100.
Target >95%
I mplementation evidence Aud it pro gram me and related rep or ts mon itori ng
Frequency Yearly
Res p ons ible p ar ties I n formation owner: Aud it manager
Rep or ti ng format Trend char t l i n ki ng the ratio of comple te d audits agai ns t the pro gram me for e ach
sampled year
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Veri fy the status of improvement actions and their management according with plans
M ea s u re Percentage o f actions on time, costs and quality (i.e. requirements) against all
planne d ac tion s
The actions should be the ones planned (i.e. opened, stand-by and in progress) in
the b egi nni ng of the ti mefra me
Formu la/s cori ng [(Actions on time, costs and quality) / (Number o f actions)] * 100
Targe t 90%
I mplementation evidence Status mon itori ng of e ach ac tion
Frequency Quarterly
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation Owner: project management o ffice
In formation Collector: project management o ffice
In formation Customer: in formation security manager
D ata s ource Relevant project plans
Rep or ti ng format List o f all relevant actions and their status (actual time, costs and quality forecast
against the planned ones) with the percentage o f actions on time, costs and quality
agai n s t the relevant numb er of ac tions i n the timeframe
Note that this measure may be improved by weighting each action considering their criticality (e.g.,
ac tions that addres s high risks) .
A list o f all relevant actions should be together with the synthetic result, so that a high number o f non-
critical but within accep table b oundaries won’t hide a low numb er of critical ac tions outs ide accep table
b oundaries .
Me as ure Su m o f co s ts for e ach i n formation s e cu rity incident o cc u rre d in the s ampl i ng p erio d
I mplementation evidence S ys tem atic gather i ng o f co s ts fo r e ach i n for m atio n s e c u r ity i nc idents
Res p ons ible p ar ties I n for m ation owner: C omp uter s e c u r ity i nc ident re s p on s e te a m (C S I RT )
Rep or ti ng format C olu m n cha r t showi ng co s ts o f i n formation s e cu rity i ncidents for th i s and previou s
s ampli ng p erio d s .
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Veri f y whether security incidents trigger actions for improving the
current security situation
M ea s ure Number o f security incidents that trigger in formation security improvement actions
Formu la/s cori ng Sum o f security incidents that triggered actions/Sum o f security incidents
Targe t Value should be higher than the threshold defined by the organization
I mplementation evidence Action plan with link to security incidents
Frequency Collect: Quarterly
Report: Every semester
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: Computer security incident response team (CSIRT)
In formation collector: In formation security manager
In formation customer: In formation security manager
D ata s ource I ncident rep or ts
Rep or ti ng format Column chart showing costs o f in formation security incidents for this and previous
s ampl i ng p erio d s .
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d As s es s p erformance of correc tive ac tion i mplementation
c) Trend of s tatu s es
Formu la/s cori ng a) Divide [Corrective action not implemented to date] by [Corrective actions
planned to date]
Target In order to conclude the achievement o f the objective and no action, the ratios o f
indicator a) and b) should fall respectively between 0.4 and 0.0 and between 0.2
and 0 . 0 , and Trend of i nd icator c) shou ld have b een de cl i ni ng for the las t 2 rep or t-
i nd ic ators s o that the trend in correc tive ac tion i mplementation c an b e exam i ned .
Rep or ti ng format Stacked b ar chart with the s tatement of meas urement res ults including an executive
summary o f findings and possible management actions, that depicts total number
o f co r re c tive ac tio n s , s ep a rate d i nto i mp lemente d , no t i mp lemente d without a
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To measure how many employees received an ISMS related awareness training and
establish control compliance with the organization’s in formation security policy
M ea s ure Percentage o f employees having participated to an ISMS awareness training
Formu la/s cori ng I1 = [Number o f employees who received ISMS training/number o f employees who
have to receive ISMS training] * 100
I2 = [Number o f employees who renewed their ISMS training in the last year /
number o f employee in scope] * 100
Targe t Green: i f I1>90 and I2>50%
otherwise Yellow: i f I1>60% and I2>30%
o ther wi s e Red
I mplementation evidence Participation lists o f all awareness trainings; count o f logs/registries with ISMS
training field/row filler as “Received”
Frequency Collect: Monthly, first working day o f the month
Analysis: Quarterly
Report: Quarterly
Measurement Revision: Review annually
Perio d of Me as urement: Annua l
Res p on s ible p ar ties I nformation owner: Train i ng manager – Hu man res ources
I nformation col lec tor: Tra in i ng management – Human res ource dep ar tment
M e a s u r e m e n t c l i e n t: M a n a ge r s r e s p o n s i b l e fo r a n I S M S , C h i e f i n fo r m a t i o n
security o fficer
D ata s ource Employee database, training records, participation list o f awareness trainings
Rep or ti ng format Bar graph with bars colour-coded based on target. Short summary of what the measure
me ans and p o s s ible management ac tion s shou ld b e attached to the b ar char t.
