Foreword

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This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 27, Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection.

This first edition of ISO/IEC TS 27103 cancels and replaces ISO/IEC TR 27103:2018, which has been technically revised.

The main changes are as follows:

updated to align with ISO/IEC 27002:2022.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

Security on the Internet and other networks is a subject of growing concern. Organizations around the world, in both government and industry sectors, are seeking ways to address and manage cybersecurity risks, including via baseline cybersecurity measures that may be implemented as requirements or guidance. The demonstrated security and economic value of utilizing existing best practices to develop approaches to cyber risk management has led organizations to assess how to use and improve upon existing approaches.

Perspectives, and consequent approaches, to risk management are affected by the terminology used, e.g. “cybersecurity” versus “information security”. Where similar risks are addressed, this different perspective can result in “cybersecurity” approaches focusing on external threats and the need to use information for organizational purposes, while, in contrast,” information security” approaches consider all risks whether from internal or external sources. There can also be a perception that cybersecurity risks are primarily related to antagonistic threats, and that a lack of “cybersecurity” can create worse consequences to the organization than a lack of “information security”. Thus, cybersecurity can be perceived as more relevant to the organization than information security. This perception can cause confusion and also reduces the effectiveness of risk assessment and treatment.

Regardless of perception, the concepts behind information security can be used to assess and manage cybersecurity risks. The key question is how to manage cybersecurity risk in a comprehensive and structured manner, and ensure that processes, governance and controls are addressed. This can be done through a management systems approach. An Information Security Management system (ISMS) as described in ISO/IEC 27001 is a well proven way for any organization to implement a risk-based approach to cybersecurity.

This document demonstrates how a cybersecurity framework can utilize current information security standards to achieve a well-controlled approach to cybersecurity management.

1 Scope

This document provides guidance on how to leverage existing ISO and IEC standards in a cybersecurity framework.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Document structure

5 Background

5.1 General

5.2 Advantages of a risk-based approach to cybersecurity

5.3 Interested parties

5.4 Activities of a cybersecurity framework and programme

6 Concepts

6.1 Overview of cybersecurity frameworks

6.2 Cybersecurity framework functions

Bibliography