ISACA unveils Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework to support business resilience

ISACA has released a new framework known as the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF) aimed at amplifying digital trustworthiness and its benefits within organisations. This approach has been a global collaboration involving experts, culminating in a tool that has taken four years to perfect.

The revolutionary DTEF is an answer to the deficiency of any comprehensive body of knowledge that satisfactorily addresses the diverse scenarios, risk, and controls required to function in a digitally trusted environment. A recent-highlighted understanding from ISACA that 55 percent of organisations believe it to be of extreme significance to possess a digital trust framework emphasises the framework's necessity.

According to Jo Stewart-Rattray, ISACA's Oceania Ambassador, this ground-breaking framework offers a sophisticated and far-reaching blueprint to guide businesses of all scales to attain maximum trust. Elaborating on the present stance of organisations, she shared, "Most organisations in Australia have the intention to be trustworthy, but sometimes there is a disconnect between intent and action, largely driven by uncertainty around how to achieve trust across all areas of their businesses."

The DTEF helps organisations comprehend the practices they could apply to fortify their trustworthiness and by extension, reputation. This is achieved through addressing the essential components of digital trust, including integrity, security, privacy, resilience, quality, and confidence. Unsurprisingly, higher levels of digital trust were found to have noticeable benefits such as fostering a positive reputation, providing more dependable data making for superior decision making, and resulting in reduced privacy and cybersecurity breaches, among others.

Shannon Donahue, ISACA's chief content and publishing officer, commented on the economic implications of digital trust. "High levels of digital trust ultimately improve financial performance by lowering the risk of impact of data and cyber breaches. Organisations can also see greater gains from responsible digital investments, and the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework helps with both of these."

The DTEF, conceived through expert global inputs, is undergirded by various elements such as culture, human factors, emergence, enabling and support, direct and monitor, and architecture. The objective is to assist businesses in their digital trust journey and it is engineered to correspond with numerous existing frameworks and protocols including COBIT, ITIL, GDPR, and a plethora of ISO and NIST standards.

Rolf von Roessing, a member of the ISACA Digital Trust Working Group and lead developer of the framework, emphasised the continual nature of building digital trust. He affirmed, "Having a framework to guide organisations as they integrate trustworthiness into their technology and business operations ensures that they are covering all ground, minimising risk and maximising impact."

Furthermore, ISACA is introducing an interactive guide accompanying the new framework to ease its practical implementation. The DTEF Interactive Guide is presented in a revolutionary format, packed with 3D modelling, use cases, and a captivating visual experience. Subsequent to the exclusive member access period, the Digital Trust Board Briefing will be made accessible to the public.

ISACA CEO, Erik Prusch, recognised digital trust as a critical factor in propelling resilience, reputation, and ultimately, organisational success. Further affirming ISACA's commitment, he stated, "Implementing digital trust practices must be intentional, and ISACA is equipping enterprises with transformational tools to build trust with their stakeholders and see positive impact."

In the forthcoming months, ISACA will launch additional resources including the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework Foundation Course and Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework Foundation Certificate, upholding its function as an ardent promoter of digital trust within organisations.