The Global Security Policy

The Global Security Policy

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The Global Security Policy

In today's technological hustle and bustle, it is becoming a normal practice for business' to operate on a wider scale than in the past. It is not uncommon for an organization to have multiple offices or branches in a number of different countries. This in itself adds a whole new level to the organization's security policy. Now not only does the organization have to deal with a home-based security policy, but a global security policy that can change drastically depending on what country the office/branch is residing, what law's or legislation may be present, and technology itself. Maintaining an effective security policy that meets or exceeds the standards can be challenging.

Issues in a Global Environment

When it comes to handling security across international borders, organizations that expand into this environment face a multitude of cultural and legal challenges. Each country places different requirements on the handling and use of information. This results in a myriad of conflicting laws and regulations that need to be adhered to. Some example of this type of legislation would be privacy laws and the access and control of confidential material. From the European Union to the United States to Asia, these laws differ greatly. For example in the United States, it could be a policy for an employer to conduct a thorough background check before an employee is granted access to classified information. That same background check may be illegal in some Asian countries (Long, 2002). This would cause an issue if your organization handled classified information, which would have to be addressed before any type access could be given to your network or confidential data. In some countries, certain information requires regulatory and legal actions to be taken to maintain the information, requiring organizations to take a more refined view of information security. These requirements add additional levels to the security plan because organizations are held responsible or accountable since an organization's action can affect the global economy and contain sensitive data that some seek (Ritchie, 2008).  Because different countries view this data in different ways, our definition of what may constitute the correct information and how to properly communicate it to customers and employees may differ exponentially. Which leads us into the cultural difference that may occur.

Another issue that comes up with global security is the issue of culture. In a global organization, there are more than likely to be many different and distinct business cultures with their coinciding management styles that may be conflicting with itself.  A great example of this is when dealing with Asian companies. In the United States, access to certain parts of a facility requires additional authentication and are separated into different security areas. In Japan, this would be considered a form of untrustworthiness and would be frowned upon and viewed as rude. This is why global policies must be general in nature. This may sound like a nonchalant approach, but can be explained as followed. Global security policies will define the minimum set of rules that need to be adhered to ensure the organization can function and do business anywhere in the world. To use an analogy, "this is the thousand foot view" security policy, the big picture if you will. The regional policy or local policy will have the general security policy but then add additional requirements specific to that particular region or culture (Long, 2002). These particular policies tend to be more restrictive and are in line with the legal and cultural aspects of the region.