OR
Pie chart for current situation and line chart for compliance evolution representation.
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To evaluate compliance with annual in formation security awareness training
re qui rement
M eas u re Percentage of personnel who received annual in formation security awareness training
Formu la/s cori ng [Number o f employees who received annual in formation security awareness
training/number o f employees who need to receive annual in formation security
awareness training] * 100
Target 0-60% - Red; 60-90% - Yellow; 90-100% Green. For Yellow, i f progress o f at least
10% per quarter is not achieved, rating is automatically red.
Red – intervention is required, causation analysis must be conducted to determine
re as ons for non- compliance and p o or p erformance .
I mplementation evidence Count o f logs/registries with annual in formation security awareness training field/
row filler as “Received”
Frequency Collect: Monthly, first working day o f the month
Analysis: Quarterly
Report: Quarterly
Measurement Revision: Review annually
Perio d of M e as urement: Annua l
Res p ons ible p ar ties In formation owner: In formation security o fficer and Training manager
I n formation col lec tor: Trai ni ng ma nagement – H uman res ou rce dep ar tment
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Assess status o f compliance with organization security awareness policy among
relevant p ers on nel
M ea s u re 1 . P ro gres s to date
Formu la/s cori ng Derive the “progress to date” by adding status for all personnel having signed,
planne d to b e comple te d to date
Derive “progress to date with signing” by divide personnel having signed to date
by personnel planned for signing to date
a) [divide progress to date by (personnel planned to date times 100)] and progress
to date with s igni ng
Targe t a) Resulting ratios should fall respectively between 0.9 and 1.1 and between 0.99
and 1.01 to conclude the achievement o f the control objective and no action; and
b) Trend shou ld b e up ward or s table
trai ni ng to date
1 . 2 . Ask res p ons ible i nd ividua l for p ercent of p ers onnel who have completed the
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: In formation security o fficer and Training manager
In formation collector: Training management; Human resource department
Measurement client: Managers responsible for an ISMS; Security management.
trai ni ng management
D ata s ource 1.1. Information security awareness training plan/schedule: Personnel identified in plan
1 . 2 Pers on nel who have completed or in pro gres s i n the trai n ing: Pers on nel s tatus
2.1. Plan for signing user agreements/schedule: Personnel identified in plan for signing
2 . 2 . Pers o n nel h avi ng s i gne d ag re ements : Pers o n nel s tatu s with re ga rd to the
Rep or ti ng format Standard Font = Criteria have been met satis factorily
Italic Font = Criteria have been met unsatis factorily
B old Font = C riteria have no t b een met
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To measure i f employees have understood content o f awareness campaign
M ea s u re Percentage o f employees passing a knowledge test be fore and a fter ISMS awareness
camp aign
Formu la/s cori ng Choose a given number o f employees who were targeted by an awareness campaign
and let them fill out a short knowledge test about topics o f the awareness campaign
Percentage of p eople p as s e d the tes t
Targe t Green: 90-100% o f people passed the test, Orange: 60-90% o f people passed the
test, Red: <60% o f people passed the test
I mplementation evidence Awareness campaign documents/in formation provided to employees; list o f
employees who followed awareness campaign; knowledge tests
Frequency C ol le c t: one month after awarenes s camp aign
and li ne char t for evolution repres entation i f extra tra in i ng has b e en orga ni s ed
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To evaluate whether sta ff is prepared to react properly in case o f some social
engi neeri ng attacks
M eas u re Percentage o f sta ff that react correctly to a test, e. g., who did not click on a link in
a given tes t cons i s ti ng i n s endi ng a ph i sh i ng emai l to (a s elec te d p ar t of the) s taff
Formu la/s cori ng a = Number of s taff having clicked on the link/number of s taff participating in the tes t
channel s
c = Numb er of s taff having fol lowed the i ns truc tion given when clicki ng on the li nk,
d = An appropriate weighted s um of the ab ove p arameter, dep end ing on the nature
of the tes t
I mplementation evidence Count o f activity on a simulated command and control addressed by the link. Take
care to respect personnel privacy aspects, and to anonymise data so that test
p ar ticip a nts do no t have to fe ar negative con s equences from th i s tes t.
