BSI Standard 200-1, along with Standards 200-2 and 200-3, is an elementary component of the BSI’s IT-Grundschutz methodology. It defines the general requirements for information security management systems (ISMS – information security management systems) and is compatible with ISO standard 27001. The aim of the BSI standard is to make the business processes of companies and public authorities more secure and to protect data. BSI standard 200-1 replaced BSI standard 100-1 in 2017.
What is BSI Standard 200-1?
The title of BSI Standard 200-1 is “Management Systems for Information Security.” The standard defines the general requirements for information security management systems (ISMS) and, along with standards 200-2 and 200-3, is an elementary component of the basic IT protection methodology of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). It is compatible with the ISO standard ISO/IEC 27001, and the recommendations and terminology of other ISO standards such as ISO/IEC 27002 are also taken into account in the BSI standard.
The contents of the BSI standards are measures, procedures, and recommendations on procedures, methods, and processes relating to various aspects of information security in companies and public authorities. The goal of the standard is to make business processes more secure and protect data through the step-by-step introduction and implementation of an ISMS.
The aim is to create an appropriate and sufficient level of protection for IT systems. In addition to the framework conditions for an information security management system, 200-1 describes the general handling of the other BSI standards in the standard series. The contents of the standard are as easy to understand as possible and have a systematic structure.
The addressees are those responsible for information security, security officers, executives, project managers, security consultants, and security experts. As part of a modernization of the three standards in 2007, Standard 200-1 replaced Standard 100-1.
The main contents of BSI Standard 200-1
The contents of BSI Standard 200-1 answer the following questions, among others:
- What are the requirements for information security management systems?
- What are the security objectives of the company or organization?
- How do those responsible manage, control, and monitor security processes?
- How can strategies for appropriate security be developed?
- What concepts and measures are necessary to implement the security strategies?
- How can the security level be maintained or improved?
Contents include general requirements for information security management systems and methods for initiating, monitoring, controlling and managing an institution’s information security. The contents are fully compatible with the ISO standard ISO/IEC 27001 and take into account the recommendations from the ISO standard ISO/IEC 27002.
The terminology is also similar to the ISO standards. Compared to the ISO standards, the didactic presentations are improved and the structuring is aligned with the approach in IT-Grundschutz.
A brief review of 100-1
The basic IT protection of the German Federal Office for Information Security was introduced in its outline as early as 1994. In the course of modernization, the BSI standards 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, and the IT-Grundschutz catalog, which dates back to 2008, were revised. In 2017, the successor standards 200-1, 200-2, and 200-3 were published.
In the course of modernization, the BSI expanded the target group. While 100-1 mainly addressed those responsible for information security, 200-1 is also explicitly aimed at project managers or executives. In addition, adjustments were made to BSI standard 200-2, additional differentiations were made, terminology and procedures were adapted, and security processes were expanded and revised.
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