Summary

This chapter introduces data security concepts and principles. It details how data security considerations impact organizations in terms of business growth, risk mitigation, and compliance.

Full Transcript

C H AP T ER 7 Data Security 1. Introduction D ata Security includes the planning, development, and execution of security policies and procedures to provide proper authentication, authorization, access, and auditing of data and information assets. The specifics of data security (which data needs...

C H AP T ER 7 Data Security 1. Introduction D ata Security includes the planning, development, and execution of security policies and procedures to provide proper authentication, authorization, access, and auditing of data and information assets. The specifics of data security (which data needs to be protected, for example) differ between industries and countries. Nevertheless, the goal of data security practices is the same: To protect information assets in alignment with privacy and confidentiality regulations, contractual agreements, and business requirements. These requirements come from: 217 Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 218 D MBO K 2 Stakeholders: Organizations must recognize the privacy and confidentiality needs of their stakeholders, including clients, patients, students, citizens, suppliers, or business partners. Everyone in an organization must be a responsible trustee of data about stakeholders. Government regulations: Government regulations are in place to protect the interests of some stakeholders. Regulations have different goals. Some restrict access to information, while others ensure openness, transparency, and accountability. Proprietary business concerns: Each organization has proprietary data to data provides insight into its customers and, when leveraged effectively, can provide a competitive advantage. If confidential data is stolen or breached, an organization can lose competitive advantage. Legitimate access needs: When securing data, organizations must also enable legitimate access. Business processes require individuals in certain roles be able to access, use, and maintain data. Contractual obligations: Contractual and non-disclosure agreements also influence data security requirements. For example, the PCI Standard, an agreement among credit card companies and individual business enterprises, demands that certain types of data be protected in defined ways (e.g., mandatory encryption for customer passwords). Effective data security policies and procedures ensure that the right people can use and update data in the right way, and that all inappropriate access and update is restricted (Ray, 2012) (see Figure 62). Understanding and complying with the privacy and confidentiality interests and needs of all stakeholders is in the best interest of every organization. Client, supplier, and constituent relationships all trust in, and depend on, the responsible use of data. CONCERNS NECESSARY BUSINESS Trade secrets Goldilocks principle relationships and impending deals Figure 62 Sources of Data Security Requirements Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y Data Security Definition: Definition, planning, development, and execution of security policies and procedures to provide proper authentication, authorization, access, and auditing of data and information assets. Goals: 1. Enable appropriate, and prevent inappropriate, access to enterprise data assets. 2.Understand and comply with all relevant regulations and policies for privacy, protection, and confidentiality. 3. Ensure that the privacy and confidentiality needs of all stakeholders are enforced and audited. Busines s Drivers Inputs: Business goals and strategy Business rules and processes Regulatory requirements Enterprise Architecture standards Enterprise Data Model Activities: Identify Relevant Data Security Requirements (P) Define Data Security Policy (C) Define Data Security Standards (D) Assess Current Security Risks (P) Implement Controls and Procedures (O) Deliverables: Suppliers: Participants: Consumers: IT Steering Committee Enterprise Architects Government Data Stewards Information Security Team Internal Auditors Regulatory Bodies Process Analysts Data security architecture Data security policies Data privacy and confidentiality standards Data security access controls Regulatory compliant data access views Documented security classifications Authentication and user access history Data Security audit reports Business Users Regulatory Auditors Technical Techniques: CRUDE Matrix Usage Immediate Security Patch Deployment Data Security Attributes in Metadata Security Needs in Project Requirements Document Sanitization Drivers Access Control Systems Protective Software Identity Management Technology Intrusion Detection / Prevention Software Metadata tracking Tools: Metrics: Security Implementation Metrics Security Awareness Metrics Data Protection Metrics Security Incident Metrics Confidential Data Proliferation Rate Data Masking / Encryption (P) Planning, (C) Control, (D) Development, (O) Operations Figure 63 Context Diagram: Data Security Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 219 220 D MBO K 2 1.1 Business Drivers Risk reduction and business growth are the primary drivers of data security activities. Ensuring that an Data security risks are associated with regulatory compliance, fiduciary responsibility for the enterprise and stockholders, reputation, and a legal and moral responsibility to protect the private and sensitive information of employees, business partners, and customers. Organizations can be fined for failure to comply with regulations and contractual obligations. Data breaches can cause a loss of reputation and customer confidence. (See Chapter 2.) Business growth includes attaining and sustaining operational business goals. Data security issues, breaches, and unwarranted restrictions on employee access to data can directly impact operational success. The goals of mitigating risks and growing the business can be complementary and mutually supportive if they are integrated into a coherent strategy of information management and protection. 1.1.1 Risk Reduction As data regulations increase usually in response to data thefts and breaches so do compliance requirements. Security organizations are often tasked with managing not only IT compliance requirements, but also policies, practices, data classifications, and access authorization rules across the organization. As with other aspects of data management, it is best to address data security as an enterprise initiative. Without a coordinated effort, business units will find different solutions to security needs, increasing overall cost while potentially reducing security due to inconsistent protection. Ineffective security architecture or processes can cost organizations through breaches and lost productivity. An operational security strategy that is properly funded, systems-oriented, and consistent across the enterprise will reduce these risks. protection. The overall process includes the following steps: Identify and classify sensitive data assets: Depending on the industry and organization, there can be few or many assets, and a range of sensitive data (including personal identification, medical, financial, and more). Locate sensitive data throughout the enterprise: Security requirements may differ, depending on where data is stored. A significant amount of sensitive data in a single location poses a high risk due to the damage possible from a single breach. Determine how each asset needs to be protected: The measures necessary to ensure security can vary between assets, depending on data content and the type of technology. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 221 Identify how this information interacts with business processes: Analysis of business processes is required to determine what access is allowed and under what conditions. In addition to classifying the data itself, it is necessary to assess external threats (such as those from hackers and criminals) and internal risks (posed by employees and processes). Much data is lost or exposed through the ignorance of employees who did not realize that the information was highly sensitive or who bypassed security policies.37 The customer sales data left on a web server that is hacked, the employee database downloaded onto that goes missing, all result from missing or unenforced security controls. The impact of security breaches on well-established brands in recent years has resulted in huge financial losses and a drop in customer trust. Not only are the external threats from the criminal hacking community becoming more sophisticated and targeted, the amount of damage done by external and internal threats, intentional or unintentional, has also been steadily increasing over the years (Kark, 2009). In a world of almost all-electronic, business infrastructure, trustworthy information systems have become a business differentiator. 1.1.2 Business Growth Globally, electronic technology is pervasive in the office, the marketplace, and the home. Desktop and laptop computers, smart phones, tablets, and other devices are important elements of most business and government operations. The explosive growth of e-commerce has changed how organizations offer goods and services. In their personal lives, individuals have become accustomed to conducting business online with goods providers, medical agencies, utilities, governmental offices, and financial institutions. Trusted e-commerce drives profit and growth. Product and service quality relate to information security in a quite direct fashion: Robust information security enables transactions and builds customer confidence. 1.1.3 Security as an Asset One approach to managing sensitive data is via Metadata. Security classifications and regulatory sensitivity can be captured at the data element and data set level. Technology exists to tag data so that Metadata travel with the information as it flows across the enterprise. Developing a master repository of data characteristics means all parts of the enterprise can know precisely what level of protection sensitive information requires. One survey percent of IT professionals believe the use of unauthorized programs resulted in as many as half of problems caused two-thirds of data breaches in 2012. http://bit.ly/1dGChAz, http://symc.ly/1FzNo5l, http://bit.ly/2sQ68Ba, http://bit.ly/2tNEkKY. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 222 D MBO K 2 If a common standard is enforced, this approach enables multiple departments, business units, and vendors to use the same Metadata. Standard security Metadata can optimize data protection and guide business usage and technical support processes, leading to lower costs. This layer of information security can help prevent unauthorized access to and misuse of data assets. When sensitive data is correctly identified as such, organizations build trust with their customers and partners. Security-related Metadata itself becomes a strategic asset, increasing the quality of transactions, reporting, and business analysis, while reducing the cost of protection and associated risks that lost or stolen information cause. 1.2 Goals and Principles 1.2.1 Goals The goals of data security activities include: Enabling appropriate access and preventing inappropriate access to enterprise data assets Enabling compliance with regulations and policies for privacy, protection, and confidentiality Ensuring that stakeholder requirements for privacy and confidentiality are met 1.2.2 Principles Data security in an organization follows these guiding principles: Collaboration: Data Security is a collaborative effort involving IT security administrators, data stewards/data governance, internal and external audit teams, and the legal department. Enterprise approach: Data Security standards and policies must be applied consistently across the entire organization. Proactive management: Success in data security management depends on being proactive and dynamic, engaging all stakeholders, managing change, and overcoming organizational or cultural bottlenecks such as traditional separation of responsibilities between information security, information technology, data administration, and business stakeholders. Clear accountability: Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined, including the Metadata-driven: Security classification for data elements is an essential part of data definitions. Reduce risk by reducing exposure: Minimize sensitive/confidential data proliferation, especially to non-production environments. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 223 1.3 Essential Concepts Information security has a specific vocabulary. Knowledge of key terms enables clearer articulation of governance requirements. 1.3.1 Vulnerability A vulnerability is a weaknesses or defect in a system that allows it to be successfully attacked and compromised exploits. Examples include network computers with out-of-date security patches, web pages not protected with robust passwords, users not trained to ignore email attachments from unknown senders, or corporate software unprotected against technical commands that will give the attacker control of the system. In many cases, non-production environments are more vulnerable to threats than production environments. Thus, it is critical to keep production data out of non-production environments. 1.3.2 Threat A threat is a potential offensive action that could be taken against an organization. Threats can be internal or external. They are not always malicious. An uniformed insider can take offensive actions again the organization without even knowing it. Threats may relate to specific vulnerabilities, which then can be prioritized for remediation. Each threat should match to a capability that either prevents the threat or limits the damage it might cause. An occurrence of a threat is also called an attack surface. Examples of threats include virus-infected email attachments being sent to the organization, processes that overwhelm network servers and result in an inability to perform business transactions (also called denial-ofservice attacks), and exploitation of known vulnerabilities. 