As some organizations look at Implementation and Monitoring as a single step, ITIL's Information Security Process can be described as a seven step process:
Using risk analysis, IT customers identify their security requirements.
The IT department determines the feasibility of the requirements and compares them to the organization's minimum information security baseline.
The customer and IT organization negotiate and define a service level agreement (SLA) that includes definition of the information security requirements in measurable terms and specifies how they will be verifiably achieved.
Operational level agreements (OLAs), which provide detailed descriptions of how information security services will be provided, are negotiated and defined within the IT organization.
The SLA and OLAs are implemented and monitored.
Customers receive regular reports about the effectiveness and status of provided information security services.
The SLA and OLAs are modified as necessary.