Internet Security Alliance (ISAlliance) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit collaboration between the Electronic Industries Alliance

Electronic Industries Alliance

The Electronic Industries Alliance was a standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. They developed standards to ensure the equipment of different manufacturers was compatible and interchangeable...

 (EIA), a federation of trade associations, and Carnegie Mellon University's CyLab, focussing on cyber security. The ISAlliance is a forum for information sharing and leadership on information security

Information security

Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....

, and it lobbies for corporate security interests.

Objectives

• Work with legislative and regulatory bodies to ensure that market incentives are at the forefront of policy
• Promote greater corporate responsibility on information security issues
• Facilitate executive-to-executive communications about solutions to threats and emerging trends
• Conducts research leading to identification and resolution of root causes to information security problems
• Develop training programs across the gamut of corporate information security issues
• Provide a coordination point for industry dialogue on self-regulation issues such as market incentives, IT risk management and privacy
• Develop organizationally viable models for integration and adoption of security best practices
• Educate senior management and boards, linking information security throughout the enterprise operations
• Conduct timely seminars on emerging security issues
• Provide early warning of emerging security threats and in-depth reports on vulnerabilities and threats

The ISAlliance has proposed a "Cybersecurity Social Contract" that offers an "action plan" to protect the United States from cyber attacks.

International operations

While the ISAlliance is physically based in the United States, its membership operates internationally and the goal is international security for all its trusted partners. The ISAlliance has member companies on four continents. There has always been a non-U.S. based company on the Executive Committee. The ISAlliance believes the international communication it fosters is critical to the long-term success of achieving greater information security. Moreover, international representation and voice more realistically addresses the many difficult problems which face all users of the Internet.

Publications

Published in 2009, The Financial Impact of Cyber Risk is the first known guidance document to approach the financial impact of cyber risks from the perspective of core business functions. It provides guidance to CFOs and their colleagues responsible for legal issues, business operations and technology, privacy and compliance, risk assessment and insurance, and corporate communications.