Strategic framework and governance structure for the organization’s information security program.
Purpose
This charter establishes the mission, scope, authority, and governance of the information security program to protect company and customer assets, maintain customer trust, and enable business growth through secure practices.
Mission
Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of company and customer data by implementing risk-based security controls, fostering a security-aware culture, and continuously improving our security posture.
Scope
The information security program covers:
- All information systems (cloud infrastructure, applications, endpoints)
- All data (customer, employee, business)
- All personnel (employees, contractors, vendors)
- All locations (offices, remote work, data centers)
- All compliance obligations (SOC 2, GDPR, contractual)
Program Objectives
- Protect Customer Data: Prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, or loss of customer information
- Enable Business Growth: Security as enabler, not blocker (balance risk with business needs)
- Maintain Compliance: Meet SOC 2, GDPR, and customer contractual requirements
- Build Trust: Transparent security practices that customers and partners can rely on
- Continuous Improvement: Learn from incidents, adapt to threats, mature controls
Security Principles
Risk-Based Approach
- Focus resources on highest risks (likelihood × impact)
- Accept low risks, mitigate medium risks, avoid or transfer high risks
- Document risk decisions and trade-offs
Defense in Depth
- Multiple layers of security (network, application, data, endpoint)
- No single point of failure
- Assume breach mindset (detection and response as important as prevention)
Least Privilege
- Minimum access necessary for job function
- Just-in-time access where possible
- Regular access reviews
Security by Design
- Consider security from start of projects (not bolted on at end)
- Secure defaults (deny by default, opt-in to access)
- Shift left (find security issues early in development)
Transparency and Accountability
- Clear ownership for security controls
- Blameless incident response culture
- Transparent security posture to customers
Governance Structure
Security Team
Responsibilities:
- Develop and maintain security policies, standards, and processes
- Conduct risk assessments and threat modeling
- Monitor security controls and respond to incidents
- Provide security guidance to engineering and business teams
- Manage vendor security assessments
- Track security metrics and report to leadership
Authority:
- Approve/deny vendor access and integrations
- Require security reviews for high-risk changes
- Escalate unacceptable risks to executive team
- Audit compliance with security policies
Role: CTO or CEO
Responsibilities:
- Approve security program charter and budget
- Provide executive support and resources
- Make risk acceptance decisions for high-severity risks
- Champion security culture from top-down
Engineering and Infrastructure Teams
Responsibilities:
- Implement security controls in systems and applications
- Remediate vulnerabilities within SLA
- Follow secure development practices
- Participate in security design reviews
All Employees
Responsibilities:
- Follow security policies and procedures
- Complete security training
- Report security incidents and suspicious activity
- Protect company assets (devices, credentials, data)
Program Components
1. Governance
- Security policies (baseline, role-specific)
- Risk management framework
- Compliance management (SOC 2, GDPR)
- Security awareness training
2. Identity and Access Management
- SSO and MFA for all applications
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Access provisioning and deprovisioning
- Quarterly access reviews
3. Data Protection
- Data classification and handling standards
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Data retention and deletion
- Privacy and regulatory compliance (GDPR, CCPA)
4. Secure Development
- Secure coding standards
- Code review and SAST/DAST scanning
- Dependency management
- Secrets management
5. Infrastructure Security
- Cloud security baselines (AWS, GCP)
- Network segmentation and firewalls
- Logging and monitoring
- Vulnerability and patch management
6. Endpoint Security
- MDM enrollment and configuration
- Disk encryption and screen locks
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
- Software management and updates
7. Vendor Risk Management
- Vendor security assessments
- Data processing agreements (DPAs)
- Vendor monitoring and reviews
8. Incident Response
- Incident detection and alerting
- Incident response procedures
- Data breach notification process
- Post-incident reviews and remediation
9. Business Continuity
- Backup and recovery
- Disaster recovery planning
- Incident coordination and communication
Metrics and Reporting
- Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR) for vulnerabilities by severity
- Phishing simulation click rate (target: <5%)
- Security training completion rate (target: 100%)
- Access review completion rate (target: 100% quarterly)
- Number of open Critical/High vulnerabilities (target: 0 Critical, <5 High)
Reporting Cadence
- Weekly: Security incidents and remediation status (to security team)
- Monthly: Vulnerability metrics and trends (to engineering leadership)
- Quarterly: Program health dashboard (to executive team)
- Annually: Comprehensive security program review (to board/exec team)
Budget and Resources
Security program budget covers:
- Security tooling (EDR, SIEM, vulnerability scanners, training platforms)
- External assessments (penetration tests, SOC 2 audit)
- Training and professional development for security team
- Bug bounty program (if applicable)
- Cyber insurance
Compliance and Audit
SOC 2 Type II
- Annual SOC 2 audit for Trust Services Criteria (Security, Confidentiality, Availability)
- Continuous monitoring of controls throughout observation period
- Remediation of audit findings within 90 days
GDPR Compliance
- Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) for high-risk processing
- Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) with customers and vendors
- Data breach notification process (72-hour reporting requirement)
Internal Audits
- Quarterly self-assessment of security controls
- Annual deep dive review of program effectiveness
Program Maturity and Continuous Improvement
Current Maturity Level
Level 3 (Defined): Documented and standardized security processes, proactive risk management
Goal: Level 4 (Managed) within 2 years - quantitative management, predictive risk modeling
Improvement Initiatives
- Automate more security controls (shift from manual to automated)
- Expand threat detection capabilities (SIEM, UEBA)
- Implement security metrics dashboard (real-time visibility)
- Enhance security training program (role-based, scenario-based)
Review and Updates
This charter reviewed annually by Security Team and approved by executive sponsor. Updates reflect changes in:
- Threat landscape and risk environment
- Business model and technology stack
- Regulatory requirements
- Lessons learned from incidents and audits
Approval
Approved by:
- [CTO Name], Chief Technology Officer
- [Date]
Next Review Date: 2026-01-09
- Policies: baseline-security-policy.md, engineering-security-policy.md
- Standards: All security standards
- Processes: All security processes
- Control framework: custom/index.md
Control Mapping
- GOV-01: Security Policies ^[Charter establishes governance structure, security principles (risk-based, defense in depth, least privilege, security by design), and program components]
- GOV-02: Risk Assessment ^[Charter defines risk-based approach, risk management framework as core program principle]
- ACC-01: Identity & Authentication ^[Program component: SSO and MFA for all applications]
- ACC-02: Least Privilege & RBAC ^[Security principle: least privilege, program component: RBAC implementation]
- DAT-01: Data Classification ^[Program component: data classification and handling standards]
- DAT-04: Data Privacy (GDPR Compliance) ^[Program component: privacy and regulatory compliance, GDPR DPIAs and breach notification]
- OPS-03: Incident Response ^[Program component: incident detection, response procedures, data breach notification, post-incident reviews]
- VEN-01: Third-Party Risk Assessment ^[Program component: vendor security assessments and monitoring]
- PEO-02: Security Training ^[Program component: security awareness training, all employees complete training]
Referenced By
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