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Sarbanes-oxley
By CipherTrust, Sat Dec 10th
Is your enterprise following the rules? The bulk of financial information in many companies is created,stored and transmitted electronically, maintained by IT andcontrolled via information integrity procedures and practices.For these reasons, compliance with federal requirements such asthe Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is heavily dependent on IT.Companies that must comply with SOX are U.S. public companies,foreign filers in U.S. markets and privately held companies withpublic debt. Ultimately accountable for SOX compliance are thecorporate CEO and CFO, who will depend on company financeoperations and IT to provide critical support when they complywith the SOX requirement to report on the effectiveness ofinternal control over financial reporting. Sound practices include corporate-wide information securitypolicies and enforced implementation of those policies foremployees at all levels. Information security policies shouldgovern network security, access controls, authentication,encryption, logging, monitoring and alerting, pre-plannedcoordinated incident response, and forensics. These componentsenable information integrity and data retention, while enablingIT audits and business continuity.
Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley The changes required toensure SOX compliance reach across nearly all areas of acorporation. In fact, Gartner Research went so far as to callthe Act “the most sweeping legislation to affect publicly tradedcompanies since the reforms during the Great Depression.” Sincethe bulk of information in most companies is created, stored,transmitted and maintained electronically, one could logicallyconclude that IT shoulders a lion’s share of the responsibilityfor SOX compliance. Enterprise IT departments are responsiblefor ensuring that sound practices, including corporate-wideinformation security policies and enforced implementation ofthose policies, are in place for employees at all levels.Information security policies should govern: - Networksecurity
- Access controls
- Authentication
- Encryption
- Logging
- Monitoring and alerting
- Pre-planningcoordinated incident response
- Forensics
These components enable information integrity and dataretention, while enabling IT audits and business continuity. In order to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, companies must be ableto show conclusively that: - They have reviewed quarterlyand annual financial reports;
- The information is completeand accurate;
- Effective disclosure controls and proceduresare in place and maintained to ensure that material informationabout the company is made known to them.
Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Section 404 regulatesenforcement of internal controls, requiring management to showthat it has established an effective internal control structureand procedures for accurate and complete financial reporting. Inaddition, the company must produce documented evidence of anannual assessment of the internal control structure’seffectiveness, validated by a registered public accounting firm.By instituting effective email controls, organizations are notonly ensuring compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404; theyare also taking a giant step in the right direction with regardsto overall email security. Effective Email Controls Email has evolved into abusiness-critical application unlike any other. Unfortunately,it is also one of the most exposed areas of a technologyinfrastructure. Enterprises must install a solution thatactively enforces policy, stops offending mail
both inbound andoutbound and halts threats before internal controls arecompromised, as opposed to passively noting violations as theyoccur. An effective email security solution must address all aspects ofcontrolling access to electronically stored company financialinformation. This includes access during transport as well asaccess to static information resident at the company or on aremote site or machine. Given the wide functionality of email,as well as the broad spectrum of threats that face emailsystems, ensuring appropriate information access control for allof these points requires: - A capable policy enforcementmechanism to set rules in accordance with each company’s systemsof internal controls;
- Encryption capabilities to ensureprivacy and confidentiality through secure and authenticatedtransport and delivery of email messages;
- Secure remoteaccess to enable remote access for authorized users whilepreventing access from unauthorized users;
- Anti-spam andanti-phishing technology to prevent malicious code from enteringa machine and to prevent private information from being providedto unauthorized parties
For years, corporations addressed their various email securityneeds through a mixture of third-party software “solutions”designed to address specific areas of vulnerability. Today,however, this approach is ineffective. New amorphous threatsadapt to even the latest security technology, helping hackersand spammers stay a step ahead of most stand-alone protectivemeasures. System administrators remain in a reactionary mode,waiting for the next attack and hoping their mixed bag ofsecurity software is up to the test. The new challenges posed toemail security demand a new approach that protects enterprisesfrom all types of malicious attacks. Enter CipherTrust’sIronMail. IronMail and Sarbanes-Oxley IronMail has been created toprotect organizations from both known and unknown email securityattacks. IronMail offers automatic or manual updates to protectagainst both known and newly discovered email security threatsand vulnerabilities, and the comprehensive messaging securityprovided by IronMail assists organizations in key areas ofmaintaining effective internal controls. Specific financialinformation threats and vulnerabilities protected by IronMailinclude: - Viruses, worms, and other malicious code
- Internal users and external hackers attacking email systems
- System failures from malicious attacks that can lead tosubsequent legal liabilities
- Unintentional or maliciousinformation access or exposure
IronMail provides a comprehensive solution to the Sarbanes-Oxleyinformation integrity requirements as they relate to protectingcorporate financial information that is transmitted and storedvia email. Everything from message privacy/encryption to emailfirewall and intrusion protection to content filtering isincluded in the IronMail solution. Take the Next Step Learn more about how IronMail helpsorganizations ensure Sarbanes-Oxley compliance by visiting www.ciphertrust.com orrequesting CipherTrust’s free whitepaper, “Contributing toSarbanes-Oxley Compliance with IronMail”. About the author:CipherTrust is the leader in anti-spam and email security. Learnmore by downloading our free whitepaper, “Contributing toSarbanes-Oxley Compliance with IronMail” or by visiting www.ciphertrust.com.
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