Information Security Policy

 

Purpose

Information that’s collected, analysed, stored, communicated and reported upon may be subject to theft, misuse, loss and corruption. Information may be put at risk by poor education and training, and the breach of security controls.

Information security incidents can give rise to embarrassment, financial loss, non-compliance with standards and legislation, as well as possible judgements being made against OrbitCarrot

 

Objectives

OrbitCarrot’s security objectives are that:

  • our information risks are identified, managed and treated according to an agreed risk tolerance
  • our authorised users can securely access and share information in order to perform their roles
  • our physical, procedural and technical controls balance user experience and security
  • our contractual and legal obligations relating to information security are met
  • our teaching, research and administrative activity considers information security
  • individuals accessing our information are aware of their information security responsibilities
  • incidents affecting our information assets are resolved and learnt from to improve our controls

Scope

The Information Security Policy and its supporting controls, processes and procedures apply to all information used at OrbitCarrot, in all formats. This includes information processed by other organisations in their dealings with OrbitCarrot.

The Information Security Policy and its supporting controls, processes and procedures apply to all individuals who have access to OrbitCarrot information and technologies. This includes external parties that provide information processing services to OrbitCarrot.

 

Compliance monitoring

Compliance with the controls in this policy will be monitored by the Information Security Team, and reported to the Information Governance Board.

 

Review

A review of this policy will be undertaken by the MD. This will be annually or as required, and will be approved by the MD.

 

Policy Statement

It is OrbitCarrot’s policy to ensure that information is protected from a loss of:

  • confidentiality – information will be accessible only to authorised individuals
  • integrity – the accuracy and completeness of information will be maintained
  • availability – information will be accessible to authorised users and processes when required

OrbitCarrot will adopt a risk-based approach to the application of the following controls:

1.   Information security policies

A set of lower-level controls, processes and procedures for information security will be defined, in support of the high-level Information Security Policy and its stated objectives. This suite of supporting documentation will be approved by the MD, published and communicated to OrbitCarrot users and relevant external parties.

2.   Human resources security

OrbitCarrot’s security policies and expectations for acceptable use will be communicated to all users to ensure that they understand their responsibilities. Information security education and training will be made available to all staff. Poor or inappropriate behaviour will be addressed.

3.   Asset management

All information assets will be classified according to their legal requirements, business value, criticality and sensitivity. Classification will indicate appropriate handling requirements. All information assets will have a defined retention and disposal schedule.

4.   Access control

Access to all information will be controlled and will be driven by business requirements. Access will be granted or arrangements made for users according to their role and the classification of information, only to a level that will allow them to carry out their duties.

A formal user registration and de-registration procedure will be maintained for access to all information systems and services. This will include mandatory authentication methods based on the sensitivity of the information being accessed, and will include consideration of multiple factors as appropriate.

Specific controls will be implemented for users with elevated privileges, to reduce the risk of negligent or deliberate system misuse. The separation of duties will be implemented, where practical.

5.   Communications security

OrbitCarrot will maintain network security controls to ensure the protection of information within its networks. OrbitCarrot will also provide the tools and guidance to ensure the secure transfer of information both within its networks and with external entities. This is in line with the classification and handling requirements associated with that information.

6.   Supplier relationships

OrbitCarrot’s information security requirements will be considered when establishing relationships with suppliers, to ensure that assets accessible to suppliers are protected.

Supplier activity will be monitored and audited according to the value of the assets and the associated risks.

7.   Information security incident management

Guidance will be available on what constitutes an information security incident and how this should be reported. Actual or suspected breaches of information security must be reported and will be investigated. The appropriate action to correct the breach will be taken, and any learning built into controls.

8.   Information security aspects of business continuity management

OrbitCarrot will have in place arrangements to protect critical business processes from the effects of major failures of information systems or disasters. This is to ensure their timely recovery in line with documented business needs. This will include appropriate backup routines and built-in resilience.

Business continuity plans must be maintained and tested in support of this policy. Business impact analysis will be undertaken, detailing the consequences of:

  • disasters
  • security failures
  • loss of service

 

Review of this document: annually by MD.

Next review: 2025.