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Cybersecurity vocabulary · Governance, Risk and Compliance

Security policy

Meaning in cybersecurity, with examples

nounCore term

In cybersecurity, security policy means: A formal document, approved by management, that sets the rules an organisation follows to protect its information, systems and people.

In Turkish: güvenlik politikası, bilgi güvenliği politikası

How it is used

There is usually a top-level information security policy plus specific ones on acceptable use, passwords, access control or remote working. Policies are written, approved, reviewed yearly and enforced; breaking one is a 'policy violation'.

Example sentences

  1. Under our security policy, personal USB drives are not allowed on company laptops.

  2. The auditor asked when the security policy was last reviewed.

Common collocations

  • information security policy
  • acceptable use policy
  • policy violation
  • enforce a policy
  • review a policy
  • complianceThe state of following the laws, regulations, standards and internal policies that apply to an organisation, and being able to prove it.
  • auditA formal, independent review that checks whether an organisation's security controls and processes meet a standard, a law or its own policies.
  • security controlAny safeguard, whether technical, administrative or physical, that reduces a security risk, such as a firewall, a policy, a training course or a locked door.
  • security awarenessEmployees' knowledge of everyday security risks, such as phishing and weak passwords, and of what to do about them; also the training that builds this knowledge.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Governance, Risk and Compliance

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