CMPS 319

Blueprint For Security

Chapter 6
Begin with the end in mind
-- Stephen Covey
 Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this material you should be
able to:
• Understand management’s responsibilities and role in the
development, maintenance, and enforcement of information security
policy, standards, practices, procedures, and guidelines.
• Understand the differences between the organization’s general
information security policy and the needs and objectives of the
various issue-specific and system-specific policies the organization
will create.
• Know what an information security blueprint is and what its major
components are.
• Understand how an organization institutionalizes its policies,
standards, and practices using education, training and awareness
programs.
• Become familiar with what viable information security architecture is,
what it includes, and how it is used.

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 Introduction
• The creation of an information security program
begins with an information security blueprint, and
before we can discuss the creation and
development of a blueprint, it is important to look at
management’s responsibility in shaping policy.
• It is prudent for information security professionals to
know the information security polices and how these
policies contribute to the overall objectives of the
organization.

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 Information Security Policy,
Standards and Practices
• Management from all communities of interest must
consider policies as the basis for all information
security efforts
• Policies direct how issues should be addressed and
technologies used
• Security policies are the least expensive control to
execute, but the most difficult to implement
• Shaping policy is difficult because:
• Never conflict with laws
• Stand up in court, if challenged
• Be properly administered

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 Definitions
• A policy is
A plan or course of action, as of a government, political
party, or business, intended to influence and determine
decisions, actions, and other matters
• Policies are organizational laws
• Standards, on the other hand, are more detailed statements
of what must be done to comply with policy
• Practices, procedures and guidelines effectively explain how
to comply with policy
• For a policy to be effective it must be properly disseminated,
read, understood and agreed to by all members of the
organization

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 Types of Policy
Management defines three types of security
policy:
• General or security program policy
• Issue-specific security policies
• Systems-specific security policies

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 Policies Standards & Practices

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 Security Program Policy
• A security program policy (SPP) is also
known as a general security policy, IT
security policy, or information security policy
• Sets the strategic direction, scope, and tone
for all security efforts within the organization
• An executive-level document, usually drafted
by or with, the CIO of the organization and is
usually 2 to 10 pages long

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Issue-Specific Security Policy (ISSP)
• As various technologies and processes are
implemented, certain guidelines are needed to use
them properly
• The ISSP:
• addresses specific areas of technology
• requires frequent updates
• contains an issue statement on the organization’s position
on an issue
• Three approaches:
• Create a number of independent ISSP documents
• Create a single comprehensive ISSP document
• Create a modular ISSP document

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 Example ISSP Structure
• Statement of Policy
• Authorized Access and Usage of Equipment
• Prohibited Usage of Equipment
• Systems Management
• Violations of Policy
• Policy Review and Modification
• Limitations of Liability

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 Example Policy

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 Systems-Specific Policy
• While issue-specific policies are formalized as
written documents, distributed to users, and agreed
to in writing, SysSPs are frequently codified as
standards and procedures used when configuring or
maintaining systems
• Systems-specific policies fall into two groups:
• Access control lists (ACLs) consists of the access control
lists, matrices, and capability tables governing the rights
and privileges of a particular user to a particular system
• Configuration Rules comprise the specific configuration
codes entered into security systems to guide the
execution of the system

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 ACL Policies
• Both Microsoft Windows NT/2000 and Novell
Netware 5.x/6.x families of systems translate ACLs
into sets of configurations that administrators use to
control access to their respective systems
• ACLs allow configuration to restrict access from
anyone and anywhere
• ACLs regulate:
• Who can use the system
• What authorized users can access
• When authorized users can access the system
• Where authorized users can access the system from
• How authorized users can access the system

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Figure 6-3 – Novell Example ACL

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 Windows Example ACL

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 Rule Policies
• Rule policies are more specific to the
operation of a system than ACLs
• Many security systems require specific
configuration scripts telling the systems what
actions to perform on each set of information
they process

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 Checkpoint Example

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 IDS Rules

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 IDS Rules

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 Policy Management
• Policies are living documents that must be managed
and nurtured, and are constantly changing and
growing
• Documents must be properly managed
• Special considerations should be made for
organizations undergoing mergers, takeovers and
partnerships
• In order to remain viable, policies must have:
• an individual responsible for reviews
• a schedule of reviews
• a method for making recommendations for reviews
• an indication of effective and revision date

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Automated Policy Management

• There is an emergence of a new category of

software for managing information security policies
• In recent years, this category has emerged in
response to needs articulated by information
security practitioners
• While there have been many software products that
meet specific technical control needs, there is now a
need for software to automate some of the
administration of policy

