The revised version of BS7799 - So what's new?

Is the release, in late April, of a revised standard 'A Cone of Practice for Information Security Management' (BS7799-1: 1999)(1) an important milestone, a publication which most organizations should read and inwardly digest? or is the recent publicity about the latest version of the Code the result of an over-the-top PR strategy which is attempting to re-launch an old standard in a new guise; mutton dressed as lamb, to summarize the point succinctly. This article is intended to help the reader decide between these two extremes. It first explores the main changes to the content and then considers the changes in the legislative environment under which the provisions of BS7799 will be interpreted.