Information Security Management – Why ITIL Security Practices Must Align With Business Protection
“If your security is buried in a policy document, your business is wide open.”
🧨 The Problem: InfoSec Is Still Treated Like a Bolt-On
In most IT orgs, information security isn’t woven into operations — it’s stapled on the side.
It’s still:
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A compliance checkpoint, not a continuous discipline
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The domain of one team — InfoSec — rather than every service owner
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Written in policy, not lived in practice
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Reactive to audit deadlines, not proactive to business threats
The result?
Security is disconnected from service delivery, change processes, incident responses — and ultimately, from business reality.
“Most organisations lack integration between InfoSec and operational IT functions. This results in delayed response, unclear ownership, and increased risk exposure.”
– ISACA, 2024
✅ The Good: Security Practices That Actually Protect the Business
In a mature ITIL implementation, Information Security Management (ISM) isn’t just documentation — it’s operational.
Here’s what it looks like:
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Security requirements captured during service design, not post go-live
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Access and privilege controls embedded in change and release workflows
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Incident response plans include security breach protocols
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Supplier contracts have security SLAs, OLAs, and breach notification expectations
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Risk assessments are done per service, not just organisation-wide
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Security controls are monitored live — not in quarterly reviews
❌ The Bad: Paper Security That Fails Under Pressure
If this sounds like your setup, you’ve got a ticking time bomb:
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No security risk assessment before onboarding new SaaS vendors
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Admin privileges shared across teams “just in case”
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Incident response that skips the InfoSec team
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Change records with no security sign-off
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Audit findings repeated every year with no fix
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Security policies that aren’t mapped to services or actual controls
When a breach happens, the business asks, “Were we protected?”
The answer is, “Not operationally.”
🔐 Where ITIL Comes In: Making Security a Lived Practice
Information Security Management isn’t a standalone activity in ITIL. It threads through every other practice:
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Service Design: Define what security means per service — availability, integrity, confidentiality.
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Change Enablement: Ensure every change has a security impact check.
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Incident Management: Classify security-related incidents and escalate fast.
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Supplier Management: Require evidence of security controls and breach processes.
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Problem Management: Identify root causes linked to security hygiene.
The goal?
Security isn’t a box to tick. It’s a business protection function — owned by the CIO, embedded across practices, and measurable.
🔍 CIO WAR CHEST: Questions to Uncover the Security Gaps
It’s time to surface what’s really going on in your security model.
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Which ITIL practices explicitly include security checkpoints or reviews?
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Ask: Heads of Practice, Change Manager
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Data: Process maps, recent CAB minutes
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How are security requirements captured during service design?
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Ask: Service Architects
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Data: Service design packs, SLRs with security sections
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What’s the incident response flow for suspected security breaches?
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Ask: Head of InfoSec, Incident Manager
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Data: IR flowcharts, actual timelines from last breach
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How many privileged accounts are active — and how often are they reviewed?
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Ask: IAM Lead, Infrastructure
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Data: Access review logs, policy compliance reports
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Which suppliers have access to sensitive data — and what controls are in place?
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Ask: Supplier Manager, Security
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Data: Contracts, DPA terms, SOC 2 or ISO artefacts
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🧠 CIO Truths: Security Is a Business Trust Issue
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If your security policies aren’t mapped to real services, they’re decoration.
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If your service desk doesn’t know how to escalate a suspected breach, you’re exposed.
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If every breach feels like a first-time reaction, you don’t have operational security.
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If your change process doesn’t include security sign-off, you’re creating risk.
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If you’re not involved in security governance — someone else is writing your obituary.
🧩 The Security Integration CIOs Must Lead
Security leadership isn’t about being a CISO. It’s about ensuring your operating model protects your business.
That means:
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Building security into service design
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Auditing the operational behaviours, not just the policies
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Integrating InfoSec into command and control centres
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Aligning security with the change and incident ecosystem
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Ensuring that security is a verb, not a noun
🚨 Need Help Making InfoSec Operational, Not Just Compliant?
We help CIOs move security from documentation to integration:
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Real-world InfoSec embedding into ITIL practices
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Role-specific operational controls and responsibilities
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Supplier security assurance overlays
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Live dashboards for privilege management, breach alerts, and IR response
👉 Let’s get your security aligned to business protection, not just audit passing.
🔚 And That’s a Wrap (For Now)
That’s the final blog in the 8-week ITIL Leadership Playbook series.
But it’s not the end.
We’re now moving into Phase 3: Amplification & Deep Dives.
Watch out for:
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Blog retrospectives
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Live debates
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Practice deep dives
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Thought leadership packs
If you’ve found value in this series, let’s talk about how you apply it in your organisation.
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