Frequency Collect: monthly to annually, depending on the criticality o f social engineering attacks
Rep or t: for e ach col lec tion
Res p ons ible p ar ties In formation owner: Chie f in formation security o fficer
In formation collector: IT security o fficer trained to respect privacy aspects
M ea s urement cl ient: Ri sk owner
D ata s ou rce List o f sta ff, or users o f a given service; Awareness support, communication (email
or i ntranet)
Rep or ti ng format Test report indicating test details, measurements, analysis o f results, and
re com mendation, b as ed on targe t a nd agree d treatment
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To assess the quality o f the passwords used by the Users to access the
organization’s IT systems
M ea s ure Total number o f passwords that comply with organization’s password quality policy
a) Ratio o f passwords which meet organization’s password quality policy
b) Trends o f compliance status regarding password quality policy
Formu la/s cori ng C ou nt nu mb er of p as s word s in u s er p a s s word datab as e
Targe t Control objective is achieved and no action required i f the resulting ratio is above
0.9. I f the resulting ratio is between 0.8 and 0.9 the control objective is not achieved,
b ut p o s i ti ve tre nd i nd ic ate s i mp ro ve me nt. I f the r e s u l ti n g r atio i s b e l o w 0 . 8
password quality policy, superimposed with trend lines produced during previous
rep or ti ng p erio d s .
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To assess the quality o f the passwords used by the Users to access the
organization’s IT systems
M eas u re 1 To ta l nu mb er of p as s word s
2 To ta l nu mb er of uncrackable p as s words
Target Control objective is achieved and no action required i f the resulting ratio is above
0.9. I f the resulting ratio is between 0.8 and 0.9 the control objective is not achieved,
b u t p o s i ti ve tre nd i nd ic ate s i mp r o ve me nt. I f the re s u l ti n g ratio i s b e l o w 0 . 8
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Measure on how many systematic user access rights reviews are per formed on
critical systems
M ea s ure Percentage o f critical systems where user access rights are periodically reviewed
Formu la/s cori ng [Number o f in formation systems classified as critical where periodic access rights
reviews are performed/Total number of information systems classified as critical] * 100
Targe t Green: 90-100%, Orange: 70-90%, Red <70%
I mplementation evidence Proo fs o f reviews (e.g. email, ticket in ticketing system, formula proofing review
comple tion)
Frequency Collect: After any changes such as promotion, demotion or termination o f employment
Rep or t: e ach s emes ter
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To show the existence, extent and quality o f the system used for access control
Me as ure Strength o f physical entry controls system
Formu la/s cori ng S c a le from 0 -5
the type o f entry control system and inspect the following aspects:
— Access control card system existence
— PI N co de us age
— Log functionality
— B iometric authentic ation
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed 1. Ensure an environment o f comprehensive security and accountability for
p ers onnel, faci lities , and pro duc ts
M ea s ure Number o f unauthorized entry into facilities containing in formation systems (subset
o f physical security incidents)
Formu la/s cori ng Current number o f physical security incidents allowing unauthorized entry into
facilities containing in formation systems/previous value
(Note that these measures need to take into account organization-specific context
such as the total number o f physical security incidents)
Targe t B elow 1 . 0
I mplementation evidence Systematic analysis o f physical security incident reports and access control logs
Frequency Quarterly for data gathering and reporting
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: Physical security o fficer
In formation collector: Computer security incident response team (CSIRT)
In formation customer: Chie f in formation o fficer, Chie f in formation security o fficer
D ata s ource Physical security incident reports
Physical access control logs
Rep or ti ng format Plot showing trend o f unauthorized entry into facilities containing in formation
systems for the most recent sampling periods
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To eva luate ti mel i nes s of mai ntenance ac tivities i n relation to s chedu le
