TISAX or Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange is an assessment and exchange mechanism for the information security of enterprises and allows recognition of assessment results among the participants. It is managed by the ENX Association on behalf of the German Automobile Industry Association (VDA).
It is particularly pivotal in the automotive industry, where data security is a growing concern due to the increasing connectivity of automotive systems and the complex nature of global supply chains. By harmonizing security measures, TISAX empowers automotive businesses to confidently exchange sensitive information with their partners, ensuring that all players adhere to the same rigorous performance standards.
Let's now look at who is within the scope of TISAX, what it entails and how ISO 27001 helps with compliance.
TISAX is not legally mandatory in the same way that regulatory frameworks like GDPR or NIS2-directive laws are. However, it is effectively mandatory for many organizations in the automotive sector due to industry requirements and customer expectations.
Compliance with TISAX often becomes necessary for organizations within the automotive supply chain or affiliated industries. These entities handle sensitive information, intellectual property, and customer data, so TISAX compliance is crucial in establishing a consistent standard of information security. This includes automotive manufacturers, their suppliers, service providers, and third-party partners involved in the supply chain. If your organization handles sensitive data, intellectual property, or any form of client information within this sector, you fall within the scope of TISAX.
OEMs (Original equiment manufacturers) are key drivers of TISAX adoption, as they often require their suppliers and partners to be TISAX compliant to ensure a secure supply chain. Some examples of the third party suppliers and partners required to comply with TISAX are:
Any organization that operates in or interacts with the automotive ecosystem and handles sensitive or proprietary information is a candidate for TISAX compliance. These can be also anyone from testing and quality assurance providers to consultants, AI companies and marketing agencies. The necessity often arises through contractual requirements or as part of the Organization's commitment to maintaining high information security standards.
Moreover, many organizations in this field may find that complying with TISAX isn't just a requirement; it serves as a significant competitive edge. Compliance can be a pre-requisite mandated by business partners or clients who prioritize robust data security protocols. Thus, understanding the scope of TISAX is not only about meeting industry requirements but also about fortifying your position within the global market.
TISAX helps create a common understanding of security needs within the automotive sector. It allows organizations to clearly assess and share their cybersecurity status, cutting out unnecessary work and making sure everyone is aligned on information security standards. At its core, TISAX is created to make sure that important information shared in the automotive industry is kept safe and secure. By setting strict cybersecurity standards, TISAX builds trust and reliability among everyone involved. TISAX boosts cybersecurity in the automotive world, safeguarding information and organization reputations in our fast-growing digital world.
With a shared understanding of security needs, TISAX provides a unified framework that strengthens cooperation in the automotive industry. It enables organizations to consistently evaluate and share their cybersecurity strengths, reducing repetitive efforts and ensuring everyone is aligned on information security standards.
Next, let's take a look into the framework. TISAX is split into 3 sections: First part which cover the information security part of the framework, is relevant for all the organizations on the scope. Prototype protection and Data protection are more specific, and relevant for organizations that handle such information regarding prototypes, or personal data.
Policies and organisation: Provides the fundamental structure for establishing and maintaining an effective information security framework within an organization. Establish a systematic approach to managing and protecting sensitive information with ISMS.
Human resources: Emphasizes the need for employees, contractors, and other personnel to play an active role in supporting the organization's information security goals, thereby reducing human-related risks. Chapter 2 covers for example employee onboarding and offboarding, awareness and training, and background checks.
Physical security: This chapter focuses on protecting your physical spaces, assets, and environments from unauthorized access or threats. Simple physical security methods include controlling who can access your buildings, using cameras, ID cards, and keeping equipment safe. We explore physical security measures more thoroughly in our separate blog post.
Access Management: Access management ensures that information and systems are accessible only to authorized users based on their roles and necessity. Physical and electronic access is managed using identification tools such as keys, IDs, access devices, and cryptographic tokens, which must be handled securely to maintain reliability.
When accessing IT systems, users need secure verification. User accounts should be validated and linked to people to ensure accountability. It's essential to protect login details and keep track of user activities for security and compliance.
Technical security: Securing IT systems and networks against cyber threats. Complying with the chapter's objectives may include: protecting systems with firewalls, antivirus programs, and regular updates; watching for and dealing with cyber threats using incident management; encrypting important data when it's being sent and stored and testing for weaknesses with vulnerability checks and security exercises.
Suppliers and Aquisition: With the requirements by this chapter, organizations can protect sensitive data across the supply chain, ensuring secure data sharing, managing who can access supplier information, and keeping track of contracts and partners.
Compliance and Personal data: The final chapter of information security requirements focuses on compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations. It involves defining, implementing, and communicating compliance policies to the responsible parties.
Non-compliance with legal, regulatory, or contractual provisions can create risks to the information security of customers and the own organization. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that these provisions are known and observed.
Prototype Protection in the TISAX framework focuses on securely managing sensitive automotive prototypes and their associated data. It aims to prevent unauthorized access and information leaks that could compromise competitiveness. Automotive suppliers implement enhanced controls to safeguard innovations and intellectual property from industrial espionage and unauthorized disclosure. TISAX aims to define, for example, how prototypes are stored and how access and incident management is carried out, and how prototypes are handled.
Data protection encompasses stringent policies and practices tailored to automotive partners. Since automotive giants often exchange vast amounts of sensitive data, securing this information is paramount. Therefore, TISAX includes robust measures to protect personal and business-critical data, enhancing trust between partners and ensuring compliance with legal requirements.
TISAX Data Protection helps organization safely handle personal and sensitive information, reducing the risks of data breaches and not following rules. It builds trust in the automotive supply chain and shows a promise to keep everyone's privacy and data safe.
In the end, TISAX not only protects important automotive data but also builds trust and openness across the industry. By using a common standard for information security, the automotive sector can better handle threats and weaknesses that could affect the safe and private exchange of data among partners.
If you are already familiar with ISO 27001, you might've noticed that themes covered in TISAX Information security requirements are aligned with the globally recognized standard. And no wonder, TISAX requirements are actually based on ISO 27001 controls, such as access management, physical security, and incident response.
TISAX requirements are closely aligned with ISO 27001 principles, making it easier for organizations already certified to ISO 27001 to prepare for TISAX. ISO 27001 certification can strengthen a organization's position when seeking TISAX approval, as it demonstrates a commitment to robust information security practices. Organisations can carry out a self-assessment for TISAX, and ISO 27001 certification is strongly recommended as a prerequisite. Overall, TISAX is basically just an extension of ISO 27001 for the automotive industry, with added controls and focus areas such as prototype protection.
In Cyberday, you can easily utilize the done work towards ISO 27001 to help you with TISAX, without doing the unnecessary double work. Cyberday turns frameworks into policies and tasks, which are all cross-linked in Cyberday. Start your free trial in Cyberday and prove your compliance.
TISAX provides a single standard for security, prototyping and data protection in the automotive industry. It simplifies compliance, increases trust and strengthens collaboration in global supply chains. TISAX is aligned with the principles of ISO 27001 and provides organisations with a practical roadmap for managing information security risks, protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance.
TISAX enables organisations to facilitate security assessments and save time and resources that would otherwise be spent on separate assessments for each partner or supplier. It provides a solid framework for identifying, managing and mitigating information security risks, increasing public trust and industry-wide collaboration.
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