Data Confidentiality and Integrity Issues and Role of Information Security Management Standard, Policies and Practices – An Empirical Study of Telecommunication Industry in Pakistan

Abstract

The amount of data communications is increasing each day and with it comes the issues of assuring its security. This research paper explores the information security management issues with respect to confidentiality and integrity and the impact of Information Security Management Standards, Policies and Practices (ISMSPP) on information security. This research has been conducted on the telecommunication industry of Pakistan that was ranked 9th globally in 2009 in terms of subscription. The research methodology was case study based in which perceptions were gathered as well as thematic analysis of the interviews was done. The research focus is on breach of data integrity and confidentiality by the internal users in the industry and the perception of improvement, if any, of the data security due to implementation of security management policies and controls. The results show that information security measure are perceived to have a positive impact on reducing data confidentiality and integrity breaches but still falls short of what is required. It concludes that security policies might improve the situation provided, firstly, that the top managements takes information security seriously, and secondly, the non-technical human aspects of the issues are taken into consideration.