Collect: quarterly
Frequency
Report: annually
In formation owner: System administrator
Res p ons ible Par ties In formation collector: Security sta ff
Measurement client: Security manager, IT manager
1 Plan/schedule o f system maintenances
D ata s ource
2 Records o f system maintenances
Line chart that depicts the average deviation o f maintenance delay, superimposed
with lines produced during previous reporting periods and the numbers o f systems
Format
with i n the s cop e
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Evaluate whether change management best practice as well hardening policy are
res p ec ted
M ea s u re Percentage o f new installed systems that were respected change management best
practice and hardening policy
Formu la/s cori ng Number o f newly installed applications or systems where evidences o f respecting
the change management best practices are available/number o f newly installed
appl ications
Rep or ti ng format Pie chart for current situation and line chart for compliance evolution representation
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To assess the effectiveness of the protection system against malicious so ftware attacks
Me as ure Trend of detec te d attacks that were no t b lo cked over mu ltiple rep or ting p erio d s
Formu la/s cori ng Number o f security incidents caused by malicious so ftware/number o f detected
and blocked attacks caused by malicious so ftware
Target Trend line should remain under specified re ference, resulting in a downward or
con s tant trend
I mplementation evidence 1 Count number o f security incidents caused by malicious so ftware in the
i ncident rep or ts
M ea s urement cl ient
Rep or ti ng format Trend l ine that depic ts ratio of ma licious s oftware detec tion and prevention with
NOTE Organizations adopting this measure should consider the following issues that may lead to an
incorrect analysis o f such measure:
— “number o f detected and blocked attacks caused by malicious so ftware” can be very high; thus
such measure can result in very small ratios;
— i f in one period there is an increase o f spreading o f a specific virus, an organization may
experience an increase o f malware attacks and incidents; in this case the ratio remains the same,
even if the increase of incidents can rais e concern .
B.2 4 Anti-malware
M ea s u re I D O rga n i z ation- de fi ne d
s olution
M ea s u re Percentage o f m a lwa re a ffe c te d s ys tem s con ne c te d to the o rga n i z atio n’s ne twork
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Availability o f IT services for each service, compared with the defined maximum
downti me
Me as ure For each IT service the end-to-end availability is compared with the maximum
availability (i.e., excluding the previously defined downtime windows)
Formu la/s cori ng (Total availability)/(Maximum availability excluding downtime windows)
Target Service availability target
I mplementation evidence Monitoring o f end-to-end availability o f each IT service
Frequency Monthly
Res p ons ible p ar ties I n formation owner: I T op erations
M ea s u re I D O rga n i z ation- de fi ne d
Formu la/s cori ng Count o f border firewall rules which have been used 0 times in the las t sampling period
Targe t 0
Fre quenc y B i- a n nu a l or ye a rl y
Res p on s ible p ar ties I n fo r m ation owner: ne twork m a n ager/i n for m atio n s e c u r ity m a n ager
B . 2 7 L o g fi l e s r e vi e w
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To assess the status o f compliance o f the regular review o f critical system log files
Me as ure Percentage o f audit log files reviewed when required per time period
Formu la/s cori ng [# o f log files reviewed within specified time period/total # o f log files]*100
Target Result below 20% should be examined for causes o f underper formance
I mplementation evidence Add up total number o f log files listed in the review log list
Frequency Collect: Monthly (depending on the criticality, it could go to daily or real-time)
Analysis: Monthly (depending on the criticality, it could go to daily or real-time)
Report: Quarterly
Measurement Revision: Review and update every 2 years
Period o f Measurement: Applicable 2 years
Res p ons ible p ar ties In formation owner: Security manager
In formation collector: Security sta ff
Measurement client: Managers responsible for an ISMS, Security manager
