Information Security (9%) Flashcards
Protecting Information
Information Categories
Sensitive and proprietary information
Privacy-protected data
Intellectual property
Intangible assets
Information defined under international, federal, and state laws governing trade secrets, patents, and copyrights
Protecting Information
Basic principles of effective protection
- Classification and labeling
- Handling protocols to specify use, distribution, storage, security expectations, declassification, return, and destruction/disposal methodology
- Training
- Incident reporting and investigation
- Audit/compliance processes and special needs (disaster recovery)
Protecting Information - Information Assets
What is the second most valuable resource after employee?
Corporate Knowledge
Protecting Information - Information Assets
Intangible rights protecting commercially valuable products of intellect?
Intellectual Property Rights (IRR)
Trademark | Copyright | Patent | TradeSecrets | PublicityRights | MoralRights | Rights against unfair competition
Protecting Information - Information Assets
Excludes others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling an invention for 20 years
Patents
Protecting Information - Information Assets
The owner must take reasonable measures to keep the information secret
Must derive independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by the public
Trade Secret
Protecting Information - Information Assets
For information to be considered a trade secret, the owner must be able to prove…
- The information added value or benefit to the owner
- The trade secret was specifically identified
- The owner provided a reasonable level of protection
A robust security program and strict protection measures clearly and consistently defined, communicated, and enforced
Protecting Information - Information Assets
Patents vs. Trade secrets
- An inventor may protect an invention by patenting it or by deeming it a trade secret
- Patents require public disclosure and last only 20 years
- A trade secret is not disclosed and may last indefinitely
- Stealing a trade secret may violate criminal laws but there are no criminal laws regarding patent infringement
Protecting Information - Information Assets
A proprietary right or other valid economic interest in data resulting from private investment
Proprietary Information
Protecting Information - Information Assets
- Protects the expression of ideas in literary, artistic, and musical works
- Under international law, copyrights do not have to be registered to be protected
- An author or copyright holder can formalize ownership through government registration, which may help in any later enforcement actions
Copyright
Protecting Information - Information Assets
Name, phrase or other device used to identify and distinguish the services of a certain provider
Service Mark
Protecting Information - Information Assets
Word, phrase, logo or other graphic symbol used by a manufacturer or seller to distinguish its product from others
Consists of words, names, symbols, devices, or images applied to products or used in connection with goods or services to identify their source
Trade Mark
Protecting Information - Information Assets
It is intellectual property owner’s responsibility to understand and comply with the requirements related to protecting patent, trademark and copyrights in each relevant jurisdiction
Protecting Information - Information Risk Assessment
A thorough and tailored risk assessment is the foundation for the development of an overall IAP strategy
Protecting Information - Information Risk Assessment
The goal of risk management and the security program is…
to optimize risk, never to minimize it
Protecting Information - Information Risk Assessment
In basic risk management, how much one should spend to prevent an information security incident equals the probability of the incident times its cost
Protecting Information - Information Risk Assessment
Too often there is an over-emphasis on dollar values as the only metric in a risk analysis
- May discourage the consideration of non-tangible measures of factors that cannot be easily quantified
- Qualitative risk analysis are sometimes more appropriate and should be considered in lieu of or in addition to quantitative analysis
Protecting Information - OPSEC
What was developed in the military to protect unclassified information that could reveal sensitive plans and operations?
A Protection Approach
Protecting Information - OPSEC
OPSEC calls for…
Viewing the big picture and identifying any protection gaps that remain despite current security measures
Protecting Information - OPSEC
OPSEC responds to the fact that small bits of information taken from several different sources can be combined to reveal sensitive information
Protecting Information - OPSEC
OPSEC or information risk management should be practiced in organizations of all sizes, but it is particularly valuable for smaller businesses that may not have a large security or IAP staff or a great deal of security resources
Protecting Information - OPSEC
A simple and systematic method of employing safeguards to protect critical information; the process includes five cyclical steps
- Identify assets (critical information
- Define the threat (collectors, capabilities, motivations)
- Assess vulnerabilities
- Analyze the risk (impact, priority, existing countermeasures, etc)
- Develop and implement countermeasures
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Categories of Information Threats
Intentional
Natural
Inadvertent
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Top business impacts of information loss…
- Loss of company reputation/image/goodwill
- Loss of competitive advantage in on product/service
- Reduced projected/anticipated returns or profitability
- Loss of core business technology or process
- Loss of competitive advantage in multiple products/services
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Today information assets compromised are almost always impossible to recall or contain in terms of dissemination - They can be anywhere or everywhere in an instant
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Perhaps the most frequently overlooked threats are inadvertent threats
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Insider espionage is facilitated by…
- Advanced information storage and retrieval results in easier access
- A broader range of foreign buyers is more accessible than ever
- International collaboration places more employees in strategic positions to work with foreign personnel
- Opportunities to transfer information increase with increasing rates of foreign travel
Protecting Information - Information Threats
Insider espionage ctd…
- Abundant financial burdens for Americans make them more prone to compromise
- Debts increased by easy access to gambling sources will make Americans more prone to compromise
- Reduced loyalty between organizations and employees generates motivation
- Ethnic ties produce opportunities and motivation in American employees
- Commitment to the “global community” and common good motivates the desire to share information
Protecting Information - Information Threats
A virtual threat (“ghost”) does one or more of three functions:
- Sends information to its control (owner of the threat software)
- Receives commands from its control
- Executes commands where it is installed
Protecting Information - Information Vulnerabilities
Trade shows are a traditional venue for business and government intelligence collection
Protecting Information - Information Vulnerabilities
Virtual threats take advantage of flaws, or vulnerabilities, in a complex source code
Protecting Information - Information Vulnerabilities
One business activity that raises special risks to a company’s information is the establishment of relationships with other companies, domestically or internationally
(such as partnerships or outsourcing agreements)
Protecting Information - Information Vulnerabilities
IT threats cannot manifest without a vulnerability to exploit, which are in five categories
- Vulnerabilities in the information systems infrastructure
- Vulnerabilities in people using the information systems infrastructure
- Vulnerabilities in people maintaining the information systems infrastructure
- Vulnerabilities in information systems management processes
- Executive and senior management vulnerabilities
Protecting Information
Access control databases are vulnerable in two ways
- Administrative misconduct
- Attack from an outside connection (internet)
Protecting Information
The physical access control network is generally made up of two parts
- The connection between the reader and a controller
- The TCP/IP network on which controllers talk to servers and users talk to servers
Protecting Information
A legacy HID (Hughes identification device) card has two components
- The secret facility number, or facility code, which is not printed on the card but is known to the facility owner
- An identification number that is printed on the card
Protecting Information
A tool called gecko, which can be built for $10 worth of parts, can give an intruder complete control over a door by compromising the Weigand text stream sent from the reader to the controller
Information Protection Measures
A race of technology and methodology between the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, requiring an organization’s information systems management program be continually improved
Red Queen Effect
Information Protection Measures
Because of their close interaction with employees every day, first and second-tier management are those individuals who exert the most influence over information security
Information Protection Measures
Where does the responsibility ultimately lie for protecting information assets?
Leadership of an organization
Information Protection Measures
Information protection measures must be sufficient to ensure…
Confidentiality
Accountability
Non-repudiation
Integrity
Recoverability
Availability
Auditability
Information Protection Measures
The most effective IT security for information protection is a layered approach that integrates physical, procedural, and logical protection measures
Information Protection Measures
3 different perspectives of Defense in Depth, or Layered Protection
- Increasing levels of trust for those who are given access to successive layers
- Different security technologies or measures that operate in concert
- Successive layers employed to delay, detect, and deter intruders
Information Protection Measures
Personnel security plays a key role in IAP and includes things such as…
- Due diligence investigations of potential partners
- Standard pre-employment screening
- Vetting of subcontractors, vendors, and consultants
Information Protection Measures
Steps for protecting a business for espionage (according to the FBI)
- Recognize there is an insider and outsider threat to your company
- identify and evaluate trade secrets
- Implement a proactive plan for safeguarding trade secrets
- Secure physical and electronic versions of your trade secrets
- Confine intellectual knowledge on a “need-to-know” basis
Information Protection Measures
Security awareness and training is one of the most cost-effective measures that can be employed to protect corporate and organizational information assets
Information Protection Measures
The use of services, equipment and techniques designed to locate, identify and neutralize the effectiveness of electronic eavesdropping, wiretapping, bugging, etc…
Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM)
Information Access Control
Benefits of an IAP program
- Enhances fiduciary oversight, control, and stewardship of key intangible assets
- Aligns information assets with business operations and the organization’s strategic vision
- Allows more efficient allocation of traditional and IT security resources
- Allows more timely pursuit of information asset compromises and intellectual property rights (IPR) violations
Information Access Control
IAP Program benefits ctd…
- Serves as leverage in negotiating coverage and premiums for intellectual property (IP) and information technology (IT) insurance
- Provides consistency in regulatory reporting of intangible assets
- Standardizes internal and external handling of intangible assets
- Identifies key internal and external sources of intangible assets and intellectual capital
Information Access Control
The first step in implementing an IAP is…?
To identify the information that may need to be labeled and protected
- Helps narrow the scope of the information that requires protection
- Focuses limited security resources where they are most needed
Information Access Control
An employee’s access to information should be based on his or her current job function and a need-to-know basis, not on a position or management level
Information Access Control
An organization’s leadership should consider both the
- Categories of Information
- Levels of Information
Information Access Control
Levels of information may be determined by…?
Sensitivity
Criticality
Time which info. is pertinent
Information Access Control
Most organizations use 2 - 4 levels of sensitivity marking, such as “confidential”, “restricted”, “limited”
Information Access Control
Typical categories of information controls
- Approved for external release (unrestricted access)
- Internal (limited to employees and contractors)
- Confidential (limited by a specific need to know)
Information Access Control
How should information of various classifications be stored?
Separately
Information Access Control
Access to internal information should be restricted to company personnel or others who have signed a nondisclosure agreement
Information Access Control
A central knowledge management system
- Collects distributes and publicizes corporate data in a searchable, accessible format
- Aids corporate departments by reducing redundant efforts and promoting knowledge sharing
- Helps preserve knowledge if an employee leaves his or her position or the company
- Can enable one department to learn from the processes, technologies, and ideas of another
Information Access Control
A central knowledge management system ctd…
- Can enable one department to learn from the processes, technologies, and ideas of another
- Can be used to collect data that measure the productivity and performance of business units and individual employees
- May create a security vulnerability
Information protection policy and procedure
Effective information Asset Policy (IAP) requires
- Leadership commitment, budgetary resources, depth of support
- Dedicated department
- Requirement to adhere to the policy
- Continuous education and training
Information protection policy and procedure
Information security policies should include, at a minimum…
- A definition of information security, its overall objectives and scope, and the importance of security as an enabling mechanism for information sharing
- A statement of management intent, supporting the goals and principles of information security
- A brief explanation of the security policies, principles, standards, and compliance requirements of particular importance to the organization
Information protection policy and procedure
Physical security participation in the creation of the ISS policy is critical for 2 reasons
- ISS policies affect day-to-day physical security operations (both staff’s interaction with computers and security devices’ connections to and interaction with the network)
- ISS policy defines what types of devices are allowed on the network
Information protection policy and procedure
Recovery…two primary elements of recovery are?
- To return to normal business operations as soon as possible
- To implement measures to prevent a recurrence of the problem
Regulations and legal protection
Information owners must recognize legal protections are effective only if the owner is willing to pursue recourse
Regulations and legal protection
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Regulates the use and disclosure of nonpublic Pll for those who obtain financial products or services from financial institutions
Regulations and legal protection
- Generally prohibits a financial institution from disclosing Pll to a nonaffiliated 3rd party, directly or indirectly, unless it has
- Disclosed to the customer, in a clear and conspicuous manner, that the information may be disclosed to a third party
- Has given the consumer an opportunity to direct that the information not be disclosed
- Has described the manner in which the consumer can exercise the nondisclosure option
Regulations and legal protection
HIPAA…Requires covered entities and business associates to do the following to protect health information
- Maintain a risk-driven information security management program based o administrative, technical, and physical controls
- Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronic PHI created, received, maintained, or transmitted
- Protect against any reasonably anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of PHI
- Protect against any reasonably anticipated uses or disclosures of PHI that are not permitted or otherwise required
Regulations and legal protection
HIPPA ctd…
- Ensures compliance by its workforce
- Ensures compliance by third parties with who information is shared
Regulations and legal protection
The Sarbanes-Oxly Law of 2002 (SOX)
- Most significant new securities law since the SEC was created in 1934
- Places substantial responsibilities on officers and directors of public companies
- Imposes significant criminal penalties on CEO’s, CFO’s and others
- Obligates public companies to publicly address information security practices
Regulations and legal protection
SOX ctd…
- Section 404 (most relevant to security) requires management develop, text, document, and monitor internal controls, disclosure controls, and procedures
- Principles of corporate governance applied to public corporations have been extended to private companies through state laws or market forces
Regulations and legal protection
The Red Flags Rule…Implements Sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Act
The FTC requires each creditor holding an account with a reasonably foreseeable risk of ID theft, to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program
Regulations and legal protection
Red Flags Rule ctd…
Red flags that must be identified, detected, and responded to include:
- Alerts, notifications, or warnings from a consumer reporting agency
- Suspicious documents
- Suspicious personally identifying information, such as a suspicious address
- Unusual use of - or suspicious activity relating to - a covered account
- Notices from customers, victims, LE, or other businesses about possible ID theft in connection with covered accts.
Regulations and Legal Protection
All successful IAP programs assign a specialist the responsibility of monitoring pending legislation and regulations related to the protection of information assets
The impact of cybercrime
Often the loss of productivity is more costly than the cost of cleaning up from the virus attack
The impact of cybercrime
The average cost to comply with state breach-disclosure laws now exceeds $200 per record
The impact of cybercrime
Based on the expansion of cybercrime into organized crime, many believe the insider threat is no longer the cause of most IT losses
Computer Basics
The first computer was built by…?
Alan Turning during WWII to decrypt the German Enigma code
Computer Basics
Developed by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, and states that the processing power of computers will double every eighteen months
Moore’s Law
Computer Basics
A computer operates in two primary modes
- Stand-alone computing device
- Device that can communicate with other computers
Computer Basics
3 logical points of control for a computer
Input
Programs
Communications stack
Network Basics
The most common type of network connection is to the…?
Internet
Network Basics
7 communication layers of the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model
Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
Network
Data link
Physical
IT Security Terminology
IDS
IT Intrusion Detection Systems monitor for malicious programs and unauthorized changes to files and settings, monitor network traffic, and provide real-time alarms for network-based attacks
IT Security Terminology
Sanitizing Media
- Sanitizing: Removing data before the media is reused
- Overwriting: Replacing data with meaningless data
- Clearing: Eradicating data by overwriting or degaussing (laboratory techniques can recover “cleared” data)
- Destroying: Physically damaging the media
IT Security Terminology
Logical network access control
The process by which users are identified and granted privileges to information, systems or resources
IT Security Countermeasures
Categories of IT Countermeasures
Administrative
Technical
Physical
IT Security Terminology
Where IT countermeasures are deployed
- On the information systems infrastructure (technical)
- Infrastructure management (administrative, technical, physical)
- Executive and senior management (administrative, technical, physical)
- Community-based (administrative, technical, physical)
IT Security Terminology
Logical network access control
The process by which users are identified and granted privileges to information, systems or resources
IT Security - Encryption
Obscuring the meaning of information by altering or encoding it so it can only be decoded by people for whom it is needed
Encryption
Information Systems Security (ISS)
ISS Control Objectives
Protection
Detection
Recovery
Compliance
Information Systems Security (ISS)
Three “threat agents” (categories of threats) in ISS risk management
Nature
People
Virtual
Information Systems Security (ISS)
AAA Triad
Authentication
Authorization
Auditing
The purpose of employing an access control program includes:A) To protect persons materials, or informationB) To slow or speed up the rate of movement to, from, or within an establishmentC) To permit or deny entranceD) Both A and CE) All of the above
E) All of the above
Identification and access control systems have the widest application of:A) Manual identification systemsB) Magnetic readersC) Bio-metric-based systemsD) Dielectric readersE) None of the above
A) Manual identification systems
The performance requirements of any trustworthy system of identification include:A) Resistance to surreptitious substitution or counterfeitingB) ReliabilityC) ValidityD) Both b and cE) All of the above
E) All of the above
A general defect of manual identification systems is that: A) Many are made of plasticB) Many do not have bio-metric characteristics on themC) Once issued, they tend to remain valid indefinitelyD) They lack identifying colorsE) None of the above
C) Once issued, they tend to remain valid indefinitely
Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that is used in one’s business and that gives you an opportunity to gain an advantage over competitors who do not use it or know about it is:A) A patentB) A trade secretC) A monopolyC) Copyrighted materialE) None of the above
B) A trade secret