If you do a Google search for digital trust, you’ll receive over 5.5 billion results; indeed, digital trust is a popular topic these days! Definitions of digital trust, however, vary widely.
ISACA has been researching and thinking about this topic for over a year as the concept of digital trust is at the center of what ISACA does and who it stands for. We are thrilled to announce that ISACA is developing a Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework, and we need your help! An exposure draft of the framework is available for review and comment. We encourage all ISACA members and others in the digital trust community to review the new framework and provide constructive feedback. Find out how to participate here.
Digital Trust and ISACA—A Shared Purpose
I’ll admit when my boss first started talking to me about digital trust, my initial response was “what is it exactly?” I had a notional idea of course, but through conversations and research, I began to understand how digital trust is fundamental to many interactions I have as an individual, and it certainly has direct application to the professionals ISACA serves and the industries and entities for which those professionals work. In short, we are all part of the digital trust community and active participants in the digital trust ecosystem.
As we explored the topic of digital trust, it became readily apparent that ISACA, as a nonprofit association that serves information system and technology professionals, can help direct the conversation and frame it to help the industry at large. Some regard digital trust as simply a new name for information security. And, while security is definitely a component of digital trust, ISACA views digital trust in a larger context. There are privacy components, resilience elements, ethical considerations, governance implications, brand hardiness, and audit consequences that need to factor into the thinking behind digital trust and its lexicon.
A Framework is Developed
As we explored this topic in more detail, it was apparent to us that a framework was needed to help guide professionals—to help them in their digital transformation evolution and to think about how digital trust needs to be considered at all levels of an enterprise. While digital trust certainly applies in areas where technology enables the business, it is broader than that and applies to almost all aspects of a business. As such, it needs to be thought of with a business lens and not just through the eyes of technologists. The ISACA community needs to raise awareness of the importance of digital trust—as it impacts almost everything we do.
As a result, ISACA developed a digital trust framework to help guide the community on the components of digital trust and how to apply it within an organization. The framework contemplates that digital trust operates in a dynamic, interconnected world, and it takes into account this reality.
Help Shape the Future of Digital Trust
This framework is intended to aid you, the practitioner, and the industry in which you work. We invite you to participate by reading and commenting on the exposure draft. It is through your participation, cogent comments and input that ISACA is able to produce a relevant and meaningful framework.