D ata s ource System; individual log files; evidence o f the log review
Rep or ti ng format Line chart that depicts the trend with a summary o f findings and any suggested
management ac tion s
B . 2 8 D e vi c e c o n fi g u ra ti o n
M ea s u re I D O rga n i z ation- de fi ne d
Formu la/s cori ng [Nu mb er o f de vice s con figu re d cor re c tl y/to ta l # de vice s] * 10 0
the fo l lowi ng: de vice s re gi s tere d i n con figu ration m a n agement datab a s e , de vice s
Targe t 10 0 %
Ac tion D i s con ne c t u n ap pro ve d de vice s from the ne twork; p atch non- co mp l ia nt de vice s;
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To evaluate whether in formation systems handling sensitive data (confidentiality,
integrity) are vulnerable to malicious attacks
M eas u re Percentage o f critical in formation systems where a penetration test or vulnerability
assessment has been executed since their last major release
Formu la/s cori ng [Number o f in formation systems quantified as critical and where a penetration
test or vulnerability assessment has been done since their last major release/
Number o f in formation systems quantified as critical] * 100, e.g. Green: 100%,
Orange >=75%, Red <75%
Target O range (Gre en wou ld b e to o p erfec t)
I n formation col lec tor: E xp er ts with the know-how to conduc t p ene tration tes ts or
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed Evaluate the vulnerability level o f the organization’s in formation systems
M ea s u re Weight of op en (unp atched) vu l nerabi l ities
Formu la/s cori ng Open vulnerability severity value (e.g. CVSS) * number o f a ffected systems
Targe t To be defined accordingly to the organization’s risk appetite
I mplementation evidence Analysis on vulnerability assessment activities
Frequency Monthly or quarterly
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: in formation security analysts or contracted third parties
In formation collector: in formation security analysts
In formation customer: in formation security manager
D ata s ource Vulnerability assessment reports
Vulnerability assessment tools
Rep or ti ng format Aggregated score values for homogeneous or sensitive systems (external/internal
networks, Unix systems, etc.)
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d To evaluate the degree to which security is addressed in third party agreements
Me as ure
Average percent o f relevant security requirements addressed in third party
agre ements
[Su m of (for each agreement (numb er of requi red re qui rements - numb er of
Formu la/s cori ng
addressed requirements))/number o f agreements] * 100
Target 100%
I mplementation evidence Supplier datab as e, s uppl ier agre ement re cords
Collect: quarterly
Frequency
Report: semi-annually
In formation owner: Contract o ffice
Res p ons ible Par ties In formation collector: Security sta ff
Measurement client: Security manager, Business managers
D ata s ource Supplier datab as e, s uppl ier agre ement re cords
Line chart depicting a trend over multiple reporting periods; short summary o f
Format
findings and possible management actions
NOTE This assumes that all security requirements are equal, whereas in practice this is not usually the case.
An average can there fore hide significant variations and thereby present a false sense o f security. Likewise, the
requirements that an organization places on its suppliers, and its suppliers’ ability to meet them, are likely to
di ffer. This implies that suppliers should not all be measured in the same way. The supplier database should
ideally include a security rating or category to ensure more accurate and meaning ful measurement.
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To evaluate the degree to which security is addressed in third party agreements
of p ers ona l in formation pro ces s ing
I mplementation evidence Identi fy number o f security requirements that have to be addressed in each
agreement per policy
Frequency Collect: Monthly
Analysis: Quarterly
Report: Quarterly
Measurement revision: 2 years
Period o f measurement: Applicable 2 years
Res p on s ible p ar ties In formation owner: Contract o ffice
In formation collector: Security sta ff
Measurement client: Managers responsible for an ISMS, Security manager
D ata s ource Third party agreements
Rep or ti ng format Line chart depicting a trend over multiple reporting periods. Short summary o f
findings and possible management actions.
