Securing your business made easier with new ICC guide

  • 28 July 2004

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has developed a practical guide to help managers of small and medium-sized businesses put into action the 2002 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines for the security of networks and information systems.

Securing Your Business: Information security issues and resources for small and entrepreneurial companies is the fifth booklet to be published as part of the ICC Tools for E-Business series, created to provide an enabling environment for doing business online.

Aimed at achieving what the OECD describes as “a global culture of security”, the guide was produced by the ICC Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms – in cooperation with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) – to show the concept behind each of the OECD guidelines. It gives clear examples of the principles being applied in practice and advice on how to deploy security solutions.

By gathering expert knowledge from members worldwide, ICC and BIAC created Securing Your Business to help non-technical managers identify and respond to the often-daunting security issues they face when running a business.

“Implementing security measures can seem an intimidating challenge to managers whose expertise lies in running a company, not an IT department,” said Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of the ICC Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms, who proposed and endorsed the product. “This guide sheds light on the types of security solutions available to a business and reveals that the key to success is knowing the right questions to ask and acting swiftly on the answers.”

The OECD guidelines were adopted in July 2002 and have since served as the basis for the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/57/239 for “Creation of a Global Culture of Cyber Security” in December 2002. They have been recognized by the Council of Ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and by the Council of the European Union.

Other titles available in the ICC Tools for E-Business series are: