To aggregate information on ITU work on security in telecommunications and information technology over the course of several years, the ITU developed a manual. This manual is entitled, Security in Telecommunications and Information Technology: An overview of issues and the deployment of existing ITU-T Recommendations for secure telecommunications. As described in its preface, the manual is intended "as a guide for technologists, middle level management, as well as regulators, to assist in the practical implementation of security functions."

As explained in the preface to the manual:

"Restricted in the past to niche areas such as banking, aerospace or military applications, digital security is slowly but surely becoming everyone’s business.

"The increased profile of digital security may be attributed to headline news such as viruses spread by e-mail, or hackers stealing credit card details. But this is only part of the story. As computing and networking become as much a part of daily life as water and electricity, digital security is being talked about not only by experts but also more and more in governments, companies, and by consumers. And, if so many aspects of our business and private life rely on computers and networks, it is imperative that these systems operate securely.

"It is also imperative that security be a well-thought process from system inception and design via system implementation to policies and practices for system deployment, operation and use. In the development of standards, security must always be an element of initial work, and not an afterthought – as it is in this stage that vulnerabilities are born. The role of standards committees is to listen to the market and document known issues, to provide workarounds if possible, and to issue specifications or guidelines that assist implementers and users in the task of making communication systems and services sufficiently robust."