WHAT DOES AN INFORMATION SECURITY DO?

Published: Jun 20, 2025 - The Information Security Professional protects digital assets by preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and cyber threats. This role ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability through the implementation of security policies, technologies, and best practices. The individual strengthens the organization’s security posture through continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and compliance efforts.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Information Security

1. Information Security Analyst Duties

  • Issue Handling: Handles sophisticated issues and problems, receives escalations of more complex issues from lower-level staff
  • Abuse Mitigation: Abuse mitigation, incident prevention and response, and forensic analysis of security incidents
  • Security Integration: Integrate security designs to ensure the organization’s proprietary information (data and systems) is safeguarded
  • Application Assessment: Conduct application security assessments
  • Breach Investigation: Investigate security breaches to determine system weaknesses
  • System Testing: Conducts testing and configuration procedures across products and systems
  • Security Analysis: Analyzes security management systems, enterprise systems, and data files to validate security
  • Network Analysis: Performs security analysis across networks, databases, and internet/web operations
  • Plan Evaluation: Evaluate security plans to ensure the integrity of new and/or existing business operations

2. Information Security Architect Details

  • Policy Development: Develop and maintain security policies, standards and procedures, and track compliance with the compliance department
  • Requirement Formulation: Formulate security requirements for projects and systems, in line with the firm’s risk appetite
  • Gap Identification: Identify security gaps, vulnerabilities and weaknesses in systems, networks and applications
  • Risk Assessment: Conduct security risk assessments both at the enterprise and system levels
  • Risk Registering: Develop and maintain a security risk register, and track remediation activities
  • Vendor Assessment: Conduct third-party/vendor security risk assessments
  • Control Evaluation: Evaluate existing security controls and recommend enhancements
  • Awareness Training: Lead the security awareness and training program for the firm

3. Information Security Consultant Responsibilities

  • Risk Planning: Creation and updating of Risk Management plans including risk treatment and security controls, together with internal and external stakeholders
  • Service Management: Service management of IT security service providers
  • Incident Response: Prevention, Response and Investigation of Information Security Incidents
  • Process Documentation: Definition, standardisation, and documentation of processes relevant to information security
  • Measure Evaluation: Evaluation of technical and organisational measures regarding information security
  • Awareness Implementation: Conception and implementation of target group-specific training and awareness measures
  • Audit Preparation: Preparation, implementation, and follow-up of internal and external audits (e.g., ISO 27001)
  • Risk Supervision: Active control and supervision of risk management

4. Information Security Lead Job Summary

  • Governance Facilitation: Lead and facilitate security governance, compliance and architecture conversations with other Security, IT, Operations and Business stakeholders
  • Security Expertise: Be a subject matter expert on Government Security Assessment
  • Framework Familiarity: Familiar with the risk management framework (RMF)
  • ATO Knowledge: Knowledge of the Government Authority to Operate (ATO) process
  • Requirement Analysis: Establishes and satisfies information assurance and security requirements based upon the analysis of user, policy, regulatory, and resource demands
  • Solution Evaluation: Work with security policy point vendors to evaluate and ensure that the new and emerging solutions meet the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC3) initiative
  • Risk Analysis: Performs vulnerability/risk analysis of computer systems and applications during all phases of the system development life cycle
  • Client Interface: Interface directly with internal and external clients/vendors and serve as a primary security and compliance point-of-contact
  • Process Refinement: Responsible for refining security processes and creating security documentation

5. Information Security Manager Accountabilities

  • Policy Evolution: Drive the evolution of the company's Information Security policies to maintain best practice and alignment with corporate and regulatory requirements
  • Security Engagement: Working in partnership with the DPO, raise the profile of Security within the organisation by being proactively involved with stakeholders and customers
  • Security Consultation: Provide consultation and/or education and drive the adoption of security as a value add/best practice
  • Compliance Assurance: Working in partnership with the delivery teams, to ensure all projects, changes, IT policies and procedures are compliant with corporate Information Security Policies
  • Supplier Compliance: Ensure suppliers are compliant with corporate standards
  • Penetration Testing: Conduct (third-party) penetration testing and facilitate any subsequent remediation activities
  • Security Expertise: Act as the subject matter expert on matters of security relating to Information Security
  • Incident Response: Coordinate response to security incidents and breaches to ensure any impact is contained and relevant information obtained to facilitate analysis and improvement plans
  • Audit Support: Support internal and external audits
  • Remediation Oversight: Oversight and responsibility for remediation activities

6. Information Security Risk Manager Functions

  • Governance Establishment: Establish global cyber risk governance in ASSA ABLOY Group
  • Risk Culture: Build a global risk management culture and methodologies
  • Board Hosting: Host the global Cyber Risk Board
  • Risk Execution: Establish and execute Risk management with business functions
  • Risk Reporting: Build and maintain Cyber Risk Reporting for stakeholders
  • Compliance Collaboration: Collaborate with Compliance to anchor the risk corridor in ISMS
  • Risk Monitoring: Define, monitor and report Key Risks and relevant Key Performance Indicators
  • Testing Coordination: Coordinate penetration testing, vulnerability scanning and risk reporting for projects
  • Audit Performance: Perform audits and assessments of service providers, documents and tracks risks to closure

7. Information Security Specialist Job Description

  • Breach Reporting: Prepare reports that take note of security breaches and the extent of the damage caused by these breaches
  • Software Installation: Install software that is created to protect sensitive information, such as firewalls and data encryption programs
  • Network Monitoring: Monitor the company’s networks to keep an eye out for any security breaches and investigate them if one does occur
  • Trend Research: Research the latest information technology security trends to keep up to date with the subject and use the latest technology to protect information
  • Plan Development: Develop a security plan for the best standards and practices for the company
  • Attack Simulation: Conduct frequent testing of simulated cyber-attacks to look for vulnerabilities in the computer systems and take care of these before an outside cyber-attack
  • Security Recommendations: Make recommendations to managers and senior executives about security advancements to best protect the company’s systems
  • IAM Implementation: Implement an IAM (Identity and Access Management) system
  • System Monitoring: Continuously monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of information security systems and policies
  • User Support: Help co-workers when they need to install a new program or learn about security procedures
Relevant Information
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