Writing Information Security Policies

Common-Sense Guidelines About Speech

While helping an organization write its information security policies, some in a committee they gathered saw the concept of adding speech guidelines to the AUP as “caving in to the evils of political correctness.” This organization’s culture was very informal. Management prided themselves on being treated the same as the lowest employee. They did not want to be viewed as the corporate “big brother” and break that team and family feeling.

A few days after these discussions, the newspapers printed a front-page news story about a harassment and discrimination lawsuit being filed against a major oil company. Allegedly, an executive was accused of discrimination against subordinates. To prove their case, the ...