Another major factor affecting the investment in the ISMS is to what extent it meets the needs and expectations of stakeholders, given their power to tell you what to do, and their interest in evidence of it being done.
We have created a table which highlights examples of stakeholders. If you would like to download and use it, click here. The common thread is about growing trust through exhibiting confidence and control, where that increases the more visible, insightful and well evidenced the ISMS becomes. If you are unsure about a stakeholder’s expectations from the ISMS, ask them.Ensure that your ISMS is fit for the purpose now, as well as able to adapt and grow as this information security and privacy-oriented world changes (because it is changing fast!)
In summary, if the organisation has few powerful stakeholders and a leadership lacking appetite for investment, the ISMS may seek to just cover the fundamentals of privacy to meet regulatory requirements. Basic investments in preventing cybercrime threats such as following Cyber Essentials are useful too.
Depending on those stakeholder expectations and the value at risk, greater returns outweigh the increased investments from putting in place more holistic approaches. This includes following recognised standards such as ISO 27001 or NIST Cyber Security. The outcomes you want from your ISMS along with the powerful stakeholder expectations will determine the inputs and outputs you need to invest in and the scope of your solution overall.