1.3.3 Risk The term risk refers both to the possibility of loss and to the thing or condition that poses the potential loss. Risk can be calculated for each possible threat using the following factors. Probability that the threat will occur and its likely frequency The type and amount of damage created each occurrence might cause, including damage to reputation The effect damage will have on revenue or business operations The cost to fix the damage after an occurrence The cost to prevent the threat, including by remediation of vulnerabilities The goal or intent of the probable attacker Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 224 D MBO K 2 Risks can be prioritized by potential severity of damage to the company, or by likelihood of occurrence, with easily exploited vulnerabilities creating a higher likelihood of occurrence. Often a priority list combines both metrics. Prioritization of risk must be a formal process among the stakeholders. 1.3.4 Risk Classifications Risk classifications describe the sensitivity of the data and the likelihood that it might be sought after for malicious purposes. Classifications are used to determine who (i.e., people in which roles) can access the data. The highest security classification of any datum within a user entitlement determines the security classification of the entire aggregation. Example classifications include: Critical Risk Data (CRD): Personal information aggressively sought for unauthorized use by both internal and external parties due to its high direct financial value. Compromise of CRD would not only harm individuals, but would result in financial harm to the company from significant penalties, costs to retain customers and employees, as well as harm to brand and reputation. High Risk Data (HRD): HRD is actively sought for unauthorized use due to its potential direct financial value. HRD provides the company with a competitive edge. If compromised, it could expose the company to financial harm through loss of opportunity. Loss of HRD can cause mistrust leading to the loss of business and may result in legal exposure, regulatory fines and penalties, as well as damage to brand and reputation. Moderate Risk Data (MRD): Company information that has little tangible value to unauthorized parties; however, the unauthorized use of this non-public information would likely have a negative effect on the company. 1.3.5 Data Security Organization Depending on the size of the enterprise, the overall Information Security function may be the primary responsibility of a dedicated Information Security group, usually within the Information Technology (IT) area. Larger enterprises often have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) who reports to either the CIO or the CEO. In organizations without dedicated Information Security personnel, responsibility for data security will fall on data managers. In all cases, data managers need to be involved in data security efforts. In large enterprises, the information security personnel may let specific data governance and user authorization functions be guided by the business managers. Examples include granting user authorizations and data regulatory compliance. Dedicated Information Security personnel are often most concerned with the technical aspects of information protection such as combating malicious software and system attacks. However, there is ample room for collaboration during development or an installation project. This opportunity for synergy is often missed when the two governance entities, IT and Data Management, lack an organized process to share regulatory and security requirements. They need a standard procedure to inform Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 225 each other of data regulations, data loss threats, and data protection requirements, and to do so at the commencement of every software development or installation project. The first step in the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Risk Management Framework, for example, is to categorize all enterprise information.38 Creating an enterprise data model is essential to this goal. Without clear visibility to the location of all sensitive information, it is impossible to create a comprehensive and effective data protection program. Data managers need to be actively engaged with information technology developers and cyber security professionals so that regulated data may be identified, sensitive systems can be properly protected, and user access controls can be designed to enforce confidentiality, integrity, and data regulatory compliance. The larger the enterprise, the more important becomes the need for teamwork and reliance on a correct and updated enterprise data model. 1.3.6 Security Processes Audit, Authentication, and Authorization. Recently an E, Entitlement, has been included, for effective data regulatory compliance. Information classification, access rights, role groups, users, and passwords are the means to implementing policy Monitoring is also essential for proving the success of the other processes. Both monitoring and audit can be done continuously or intermittently. Formal audits must be done by a third party to be considered valid. The third party may be internal or external. 1.3.6.1 The Four Access: Enable individuals with authorization to access systems in a timely manner. Used as a verb, access means to actively connect to an information system and be working with the data. Used as a noun, access indicates that the person has a valid authorization to the data. Audit: Review security actions and user activity to ensure compliance with regulations and conformance with company policy and standards. Information security professionals periodically review logs and documents to validate compliance with security regulations, policies, and standards. Results of these audits are published periodically. Authentication log into a system, the system needs to verify that the person is who he or she claims to be. Passwords are one way of doing this. More stringent authentication methods include the person having a security token, answering questions, or submitting a fingerprint. All transmissions during authentication are encrypted to prevent theft of the authenticating information. National Institute of Standards and Technology (US) http://bit.ly/1eQYolG. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 226 D MBO K 2 Authorization: Grant individuals privileges to access specific views of data, appropriate to their role. After the authorization decision, the Access Control System checks each time a user logs in to see if they have a valid authorization token. Technically, this is an entry in a data field in the corporate Active Directory indicating that the person has been authorized by somebody to access the data. It further indicates that a responsible person made the decision to grant this authorization because the user is entitled to it by virtue of their job or corporate status. Entitlement: An Entitlement is the sum total of all the data elements that are exposed to a user by a single access authorization decision. A responsible manager must decide that a person is to access this information before an authorization request is generated. An inventory of all the data exposed by each entitlement is necessary in determining regulatory and confidentiality requirements for Entitlement decisions. 