Is this acceptable?

Scenario 2: Travivve is a travel agency that operates in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in San Francisco, the US, the agency is known for its personalized vacation packages and travel services. Travivve aims to deliver reliable services that meet its clients’ needs. Considering the impact of information security in its reputation, Travivve decided to implement an information security management system (ISMS) based on ISO/IEC 2700 1. In addition, they decided to establish and implement an information security risk management program. Based on the priority of specific departments in Travivve, the top management decided to initially apply the risk management process only in the Sales Management Department. The process would be applicable for other departments only when introducing new technology.

Travivve’s top management wanted to make sure that the risk management program is established based on the industry best practices. Therefore, they created a team of three members that would be responsible for establishing and implementing it. One of the team members was Travivve’s risk manager who was responsible for supervising the team and planning all risk management activities. In addition, the risk manager was responsible for monitoring the program and reporting the monitoring results to the top management.

Initially, the team decided to analyze the internal and external context of Travivve. As part of the process of understanding the organization and its context, the team identified key processes and activities. Then, the team identified the interested parties and their basic requirements and determined the status of compliance with these requirements. In addition, the team identified all the reference documents that applied to the defined scope of the risk management process, which mainly included the Annex A of ISO/IEC 27001 and the internal security rules established by Travivve. Lastly, the team analyzed both reference documents and justified a few noncompliances with those requirements.

The risk manager selected the information security risk management method which was aligned with other approaches used by the company to manage other risks. The team also communicated the risk management process to all interested parties through previously established communication mechanisms. In addition, they made sure to inform all interested parties about their roles and responsibilities regarding risk management. Travivve also decided to involve interested parties in its risk management activities since, according to the top management, this process required their active participation.

Lastly, Travivve’s risk management team decided to conduct the initial information security risk assessment process. As such, the team established the criteria for performing the information security risk assessment which included the consequence criteria and likelihood criteria.

Based on the scenario above, answer the following question:

Travivve decided to initially apply the risk management process only in the Sales Management Department.

Is this acceptable?
A . No, the risk management process must be applied in all organizational levels
B . Yes, the risk management process may be applied to only a subset of departments in an organization
C . Yes, the risk management process must be applied to only those departments that handle customers’ personal information in an organization

Answer: B

Explanation:

ISO/IEC 27005 provides guidance on risk management for information security, and it allows flexibility in applying the risk management process to different parts of an organization. The decision to initially apply the risk management process only to the Sales Management Department is acceptable under ISO/IEC 27005, as the standard supports the selective application of risk management activities based on the specific needs and priorities of the organization. This is in line with risk management best practices, where organizations may focus on critical areas first (such as high-risk departments or those that handle sensitive information) and later expand the process as needed. Therefore, applying the risk management process to a subset of departments is appropriate, making option B the correct answer.

Reference: ISO/IEC 27005:2018, Clause 7, "Context Establishment," which allows defining the scope and boundaries of risk management as relevant to the organization’s needs.

ISO/IEC 27001:2013, Clause 4.3, "Determining the scope of the information security management system," which also permits defining a scope based on priorities and relevance.