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 Information Classification
• The classification of information is an important
aspect of policy
• The same protection scheme created to prevent
production data from accidental release to the
wrong party should be applied to policies in order to
keep them freely available, but only within the
organization
• In today’s open office environments, it may be
beneficial to implement a clean desk policy
• A clean desk policy stipulates that at the end of the
business day, all classified information must be
properly stored and secured
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 Not A Clean Desk

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 Systems Design
• At this point in the Security SDLC, the analysis
phase is complete and the design phase begins –
many work products have been created
• Designing a plan for security begins by creating or
validating a security blueprint
• Then use the blueprint to plan the tasks to be
accomplished and the order in which to proceed
• Setting priorities can follow the recommendations of
published sources, or from published standards
provided by government agencies, or private
consultants
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 The SecSDLC

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Information Security Blueprints
• One approach is to adapt or adopt a
published model or framework for information
security
• A framework is the basic skeletal structure
within which additional detailed planning of
the blueprint can be placed as it is developed
of refined
• Experience teaches us that what works well
for one organization may not precisely fit
another
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 ISO 17799/BS 7799
• One of the most widely referenced and often
discussed security models is the Information
Technology – Code of Practice for Information
Security Management, which was originally
published as British Standard 7799
• This Code of Practice was adopted as an
international standard by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as
ISO/IEC 17799 in 2000 as a framework for
information security
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 BS7799-2

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 ISO 17799 / BS 7799
• Several countries have not adopted 17799 claiming
there are fundamental problems:
• The global information security community has not
defined any justification for a code of practice as identified
in the ISO/IEC 17799
• 17799 lacks “the necessary measurement precision of a
technical standard”
• There is no reason to believe that 17799 is more useful
than any other approach currently available.
• 17799 is not as complete as other frameworks available
• 17799 is perceived to have been hurriedly prepared given
the tremendous impact its adoption could have on
industry information security controls

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 ISO/IEC 17799
• Organizational Security Policy is needed to provide
management direction and support
• Objectives:
• Operational Security Policy
• Organizational Security Infrastructure
• Asset Classification and Control
• Personnel Security
• Physical and Environmental Security
• Communications and Operations Management
• System Access Control
• System Development and Maintenance
• Business Continuity Planning
• Compliance

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 NIST Security Models
• Another approach available is described in the
many documents available from the Computer
Security Resource Center of the National Institute
for Standards and Technology ([Link]) –
Including:
• NIST SP 800-12 - The Computer Security Handbook
• NIST SP 800-14 - Generally Accepted Principles and
Practices for Securing IT Systems
• NIST SP 800-18 - The Guide for Developing Security
Plans for IT Systems

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 NIST SP 800-14
• Security Supports the Mission of the Organization
• Security is an Integral Element of Sound Mgmt
• Security Should Be Cost-Effective
• Systems Owners Have Security Responsibilities Outside
Their Own Organizations
• Security Responsibilities and Accountability Should Be Made
Explicit
• Security Requires a Comprehensive and Integrated
Approach
• Security Should Be Periodically Reassessed
• Security is Constrained by Societal Factors
• 33 Principles enumerated

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 IETF Security Architecture
• While no specific architecture is promoted through
the Internet Engineering Task Force, the Security
Area Working Group acts as an advisory board for
the protocols and areas developed and promoted
through the Internet Society
• RFC 2196: Site Security Handbook provides an
overview of five basic areas of security with detailed
discussions on development and implementation
• There are chapters on such important topics as
security policies, security technical architecture,
security services, and security incident handling

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 Visa Model
• Visa International promotes strong security
measures and has security guidelines
• Developed two important documents that improve
and regulate its information systems
• “Security Assessment Process”
• “Agreed Upon Procedures”
• Using the two documents, a security team can
develop a sound strategy for the design of good
security architecture
• The only down side to this approach is the very
specific focus on systems that can or do integrate
with VISA’s systems
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 Baselining and Best Practices
• Baselining and best practices are solid methods for
collecting security practices, but can have the
drawback of providing less detail than would a
complete methodology
• It is possible to gain information by baselining and
using best practices and thus work backwards to an
effective design
• The Federal Agency Security Practices Site
([Link]) is designed to provide best
practices for public agencies and adapted easily to
private organizations
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 Professional Membership
• It may be worth the information security
professional’s time and money to join professional
societies with information on best practices for its
members
• Many organizations have seminars and classes on
best practices for implementing security
• Finding information on security design is the easy
part, sorting through the collected mass of
information, documents, and publications can take a
substantial investment in time and human resources

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 Hybrid Framework
• The framework proposed here is the result of
a detailed analysis of the components of all
the documents, standards, and Web-based
information described in the previous sections
• It is offered to the student as a balanced
introductory blueprint for learning the
blueprint development process