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Assess the e ffectiveness o f In formation security incident management
Me as ure I ncidents no t res olved i n targe t ti meframe
Formu la/s cori ng a) Define security incident categories and target time frames in which security
incidents should be resolved for each security incident category
b) Define indicator thresholds for security incidents exceeding category given
target timeframes
c) Compare the number o f incidents which resolving time exceeds the category
target ti me frames and comp are thei r cou nt with the i nd icator th reshold s
Target Incidents exceeding category target time frames within defined green threshold
I mplementation evidence Target indicators get reported monthly
Frequency Collect: Monthly
Analysis: Monthly
Report: Monthly
M ea s urement revi s ion: Si x month s
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed 1. Trend o f in formation security incidents
2. Trend o f categories o f in formation security incidents
M ea s u re 1. Number of in formation security incidents in a defined time frame (e.g., month)
2. Number o f in formation security incidents o f a specific category in a defined
timeframe (e. g. , month)
Formu la/s cori ng C o mp a re average me a s u re va lue fo r the la s t two ti me fra me s with the average
Trend d iagram
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Measure whether security events are reported and formally treated.
Me as ure Sum o f security events reported to the Computer security incident response team
(C S I RT ) i n relation to the s i ze of the orga ni z ation
Formu la/s cori ng Sum o f security events that have been reported and formally treated to CSIRT/
Number o f security roles defined by the organization
Target At least one security event per security role per year
I mplementation evidence Ticketing system used for treating security events
Frequency Collect: Yearly
Report: Yearly
Res p ons ible p ar ties In formation owner: Computer security incident response team (CSIRT)
In formation collector: In formation security manager
In formation customer: In formation security manager, top management
D ata s ou rce I ncident rep or ts
Rep or ti ng format Trend li ne showi ng the evolution of rep or ted events over las t p erio d s
M ea s u re I D Organization-defined
I n formation ne ed To assess the degree of accomplishment of independent review o f in formation security
M ea s u re P ro gres s ratio of accompl i she d i ndep endent reviews
Me as ure I D Organization-defined
I n formation nee d Evaluate the current visibility on organization’s systems vulnerabilities
Me as ure Ratio o f systems which have been object o f vulnerability assessment/penetration
tes ti ng ac tivities
Formu la/s cori ng Number o f systems object o f a vulnerability assessment in the last quarter or o f a
penetration test in the last year / total systems
Target 1
Rep or ti ng format Aggregate pie chart and homogeneous or sensitive systems arrays-wide pie chart
showi ng the ob tai ned ratio s
Annex C
(informative)
In this example a ‘free text’ approach is taken to determine whether formalized training is a better way
to convey in formation security objectives than just making the policy available online.
As s ume al l memb ers of s taff (S1) are required to read the on line vers ion of the organi zation’s
S3 = number o f employees who have attended specific in formation security policy awareness training.
(S3 will always be a sub-set o f S2, since the course will require their prior online reading o f the policy).
All sta ff who have at least read the policy are required to take an online test, including those who have
attended the formal training.
S 4P = number o f sta ff who have taken the test a fter only reading the intranet policy and who achieve
the p as s mark.
S 4F = number o f people who have taken the test a fter only reading the intranet policy and who fail to
achieve the p as s mark.
S5 P = numb er of p eople who have taken the s ame tes t after attending the formal training and who
S5 F = numb er of p eople who have taken the s ame tes t after attending the training and who fai l to
E1=S1 - S2, the number o f sta ff yet to have any exposure to the in formation security policy.
), i.e. the proportion o f sta ff who have only read the policy and who have a good
E 2 = S 4 P / (S 4 P + S 4 F
E 4 = E3/E2 , i . e. the effec tivenes s ratio of training vers us plain sel f-ins truc tion .
S1 - S2 is also a use ful measure, indicating how many sta ff members have yet to read the online policy.
T his can have a threshold which triggers something an aler t when either (or b oth) of a prop or tion of
total numbers o f sta ff is exceeded, but can also accommodate a duration within which the online policy
must be read, in that there has to be a practical period o f time from when an employee begins and their
initial introductory actions are to be completed.
One can imagine that over time, as the in formation security awareness and culture advance, the
threshold might be raised as trends are identified, as can analysis o f questions failed, which might lead
to more e ffective expression o f the policy, or the setting o f more realistic goals.
Bibliography