A Reference Model of Information Assurance & Security

Information Assurance & Security (IAS) is a dynamic domain which changes continuously in response to the evolution of society, business needs and technology. This paper proposes a Reference Model of Information Assurance & Security (RMIAS), which endeavours to address the recent trends in the IAS evolution, namely diversification and deperimetrisation. The model incorporates four dimensions: Information System Security Life Cycle, Information Taxonomy, Security Goals and Security Countermeasures. In addition to the descriptive knowledge, the RMIAS embeds the methodological knowledge. A case study demonstrates how the RMIAS assists with the development and revision of an Information Security Policy Document. Keywords-Information Assurance, Information Security, Conceptual Model, Reference Model, Information Security Policy Development