What is an Information Security Management System (ISMS) and what is its purpose?

An ISMS is a set of rules and procedures that an organization uses to define, manage, control, maintain, and continuously improve information security.

An ISMS serves two main purposes:

1. Protect assets — Ensure that the organization's assets and information are adequately protected
2. Meet requirements — Fulfill legal, regulatory, industry, and market requirements

How it works in practice:

• Maintain a process for identifying and assessing information security risks
• Determine and implement controls
• Continuously improve over time
• Determine the protection needs of assets, define protective measures, and establish monitoring

Various standards (ISO 27001, BSI) provide frameworks for building an ISMS. Think of the ISMS not as a product you buy, but as an ongoing process that your organization runs.

Go deeper:

• Information security management (Wikipedia) — das ISMS als Zusammenspiel aller Sicherheits-Elemente einer Organisation (Richtlinien, Verfahren, Ziele), das Technik und Menschen orchestriert.