Development of a failure mode and effects analysis based risk assessment tool for information security

Abstract

Risk management is recognized as a significant element in Information Security Management while the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is widely used in risk analysis in manufacturing industry. This paper aims to present the development work of the Information Security FMEA Circle (InfoSec FMEA Circle) which is used to support the risk management framework by modifying traditional FMEA methodologies. In order to demonstrate the "appropria-teness" of the InfoSec FMEA Circle for the purposes of assessing information security, a case study at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is employed. The "InfoSec FMEA Circle" is found to be an effective risk assessment methodology that has a significant contribution to providing a stepwise risk management implementation model for information security management.