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 NIST SP 800-26
Management Controls
• Risk Management
• Review of Security Controls
• Life Cycle Maintenance
• Authorization of Processing (Certification and Accreditation)
• System Security Plan
Operational Controls
• Personnel Security
• Physical Security
• Production, Input/Output Controls
• Contingency Planning
• Hardware and Systems Software
• Data Integrity
• Documentation
• Security Awareness, Training, and Education
• Incident Response Capability
Technical Controls
• Identification and Authentication
• Logical Access Controls
• Audit Trails

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 Spheres of Security

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 Sphere of Use
• Generally speaking, the concept of the sphere is
to represent the 360 degrees of security
necessary to protect information at all times
• The first component is the “sphere of use”
• Information, at the core of the sphere, is available
for access by members of the organization and
other computer-based systems:
• To gain access to the computer systems, one must
either directly access the computer systems or go
through a network connection
• To gain access to the network, one must either directly
access the network or go through an Internet
connection

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 Sphere of Protection
• The “sphere of protection” overlays each of the
levels of the “sphere of use” with a layer of security,
protecting that layer from direct or indirect use
through the next layer
• The people must become a layer of security, a
human firewall that protects the information from
unauthorized access and use
• Information security is therefore designed and
implemented in three layers
• policies
• people (education, training and awareness programs)
• technology
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 Controls
• Management Controls cover security processes that
are designed by the strategic planners and
performed by security administration of the
organization
• Operational Controls deal with the operational
functionality of security in the organization
• Operational controls also address personnel
security, physical security and the protection of
production inputs and outputs
• Technical Controls address those tactical and
technical issues related to designing and
implementing security in the organization
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 The Framework
• Management Controls • Technical Controls
• Program Management • Logical Access Controls
• System Security Plan • Identification, Authentication,
• Life Cycle Maintenance Authorization and Accountability
• Risk Management • Audit Trails
• Review of Security Controls
• Asset Classification and Control
• Legal Compliance
• Cryptography
• Operational Controls
• Contingency Planning
• Security ETA
• Personnel Security
• Physical Security
• Production Inputs and Outputs
• Hardware & Software Systems
Maintenance
• Data Integrity

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 SETA
• As soon as the policies exist, policies to implement
security education, training and awareness (SETA)
should follow
• SETA is a control measure designed to reduce
accidental security breaches
• Supplement the general education and training
programs in place to educate staff on information
security.
• Security education and training builds on the
general knowledge the employees must possess to
do their jobs, familiarizing them with the way to do
their jobs securely
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 SETA Elements
• The SETA program consists of three elements
• security education
• security training
• and security awareness
• The organization may not be capable or willing to undertake
all three of these elements but may outsource them
• The purpose of SETA is to enhance security by:
• Improving awareness of the need to protect system
resources
• Developing skills and knowledge so computer users can
perform their jobs more securely
• Building in-depth knowledge, as needed, to design,
implement, or operate security programs for organizations
and systems.

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 SETA

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 Security Education
• Everyone in an organization needs to be trained and
aware of information security, but not every member
of the organization needs a formal degree or
certificate in information security
• When formal education for appropriate individuals in
security is needed an employee can identify
curriculum available from local institutions of higher
learning or continuing education
• A number of universities have formal coursework in
information security
(See for example [Link]

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 Security Training
• Security training involves providing members
of the organization with detailed information
and hands-on instruction designed to prepare
them to perform their duties securely
• Management of information security can
develop customized in-house training or
outsource the training program

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 Security Awareness
• One of the least frequently implemented, but
the most beneficial programs is the security
awareness program
• Designed to keep information security at the
forefront of the users’ minds
• Need not be complicated or expensive
• If the program is not actively implemented,
employees begin to ‘tune out’, and the risk of
employee accidents and failures increases

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 Awareness at KSU

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 Comments
• Defense in Depth
• One of the foundations of security architectures is the
requirement to implement security in layers
• Defense in depth requires that the organization establish
sufficient security controls and safeguards, so that an
intruder faces multiple layers of controls
• Security Perimeter
• The point at which an organization’s security protection
ends, and the outside world begins
• Referred to as the security perimeter
• Unfortunately the perimeter does not apply to internal
attacks from employee threats, or on-site physical threats

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 Defense in Depth

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 Perimeters and Domains

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 Key Technology Components
• Other key technology components
• A firewall is a device that selectively discriminates against
information flowing into or out of the organization
• The DMZ (demilitarized zone) is a no-man’s land,
between the inside and outside networks, where some
organizations place Web servers
• In an effort to detect unauthorized activity within the inner
network, or on individual machines, an organization may
wish to implement Intrusion Detection Systems or IDS

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 Key Components

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 IDS

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