1.3.6.2 Monitoring Systems should include monitoring controls that detect unexpected events, including potential security violations. Systems containing confidential information, such as salary or financial data, commonly implement active, real-time monitoring that alerts the security administrator to suspicious activity or inappropriate access. Some security systems will actively interrupt activities that do not follow specific access profiles. The account or activity remains locked until security support personnel evaluate the details. In contrast, passive monitoring tracks changes over time by taking snapshots of the system at regular intervals, and comparing trends against a benchmark or other criteria. The system sends reports to the data stewards or security administrator accountable for the data. While active monitoring is a detection mechanism, passive monitoring is an assessment mechanism. 1.3.7 Data Integrity In security, data integrity is the state of being whole protected from improper alteration, deletion, or addition. For example, in the U.S., Sarbanes-Oxley regulations are mostly concerned with protecting financial information integrity by identifying rules for how financial information can be created and edited. 1.3.8 Encryption Encryption is the process of translating plain text into complex codes to hide privileged information, verify complete transmission, or verify the identity. Encrypted data cannot be read without the decryption key or algorithm, which is usually stored separately and cannot be calculated based on other data elements in the same data set. There are four main methods of encryption varying levels of complexity and key structure. hash, symmetric, private-key, and public-key with Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 227 1.3.8.1 Hash Hash encryption uses algorithms to convert data into a mathematical representation. The exact algorithms used and order of application must be known in order to reverse the encryption process and reveal the original data. Sometimes hashing is used as verification of transmission integrity or identity. Common hashing algorithms are Message Digest 5 (MD5) and Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA). 1.3.8.2 Private-key Private-key encryption uses one key to encrypt the data. Both the sender and the recipient must have the key to read the original data. Data can be encrypted one character at a time (as in a stream) or in blocks. Common private-key algorithms include Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES (3DES), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA). Cyphers Twofish and Serpent are also considered secure. The use of simple DES is unwise as it is susceptible to many easy attacks. 1.3.8.3 Public-key In public-key encryption, the sender and the receiver have different keys. The sender uses a public key that is freely available, and the receiver uses a private key to reveal the original data. This type of encryption is useful when many data sources must send protected information to just a few recipients, such as when submitting data to clearinghouses. Public-key methods include Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) Key Exchange and DiffieHellman Key Agreement. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a freely available application of public-key encryption. 1.3.9 Obfuscation or Masking Data can be made less available by obfuscation (making obscure or unclear) or masking, which removes, shuffles, or otherwise changes the appearance of the data, without losing the meaning of the data or the relationships the data has to other data sets, such as foreign key relationships to other objects or systems. The values within the attributes may change, but the new values are still valid for those attributes. Obfuscation is useful when displaying sensitive information on screens for reference, or creating test data sets from production data that comply with expected application logic. Data masking is a type of data-centric security. There are two types of data masking, persistent and dynamic. Persistent masking can be executed in-flight or in-place. 1.3.9.1 Persistent Data Masking Persistent data masking permanently and irreversibly alters the data. This type of masking is not typically used in production environments, but rather between a production environment and development or test Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 228 D MBO K 2 environments. Persistent masking changes the data, but the data must still be viable for use to test processes, application, report, etc. In-flight persistent masking occurs when the data is masked or obfuscated while it is moving between the source (typically production) and destination (typically non-production) environment. Inflight masking is very secure when properly executed because it does not leave an intermediate file or database with unmasked data. Another benefit is that it is re-runnable if issues are encountered part way through the masking. In-place persistent masking is used when the source and destination are the same. The unmasked data is read from the source, masked, and then used to overwrite the unmasked data. In-place masking assumes the sensitive data is in a location where it should not exist and the risk needs to be mitigated, or that there is an extra copy of the data in a secure location to mask before moving it to the non-secure location. There are risks to this process. If the masking process fails mid-masking, it can be difficult to restore the data to a useable format. This technique has a few niche uses, but in general, in-flight masking will more securely meet project needs. 1.3.9.2 Dynamic Data Masking Dynamic data masking changes the appearance of the data to the end user or system without changing the underlying data. This can be extremely useful when users need access to some sensitive production data, but not all of it. For example, in a database the social security number is stored as 123456789, but to the call center associate that needs to verify who they are speaking to, the data shows up as ***-**-6789. 1.3.9.3 Masking Methods There are several methods for masking or obfuscating data. Substitution: Replace characters or whole values with those in a lookup or as a standard pattern. For example, first names can be replaced with random values from a list. Shuffling: Swap data elements of the same type within a record, or swap data elements of one attribute between rows. For example, mixing vendor names among supplier invoices such that the original supplier is replaced with a different valid supplier on an invoice. Temporal variance: Move dates +/ a number of days significant enough to render them non-identifiable. small enough to preserve trends, but Value variance: Apply a random factor +/ a percent, again small enough to preserve trends, but significant enough to be non-identifiable. Nulling or deleting: Remove data that should not be present in a test system. