What is the role of stakeholder analysis in ensuring system security?

1 Security as a system requirement

System security is not just a technical issue, but also a business and social one. It affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system's data, functionality, and resources, as well as the trust and satisfaction of the stakeholders. Therefore, security should be considered as a system requirement that is derived from the stakeholder analysis. By understanding the stakeholder's security needs, you can define the security objectives, criteria, and constraints for the system design.

2 Stakeholder identification and classification

The first step of stakeholder analysis is to identify and classify the stakeholders according to their roles, responsibilities, and relationships with the system. You can use various methods, such as interviews, surveys, brainstorming, or stakeholder mapping, to gather information about the stakeholders. Key questions to ask include who are the direct and indirect users of the system, the owners, sponsors and funders, regulators and compliance authorities, suppliers and partners, supporters and influencers of the system. Based on these answers you can classify the stakeholders into different categories such as primary, secondary, internal and external, positive or negative. This will help you understand their level of interest and influence on the system security.

3 Stakeholder analysis matrix

The next step of stakeholder analysis involves creating a stakeholder analysis matrix which summarizes key information about each stakeholder group. This matrix may include columns such as stakeholder name and description, expectations and requirements, security concerns and issues, threats and vulnerabilities, goals and strategies, and a communication and engagement plan. By utilizing this matrix, you can identify gaps, conflicts, and synergies between the stakeholder's security perspectives, and plan how to address them in the system design.

4 Stakeholder involvement and feedback

The final step of stakeholder analysis is to involve and solicit feedback from the stakeholders throughout the system design process. You can use various techniques, such as workshops, focus groups, prototyping, testing, or reviews, to communicate and collaborate with the stakeholders. This is important because it can increase stakeholder buy-in and commitment to the system security, improve the quality of requirements and design, reduce risks of errors or breaches in security, and enhance stakeholder satisfaction and trust. Stakeholder analysis is a key component of systems design that can help you ensure system security. By identifying, analyzing, and engaging the stakeholders, you can create an effective system that meets their security needs while minimizing potential security risks.