ISO/IEC 27004 back on track?

At long last: a glimmer of hope
on the ISO27k metrics front!  

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC27 respondents to a questionnaire circulated by the editors responsible for revising ISO/IEC 27004:2009 acknowledge that the current published standard is wordy, academic, perhaps even unworkable, which is probably why it has achieved such a low uptake, despite the obvious need for measurements as part of an Information Security Management System.  No surprise there. 
However, there are encouraging signs that the editors and project team are prepared to consider a markedly different approach, although there is some concern that the new version ought to be backward compatible with the old (one might ask “Why?” given that it is hardly being used!).  I hope publication of the current version of 27004 has not, in fact, set the field back which was the fear expressed to SC27 in the formal comments accompanying NZ’s vote against publishing the standard.

Given that the editors feel “ISMS standards are practical standards, not university textbooks”, the rather academic and unhelpful measurement modelling content of the current version will hopefully be dropped like a stone, toned-down or at least relegated to an dark and dusty annex.

Other security measurement standards are being trawled for more pragmatic guidance in relation to ISO27k. NIST SP800-55 Revision 1 certainly merits a closer look, as does ISO/IEC 15939, BSI’s BIP 0074 and perhaps IT Grundshutz. The idea of ‘categorizing’ metrics seems to have taken hold, although there is no agreement yet on the nature of those categories, while maturity metrics are also of interest (in the sense that an organization’s infosec metrics will change as its approach to and experience of infosec matures). Meanwhile, for those who simply can’t wait for the 27004 update, we recommend the PRAGMATIC approach which, we believe, addresses many of the shortcomings of 27004 - for example, how to select or design worthwhile security metrics, those being workable measures that support both business/strategic and information security management objectives.
I will be doing my level best to help the SC27 project team exploit the PRAGMATIC ideas and other concepts from the book, where appropriate.

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