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 229 Randomization: Replace part or all of data elements with either random characters or a series of a single character. Encryption: Convert a recognizably meaningful character stream to an unrecognizable character stream by means of a cipher code. An extreme version of obfuscation in-place. Expression masking: Change all values to the result of an expression. For example, a simple expression would just hard code all values in a large free form database field (that could potentially Key masking: Designate that the result of the masking algorithm/process must be unique and repeatable because it is being used mask a database key field (or similar). This type of masking is extremely important for testing to maintain integrity around the organization. 1.3.10 Network Security Terms Data security includes both data-at-rest and data-in-motion. Data-in-motion requires a network in order to move between systems. It is no longer sufficient for an organization to wholly trust in the firewall to protect it from malicious software, poisoned email, or social engineering attacks. Each machine on the network needs to have a line of defense, and web servers need sophisticated protection as they are continually exposed to the entire world on the Internet. 1.3.10.1 Backdoor A backdoor refers to an overlooked or hidden entry into a computer system or application. It allows unauthorized users to bypass the password requirement to gain access. Backdoors are often created by developers for maintenance purposes. Any backdoor is a security risk. Other backdoors are put in place by the creators of commercial software packages. Default passwords left unchanged when installing any software system or web page package is a backdoor and will undoubtedly be known to hackers. Any backdoor is a security risk. 1.3.10.2 Bot or Zombie A bot (short for robot) or Zombie is a workstation that has been taken over by a malicious hacker using a Trojan, a Virus, a Phish, or a download of an infected file. Remotely controlled, bots are used to perform malicious tasks, such as sending large amounts of spam, attacking legitimate businesses with network-clogging Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 230 D MBO K 2 Internet packets, performing illegal money transfers, and hosting fraudulent websites. A Bot-Net is a network of robot computers (infected machines). 39 It was estimated in 2012 that globally 17% of all computers (approximately 187 million of 1.1 Billion computers) do not have anti-virus protection.40 In the USA that year, 19.32% of users surfed unprotected. A large percentage of them are Zombies. Estimates are that two billion computers are in operation as of 2016.41 Considering that desktop and laptop computers are being eclipsed in number by smart phones, tablets, wearables, and other devices, many of which are used for business transactions, the risks for data exposure will only increase.42 1.3.10.3 Cookie A cookie is a small data file returning visitors and profile their preferences. Cookies are used for Internet commerce. However, they are also controversial, as they raise questions of privacy because spyware sometimes uses them. 1.3.10.4 Firewall A firewall is software and/or hardware that filters network traffic to protect an individual computer or an entire network from unauthorized attempts to access or attack the system. A firewall may scan both incoming and outgoing communications for restricted or regulated information and prevent it from passing without permission (Data Loss Prevention). Some firewalls also restrict access to specific external websites. 1.3.10.5 Perimeter A perimeter is the boundary environments and exterior systems. Typically, a firewall will be in place between all internal and external environments. http://bit.ly/1FrKWR8, http://bit.ly/2rQQuWJ. http://tcrn.ch/2rRnsGr (17% globally lack AV), http://bit.ly/2rUE2R4, http://bit.ly/2sPLBN4, http://ubm.io/1157kyO (Windows 8 lack of AV). http://bit.ly/2tNLO0i (2016 number reaches 2 billion.), http://bit.ly/2rCzDCV, http://bit.ly/2tNpwfg. -ready devices and 2 billion machine-to-machine connections (e.g., GPS systems in cars, asset tracking systems in shipping and manufacturing sectors, or medical applications making patient records and health status more http://bit.ly/Msevdw ( future numbers of computers and devices). Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 231 1.3.10.6 DMZ Short for de-militarized zone, a DMZ is an area on the edge or perimeter of an organization, with a firewall between it and the organization. A DMZ environment will always have a firewall between it and the internet (see Figure 64). DMZ environments are used to pass or temporarily store data moving between organizations. Figure 64 DMZ Example 1.3.10.7 Super User Account A Super User Account is an account that has administrator or root access to a system to be used only in an emergency. Credentials for these accounts are highly secured, only released in an emergency with appropriate documentation and approvals, and expire within a short time. For example, the staff assigned to production control might require access authorizations to multiple large systems, but these authorizations should be tightly controlled by time, user ID, location, or other requirement to prevent abuse. 1.3.10.8 Key Logger Key Loggers are a type of attack software that records all the keystrokes that a person types into their keyboard, then sends them elsewhere on the Internet. Thus, every password, memo, formula, document, and web address is captured. Often an infected website or malicious software download will install a key logger. Some types of document downloads will allow this to happen as well. 1.3.10.9 Penetration Testing Setting up a secure network and website is incomplete without testing it to make certain that it truly is secure. In Penetration Testing (sometimes an ethical hacker, either from the organization itself or hired from an external security firm, attempts to break into the system from outside, as would a malicious hacker, in order to identify system vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities found through penetration tests can be addressed before the application is released. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 232 D MBO K 2 Some people are threatened by ethical hacking audits because they believe these audits will result only in finger pointing. The reality is that in the fast-moving conflict between business security and criminal hacking, all purchased and internally-developed software contains potential vulnerabilities that were not known at the time of their creation. Thus, all software implementations must be challenged periodically. Finding vulnerabilities is an ongoing procedure and no blame should be applied only security patches. As proof of the need for continual software vulnerability mitigation, observe a constant stream of security patches arriving from software vendors. This continual security patch update process is a sign of due diligence and professional customer support from these vendors. Many of these patches are the result of ethical hacking performed on behalf of the vendors. 