Every hour spent writing security policies from scratch is an hour not spent securing your business. But skipping documentation isn’t an option—without the right policies, you're exposing your company to compliance failures, security gaps, and legal risks.
So what if you could get expert-built security policies, ready to go, for free? SimpleRisk makes it that easy. Here you can download ready-to-use security templates to make this painless and let you get back to the good stuff.
The Challenges of Building an Information Security Program
Organizations embarking on the journey of implementing an information security program often face several key challenges:
- Lack of Knowledge and Expertise: Many organizations, particularly small to mid-sized businesses, do not have dedicated security teams. Without the right expertise, it can be difficult to determine what policies and controls are necessary to protect sensitive information and comply with industry regulations.
- Time-Consuming Documentation Process: Creating a comprehensive set of security policies, procedures, and guidelines from scratch is time-intensive. Organizations need to ensure these documents cover critical aspects such as data protection, access control, incident response, and compliance with frameworks like ISO 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.
- Regulatory and Compliance Challenges: Organizations in regulated industries must adhere to strict compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI-DSS. Without clear policies in place, achieving and maintaining compliance can be a struggle, potentially exposing the business to legal and financial penalties.
- Consistency and Standardization: A well-structured security program relies on consistent documentation and standardized processes. Without a uniform set of policies, businesses may face inconsistencies that lead to gaps in their security posture, increasing their risk of data breaches or operational failures.
- Lack of Readily Available Resources: Even when organizations recognize the need for security policies and guidelines, they often lack access to high-quality templates or resources that can serve as a starting point. Many existing frameworks are difficult to interpret, leaving businesses to struggle with implementation.
The Importance of Having the Right Security Policies in Place
Having clearly defined security policies, guidelines, and procedures is a fundamental step in establishing an effective security program. These documents serve as the backbone of an organization's security strategy by:
- Defining Security Responsibilities: Policies help clarify roles and responsibilities, ensuring that employees understand their obligations regarding data protection and security best practices.
- Providing a Framework for Decision-Making: Guidelines assist leadership in making informed decisions about risk management, resource allocation, and security investments.
- Supporting Regulatory Compliance: Well-documented policies streamline compliance efforts, reducing the risk of penalties or fines associated with non-compliance.
- Enhancing Incident Response Preparedness: Procedures outline how the organization should respond to security incidents, helping teams act swiftly to mitigate damage.
- Fostering a Security-Conscious Culture: Clearly communicated policies and guidelines promote security awareness throughout the organization, reducing the likelihood of human error leading to security breaches.
How SimpleRisk Helps Organizations Address These Challenges
Recognizing the difficulties organizations face in building security programs, SimpleRisk has taken a proactive approach to assist businesses by offering templated security documents that are freely available for all organizations.
Free, Ready-to-Use Security Templates
SimpleRisk provides a collection of security policy, guideline, and procedure templates designed to help organizations quickly establish their security programs. These templates cover critical areas such as:
Policies:
- Acceptable Use Policy: Defines acceptable and prohibited uses of company resources and networks.
- Asset Management Policy: Outlines processes for identifying, managing, and protecting organizational assets.
- Capital Planning Investment Policy: Provides guidelines on investment planning and decision-making for capital expenditures.
- Change Management Policy: Establishes procedures for managing and documenting changes to systems, processes, or infrastructure.
- CI/CD Policy: Governs continuous integration and continuous delivery practices within development workflows.
- Communications Technologies Policy: Specifies guidelines for using communication tools and technologies securely.
- Email Policy: Sets rules for email usage, including security measures and acceptable communication practices.
- Endpoint Policy: Addresses the security and management of endpoints (e.g., computers, mobile devices).
- Information Classification and Handling Policy: Defines classifications of information and the required handling procedures for each level.
- Information Security Policy: Provides a broad framework for securing organizational information assets.
- Privacy Policy: Details how personal data is collected, processed, and protected within the organization.
- Risk Management Policy: Sets guidelines for identifying, assessing, and mitigating organizational risks.
- Security Training Policy: Outlines requirements for ongoing employee training on security awareness and best practices.
- Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) Policy: Defines security controls and best practices across the software development lifecycle.
- Third Party Supplier Policy: Addresses security and risk considerations when engaging with third-party suppliers.
- Vulnerability Management Policy: Establishes a process for identifying, assessing, and remediating vulnerabilities within systems.
Guidelines:
- Asset Management Lifecycle: Describes the stages of asset management from acquisition to disposal.
