The 6 P’s of Security Management and Protection of Your Online Presence

If you learned security management at college, you might have heard of the six “P's” associated with the topic. On the other hand, if you have learned website security, you might know some different sets of six “P’s”. The definitions pertain to different things depending on what they describe. 

Web security can never be underestimated so long as you have a platform that represents your business. Whether you sell your own products or sell other people’s products as an affiliate marketer, you have a responsibility to protect your assets as well as your online presence as a business owner.

What Are The 6 Ps of Security Management?

The 6 P’s are outlined differently by security publishers and watchdog bodies.

• Policies, Products, Proof, Procedures, Processes, People.
• Policies, Planning, Protection, Programs, Projects, People.
• Planning, Prediction, Preparation, Placement, People.
• Etc. 

As you can see, some of them overlap each other or there’s very little difference between the two of them. Such as between planning and preparation, between programs and projects, etc.

I will pick the 6 P’s that are closely related to online marketing and explain them one by one. I hope the following will help any business owner startup who has no previous knowledge can get a rough idea of it.

Planning

The basic planning model in relation to website security is to make sure your site is managed by a trustworthy hosting company. Because it’s all up to the company to implement security strategies to mitigate any types of threats, so online business marketers, bloggers and e-commerce owners can feel more at ease while using the platform.

However, plans are subject to change as time goes by. It’s also crucial for users to understand the change and review their web environment regularly. Planning does not only happen once, but it’s a continuous effort as security trends evolve at all times. 

Policies

Policies are mentioned as part of the six P’s at times, but this is usually by IT professionals because they are the ones who set out the policies to ensure the security systems are in place and monitored in the most responsible manner. 3 security management policies are usually mentioned:

• Enterprise Information Security Policies (EISPs) - Implemented for a large enterprise ad part of the strategic business plan.
• Issue-Specific Security Policies (ISSPs) - Policies that are required to be flexible depending on particular issues and circumstances.
• System-Specific Policies (SysSPs) - Security measures should vary from system to system, so specifically developed for a particular type of environment.

As a website owner/user, you are not required to know the security policies as they are too technical and not always applicable. But there is no harm in knowing that these policies exist.

Prediction

Prediction is what may happen to your online business in the future in all aspects. As a security non-expert, you are not solely responsible. But whenever you are expecting a new event, it’s important to recognise what’s likely to happen, and also to be aware of the worst-case scenarios.

For instance, you are expecting a large number of transactions during your first Black Friday sale. But you are using a budget CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. Will the system crash? If it does, will all the customers’ records and purchasing data be still secure? The prediction may involve some technical questions and therefore you may need to seek professional assistance for any emergency situations like this.

Placement

Placement in the case of online business refers to the actual security devices, software, or automation system that are used on your assets. So long as you choose a ready-made system developed by a trustworthy company, you won’t have any problem with regard to any security threats. However, you are expected to keep in mind that the security measure may become your responsibility in some circumstances, such as;

• If the software is not cloud-based but installed on the hardware, your local environment needs to be protected.
• When the software is customisable according to your needs.

People

At the end of the day, it’s people who control all the critical security aspects. The importance of knowledgeable security professionals who can handle all sorts of crises cannot be underestimated. Not just protecting your sites from viruses and hacking incidents but any types of technical glitches with the web server should be avoided. Everyone who is involved with managing your website should be aware of information security management.

However, when it comes to people, there are always conflicts in opinions and capabilities based on each person’s views, experiences, and circumstances that they’re in. As a website owner, you may want to save money to use cheaper software or not use it at all. But you may not realise that this will jeopardise your site health position. Therefore firstly, you may need someone to warn you of it. And secondly, you may need a professional who can give you advice on how you can compromise between the price and the level of site maintenance.

This means that communications between people hold one of the keys when it comes to site security management, and also adequate training so that all the people who are involved are kept updated with new information as and when.

Products

It’s important to be aware that the products (and services) you offer on the internet are security-compliant, especially when it comes to digital products, you need to ensure that it’s free of malware and no suspicious script is planted anywhere. 

For years, many affiliate marketers have unknowingly sold some memberships that are harmful upon joining. Affiliates tend to promote products blindly in such cases, offering a large percentage of commission while masking their identities and ignoring matters of security.

To avoid this kind of trouble, the best thing you can do is to always make sure you know the resources are coming from legitimate, trustworthy sellers. Rather than being a security expert that identifies malicious software, your job is to be trustworthy to your own customers. And therefore this is the least you can do to safeguard your reputation and that of your stakeholders.

Do I Need To Know The 6 Ps of Security Management?

If you are starting your online business by building your website without paying professionals to review your plan, this may be the question. Do you need to know the six Ps of information security management mentioned above?

If you use a trustworthy web platform service, you don’t have to worry too much about it. However, you are required to have the basic knowledge of what kind of threats are there and how you can maintain your safe website environment. The trouble is, the cheaper service you go for, the riskier the environment can be. Cheap web hosting services tend to neglect safety precautions and also tend to respond very slowly in case of urgency.

I strongly recommend you to use the following service if you’d like to build websites with one of the strongest security measures in place with the world’s quickest support if you ever encounter any technical problem.