Purpose: This paper seeks to empirically examine the existence and implementation of information security governance (ISG) in Saudi organizations. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical survey, using a self-administered questionnaire, is conducted to explore and evaluate the current status and the main features of ISG in the Saudi environment. The questionnaire is developed based on ISG guidelines for boards of directors and executive management issued by the Information Technology (IT) Governance Institute and other related materials available in the literature. A total of 167 valid questionnaires are collected and processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 16. Findings: The results of the study reveal that although the majority of Saudi organizations recognize the importance of ISG as an integrant factor for the success of IT and corporate governance, most of them have no clear information security strategies or written information security policy statements. The majority of Saudi organizations have no disaster recovery plans to deal with information security incidents and emergencies; information security roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined and communicated. The results also show that alignment between ISG and the organization's overall business strategy is relatively poor and not adequately implemented. The results also show that risk assessment procedures are not adequately and effectively implemented, ISG is not a regular item in the board's agenda, and there are no properly functioning ISG processes or performance-measuring systems in the majority of Saudi organizations. Accordingly, appropriate actions should be taken to improve implementing and measuring the ISG performance in Saudi organizations. Originality/value: From a practical standpoint, managers and practitioners alike stand to gain from the findings of this study. The results of the paper enable them to better understand and evaluate ISG and to champion IT development for business success in Saudi organizations. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0968-5227.