- Capital Planning and Investment Control Process: Outlines the process for managing and controlling capital investments.
- Code Repo Change Management: Provides guidelines for managing changes to code repositories in a secure manner.
- Customer Support IT Operations RACI: Defines roles and responsibilities (RACI) for customer support and IT operations.
- Hiring Guideline: Offers guidance on secure hiring practices and employee onboarding.
- ISMS: Outlines the implementation and management of an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
- ISO 27001 A5.31 Tracker: Tracks compliance with specific sections of ISO 27001, particularly around security controls.
- ISO 27001 SoA: Defines the Statement of Applicability for ISO 27001, outlining relevant controls and their implementation.
- IT Business Decision Process: Describes the process for making IT-related business decisions.
- Network Diagram: Provides a visual representation of the organization's network architecture.
- Organizational Structure: Defines the organizational hierarchy and roles within the company.
- Risk Management Process: Details the processes for identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks across the organization.
Procedures:
- Acceptable Use Procedure: Provides detailed steps for ensuring compliance with the Acceptable Use Policy.
- Annual System Access Review Procedure: Describes the process for reviewing and auditing system access permissions annually.
- Asset Management Procedure: Outlines the process for managing organizational assets from acquisition to retirement.
- BYOD Procedure: Details the rules and security measures for employees using personal devices for work (Bring Your Own Device).
- Capital Planning and Investment Procedure: Defines the procedure for evaluating and approving capital investments.
- Change Management Procedure: Provides step-by-step instructions for managing changes to systems and processes.
- Email Security Procedure: Details specific steps to secure email communication and protect against threats like phishing.
- Hiring Procedure: Outlines steps for securely onboarding new employees, including background checks and access provisioning.
- Identity Access Management Procedure: Provides instructions for managing user identities and their access to systems and data.
- Incident Management Plan: Details the process for responding to and managing security incidents within the organization.
- Information Classification Procedure: Provides steps for classifying information and ensuring proper handling based on classification.
- Password Sharing Procedure: Outlines acceptable practices (or prohibitions) for password sharing across systems.
- Product Security Procedure: Describes the processes for ensuring the security of products during development and after deployment.
- Risk Management Procedure: Provides steps for identifying and managing risks throughout their lifecycle.
- SDLC Procedure: Outlines the steps for securing the software development lifecycle, from planning to deployment.
- Security Incident Management Plan: Specifies the steps to follow when a security incident occurs, from detection to resolution.
- Security Privacy Procedure: Provides instructions for managing data privacy and ensuring compliance with privacy policies.
- Security Vulnerability Procedure: Describes the steps for identifying, assessing, and remediating vulnerabilities within systems.
- Software Review Procedure: Outlines the process for reviewing software for security, quality, and compliance.
- Third Party Supplier Procedure: Defines the process for evaluating and managing security risks with third-party suppliers.
Accessible on GitHub
To make these templates easily available, SimpleRisk has published them on our public GitHub repository at https://github.com/simplerisk/templates. Organizations can view, download, and customize these documents to suit their specific needs, significantly reducing the time and effort required to develop security policies from scratch.
Helping Organizations of All Sizes
Whether you're a small business just beginning your security journey or a larger enterprise looking to refine your existing documentation, SimpleRisk's templates provide a valuable starting point. By leveraging these resources, organizations can ensure they have the foundational security documentation needed to support a robust security program.
Continuous Improvement and Community Contributions
Security threats and compliance requirements evolve, which is why SimpleRisk continually updates and improves its templates. We encourage organizations to contribute back to the repository, sharing improvements and additional templates that can benefit the broader security community.
Conclusion
Building an information security program can be daunting, but it’s a critical step toward safeguarding your organization. With the right policies, guidelines, and procedures in place, you can minimize risks, ensure compliance, and strengthen your security posture. However, creating these documents from scratch can be time-consuming and complex.
SimpleRisk offers a streamlined solution by providing free, high-quality security policy templates to help organizations lay the foundation for a strong security program. By making these templates available on our GitHub repository, we empower businesses to quickly implement effective security policies, save time, and improve overall risk management.
If you're ready to establish or enhance your information security program, visit our GitHub repository today at https://github.com/simplerisk/templates and access the resources that will help your organization stay secure and compliant. With SimpleRisk’s templates, you’re not just building documentation—you're creating a robust security strategy that ensures long-term success.
