ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection is a standardization subcommittee of the Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 develops International Standards, Technical Reports, and Technical Specifications within the field of information security. Standardization activity by this subcommittee includes general methods, management system requirements, techniques and guidelines to address information security, cybersecurity and privacy. Drafts of International Standards by ISO/IEC JTC 1 or any of its subcommittees are sent out to participating national standardization bodies for ballot, comments and contributions. Publication as an ISO/IEC International Standard requires approval by a minimum of 75% of the national bodies casting a vote. The international secretariat of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 is the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) located in Germany.
History
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 was founded by ISO/IEC JTC 1 in 1990. The subcommittee was formed when ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 20, which covered standardization within the field of security techniques, covering "secret-key techniques" (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 20/WG 1), "public-key techniques" (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 20/WG 2), and "data encryption protocols" (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 20/WG 3) was disbanded. This allowed for ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 to take over the work of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 20 (specifically that of its first two working groups) as well as to extend its scope to other areas within the field of IT security techniques. Since 1990, the subcommittee has extended or altered its scope and working groups to meet the current standardization demands. ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27, which started with three working groups, eventually expanded its structure to contain five. The two new working groups were added in April 2006, at the 17th Plenary Meeting in Madrid, Spain.
Scope
The scope of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 is "The development of standards for the protection of information and ICT. This includes generic methods, techniques and guidelines to address both security and privacy aspects, such as: Security requirements capture methodology; Management of information and ICT security; in particular information security management systems, security processes, security controls and services; Cryptographic and other security mechanisms, including but not limited to mechanisms for protecting the accountability, availability, integrity and confidentiality of information; Security management support documentation including terminology, guidelines as well as procedures for the registration of security components; Security aspects of identity management, biometrics and privacy; Conformance assessment, accreditation and auditing requirements in the area of information security management systems; Security evaluation criteria and methodology. SC 27 engages in active liaison and collaboration with appropriate bodies to ensure the proper development and application of SC 27 standards and technical reports in relevant areas."
Structure
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 is made up of five working groups (WG), each of which is responsible for the technical development of information and IT security standards within the programme of work of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27. In addition, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 has two special working groups (SWG): (i) SWG-M, which operates under the direction of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 with the primary task of reviewing and evaluating the organizational effectiveness of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 processes and mode of operations; and (ii) SWG-T, which operates under the direction of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 to address topics beyond the scope of the respective existing WGs or that can affect directly or indirectly multiple WGs. ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 also has a Communications Officer whose role is to promote the work of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 through different channels: press releases and articles, conferences and workshops, interactive ISO chat forums and other media channels.
The focus of each working group is described in the group's terms of reference. Working groups of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 are: