Information Security Policies in Large Organizations: The Development of a Conceptual Framework to Explore Their Impact

Abstract

While the importance of the information security policy (ISP) is widely acknowledged in the academic literature, there has, to date, been little empirical analysis of its impact. To help fill this gap a study was initiated that sought to explore the relationship between the uptake, scope and dissemination of information security policies and the accompanying levels of security breaches. To this end, a questionnaire was designed, validated and then targeted at IT managers within large organisations in the United Kingdom. The aim of this chapter is to provide a progress report on this study by describing the objectives of the research and the design of the conceptual framework.