1.3.10.10 Virtual Private Network (VPN) VPN conn environment. The tunnel is highly encrypted. It allows communication between users and the internal network by using multiple authentication elements to connect w environment. Then it strongly encrypts all transmitted data. 1.3.11 Types of Data Security Data security involves not just preventing inappropriate access, but also enabling appropriate access to data. Access to sensitive data should be controlled by granting permissions (opt-in). Without permission, a user principle. A user, process, or program should be allowed to access only the information allowed by its legitimate purpose. 1.3.11.1 Facility Security Facility security is the first line of defense against bad actors. Facilities should have, at a minimum, a locked data center with access restricted to authorized employees. Social threats to security (See Section 1.3.15) recognize humans as the weakest point in facility security. Ensure that employees have the tools and training to protect data in facilities. 1.3.11.2 Device Security Mobile devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones, are inherently insecure, as they can be lost, stolen, and physically and electronically attacked by criminal hackers. They often contain corporate emails, Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 233 spreadsheets, addresses, and documents that, if exposed, can be damaging to the organization, its employees, or its customers. With the explosion of portable devices and media, a plan to manage the security of these devices (both companyshould include both software and hardware tools. Device security standards include: Access policies regarding connections using mobile devices Storage of data on portable devices such as laptops, DVDs, CDs, or USB drives Data wiping and disposal of devices in compliance with records management policies Installation of anti-malware and encryption software Awareness of security vulnerabilities 1.3.11.3 Credential Security Each user is assigned credentials to use when obtaining access to a system. Most credentials are a combination of a User ID and a Password. There is a spectrum of how credentials are used across systems within an credential repositories. 1.3.11.3.1 Identity Management Systems Traditionally, users have had different accounts and passwords for each individual resource, platform, application system, or workstation. This approach requires users to manage several passwords and accounts. Organizations with enterprise user directories may have a synchronization mechanism established between the heterogeneous resources to ease user password management. In such cases, the user is required to enter the password only once, usually when logging into the workstation, after which all authentication and authorization executes through a reference to the enterprise user directory. An identity management system implementing this -sign- 1.3.11.3.2 User ID Standards for Email Systems User IDs should be unique within the email domain. Most companies use some first name or initial, and full or partial last name as the email or network ID, with a number to differentiate collisions. Names are generally known and are more useful for business contact reasons. Email or network IDs containing system employee ID numbers are discouraged, as that information is not generally available outside the organization, and provides data that should be secure within the systems. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 234 D MBO K 2 1.3.11.3.3 Password Standards Passwords are the first line of defense in protecting access to data. Every user account should be required to have a password set by the user (account owner) with a sufficient level of password complexity defined in the When creating a new user account, the generated temporary password should be set to expire immediately after the first use and the user must choose a new password for subsequent access. Do not permit blank passwords. Most security experts recommend requiring users to change their passwords every 45 to 180 days, depending on the nature of the system, the type of data, and the sensitivity of the enterprise. However, changing passwords too frequently introduces risk, since it often causes employees write down their new passwords. 1.3.11.3.4 Multiple Factor Identification device that contains a code, the use of a hardware item that must be used for login, or a biometric factor such as fingerprint, facial recognition, or retinal scan. Two-factor identification makes it much harder to break into an should use two-factor identification to log into the network. 1.3.11.4 Electronic Communication Security Users must be trained to avoid sending their personal information or any restricted or confidential company information over email or direct communication applications. These insecure methods of communication can be read or intercepted by outside sources. Once a user sends an email, he or she no longer controls the information nt. Social media also applies here. Blogs, portals, wikis, forums, and other Internet or Intranet social media should be considered insecure and should not contain confidential or restricted information. 1.3.12 Types of Data Security Restrictions Two concepts drive security restrictions: the level of confidentiality of data and regulation related to data. Confidentiality level: Confidential means secret or private. Organizations determine which types of data should not be known outside the organization, or even within certain parts of the organization. Confidential information is shared only on a -tobasis. Levels of confidentiality depend on who needs to know certain kinds of information. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 235 Regulation: Regulatory categories are assigned based on external rules, such as laws, treaties, customs agreements, and industry regulations. Regulatory information is -toThe ways in which data can be shared are governed by the details of the regulation. The main difference between confidential and regulatory restrictions is where the restriction originates: confidentiality restrictions originate internally, while regulatory restrictions are externally defined. Another difference is that any data set, such as a document or a database view, can only have one confidentiality level. This level is established based on the most sensitive (and highest classified) item in the data set. Regulatory categorizations, however, are additive. A single data set may have data restricted based on multiple regulatory categories. To assure regulatory compliance, enforce all actions required for each category, along with the confidentiality requirements. When applied to the user entitlement (the aggregation of the particular data elements to which a user authorization provides access), all protection policies must be followed, regardless of whether they originated internally or externally. 1.3.12.1 Confidential Data Confidentiality requirements range from high (very few people have access, for example, to data about employee compensation) to low (everyone has access to product catalogs). A typical classification schema might include two or more of the five confidentiality classification levels listed here: For general audiences: Information available to anyone, including the public. Internal use only: Information limited to employees or members, but with minimal risk if shared. For internal use only; may be shown or discussed, but not copied, outside the organization. Confidential: Information that cannot be shared outside the organization without a properly executed non-disclosure agreement or similar in place. Client confidential information may not be shared with other clients. Restricted confidential: Information limited to individuals performing certain roles with the to Registered confidential: Information so confidential that anyone accessing the information must sign a legal agreement to access the data and assume responsibility for its secrecy. The confidentiality level does not imply any details about restrictions due to regulatory requirements. For example, it does not inform the data manager that data may not be exposed outside its country of origin, or that some employees are prohibited from seeing certain information based on regulations like HIPAA. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 236 D MBO K 2 1.3.12.2 Regulated Data Certain types of information are regulated by external laws, industry standards, or contracts that influence how data can be used, as well as who can access it and for what purposes. As there are many overlapping regulations, it is easier to collect them by subject area into a few regulatory categories or families to better inform data managers of regulatory requirements. Each enterprise, of course, must develop regulatory categories that meet their own compliance needs. Further, it is important that this process and the categories be as simple as possible to allow for an actionable protection Each regulatory category should include auditable protective actions. This is not an organizational tool but an enforcement method. Since different industries are affected by different types of regulations, the organization needs to develop regulatory groupings that meet their operational needs. For example, companies that do no business outside of their native land may not need to incorporate regulations pertaining to exports. However, since all nations have some mixture of personal data privacy laws, and customers are likely to be from anywhere in the world, it may be wise and easier to gather all customer data privacy regulations into a single regulatory family, and comply with the requirements for all the nations. Doing so ensures compliance everywhere, and offers a single standard to enforce. An example of the possible detail of regulatory compliance is one that prohibits by law a single type of data element in the database to travel outside the physical borders of the originating nation. Several regulations, both domestic and international, have this as a requirement. An optimal number of regulatory action categories is nine or fewer. Sample regulatory categories follow. 1.3.12.2.1 Sample Regulatory Families Certain government regulations specify data elements by name, and demand that they be protected in specific ways. Each element does not need a different category; instead, use a single family of actions to protect all specifically targeted data fields. Some PCI data may be included in these categories even though it is a contractual obligation and not a governmental regulation. PCI contractual obligations are mostly uniform around the globe. Personal Identification Information (PII): Also known as Personally Private Information (PPI), includes any information that can personally identify the individual (individually or as a set), such as name, address, phone numbers, schedule, government ID number, account numbers, age, race, religion, ethnicity, birthday, family names names, employment information (HR data), and in many cases, remuneration. Highly similar protective actions will satisfy the EU Privacy Directives, Canadian Privacy law (PIPEDA), PIP Act 2003 in Japan, PCI standards, US FTC requirements, GLB, FTC standards, and most Security Breach of Information Acts. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 237 Financially Sensitive Data: All financial information, including what may or data, including all current financial information that has not yet been reported publicly. It also includes any future business plans not made public, planned mergers, acquisitions, or spin-offs, nonpublic reports of significant company problems, unexpected changes in senior management, comprehensive sales, orders, and billing data. All of these can be captured within this one category, and protected by the same policies. In the US, this is covered under Insider Trading Laws, SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), or GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley/Financial Services Modernization Act). Note: Sarbanes-Oxley act restricts and manages who can change financial data, thus assuring data integrity, while Insider Trading laws affect all those who can see financial data. Medically Sensitive Data/Personal Health Information (PHI): All information regarding a health or medical treatments. In the US, this is covered by HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act). Other nations also have restrictive laws regarding protection of personal and medical information. As these are evolving, ensure Corporate Counsel is aware of the need to follow legal requirements in a nation in which the organization does business or has customers. Educational Records: All information regarding a FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). 1.3.12.2.2 education. In the US, this is covered by Industry or Contract-based Regulation Some industries have specific standards for how to record, retain, and encrypt information. Some also disallow deletion, editing, or distributing to prohibited locations. For example, regulations for pharmaceuticals, other dangerous substances, food, cosmetics, and advanced technology prevent the transmission or storage of certain information outside the country of origin, or require data to be encrypted during transport. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS): PCI-DSS is the most widely known industry data security standard. It addresses any information that can identify an individual with an account at a financial organization, such as name, credit card number (any number on the card), bank account number, or account expiration date. Most of these data fields are regulated by laws and policies. Any data with this classification in its Metadata definition automatically should be carefully reviewed by data stewards when included in any database, application, report, dashboard, or user view. Competitive advantage or trade secrets: Companies that use proprietary methods, mixtures, formulas, sources, designs, tools, recipes, or operational techniques to achieve a competitive advantage may be protected by industry regulations and/or intellectual property laws. Contractual restrictions: In its contracts with vendors and partners, an organization may stipulate how specific pieces of information may or may not be used, and which information can and cannot be shared. For example, environmental records, hazardous materials reports, batch numbers, cooking times, points of origin, customer passwords, account numbers, and certain national identity numbers of non-US nationals. Specific technical companies may need to include certain restricted products or ingredients in this category. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 238 D MBO K 2 1.3.13 System Security Risks The first step in identifying risk is identifying where sensitive data is stored, and what protections are required for that data. It is also necessary to identify risks inherent in systems. System security risks include elements that can compromise a network or database. These threats allow legitimate employees to misuse information, either intentionally or accidentally, and enable malicious hacker success. 1.3.13.1 Abuse of Excessive Privilege In granting access to data, the principle of least privilege should be applied. A user, process, or program should be allowed to access only the information allowed by its legitimate purpose. The risk is that users with privileges that exceed the requirements of their job function may abuse these privileges for malicious purpose or accidentally. Users may be granted more access than they should have (excessive privilege) simply because it is challenging to manage user entitlements. The DBA may not have the time or Metadata to define and update granular access privilege control mechanisms for each user entitlement. As a result, many users receive generic default access privileges that far exceed specific job requirements. This lack of oversight to user entitlements is one reason why many data regulations specify data management security. The solution to excessive privileges is query-level access control, a mechanism that restricts database privileges to minimum-required SQL operations and data. The granularity of data access control must extend beyond the table to specific rows and columns within a table. Query-level access control is useful for detecting excessive privilege abuse by malicious employees. Most database software implementations integrate some level of query-level access control (triggers, row-level security, table security, views), but the manual nature of the but the most limited deployments. The process of manually defining a query-level access control policy for all users across database rows, columns, and operations is time consuming. To make matters worse, as user roles change over time, query policies must be updated to reflect those new roles. Most database administrators would have a hard time defining a useful query policy for a handful of users at a single point in time, much less hundreds of users over time. As a result, in a large number of organizations, automated tools are usually necessary to make real query-level access control functional. 1.3.13.2 Abuse of Legitimate Privilege Users may abuse legitimate database privileges for unauthorized purposes. Consider a criminally inclined healthcare worker with privileges to view individual patient records via a custom Web application. The structure of corporate Web applications normally history, where multiple records cannot be viewed simultaneously and electronic copies are not allowed. However, the worker may circumvent these limitations by connecting to the database using an alternative Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 239 system such as MS-Excel. Using MS-Excel and his legitimate login credentials, the worker might retrieve and save all patient records. There are two risks to consider: intentional and unintentional abuse. Intentional abuse occurs when an employee deliberately misuses organizational data. For example, an errant worker who wants to trade patient records for money or for intentional damage, such as releasing (or threatening to release) sensitive information publicly. Unintentional abuse is a more common risk: The diligent employee who retrieves and stores large amounts of patient information to a work machine for what he or she considers legitimate work purposes. Once the data exists on an endpoint machine, it becomes vulnerable to laptop theft and loss. The partial solution to the abuse of legitimate privilege is database access control that not only applies to specific queries, but also enforces policies for end-point machines using time of day, location monitoring, and amount of information downloaded, and reduces the ability of any user to have unlimited access to all records containing sensitive information unless it is specifically demanded by their job and approved by their supervisor. For example while it may be necessary personal records, they might not be allowed to download the entire customer database to 1.3.13.3 Unauthorized Privilege Elevation Attackers may take advantage of database platform software vulnerabilities to convert access privileges from those of an ordinary user to those of an administrator. Vulnerabilities may occur in stored procedures, built-in functions, protocol implementations, and even SQL statements. For example, a software developer at a financial institution might take advantage of a vulnerable function to gain the database administrative privilege. With administrative privilege, the offending developer may turn off audit mechanisms, create bogus accounts, transfer funds, or close accounts. Prevent privilege elevation exploits with a combination of traditional intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and query-level access control intrusion prevention. These systems inspect database traffic to identify patterns that correspond to known vulnerabilities. For example, if a given function is vulnerable to an attack, an IPS may either block all access to the procedure, or block those procedures allowing embedded attacks. Combine IPS with alternative attack indicators, such as query access control, to improve accuracy in identifying attacks. IPS can detect whether a database request accesses a vulnerable function while query access control detects whether the request matches normal user behavior. If a single request indicates both access to a vulnerable function and unusual behavior, then an attack is almost certainly occurring. 1.3.13.4 Service Account or Shared Account Abuse Use of service accounts (batch IDs) and shared accounts (generic IDs) increases the risk of data security breaches and complicates the ability to trace the breach to its source. Some organizations further increase their Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 240 D MBO K 2 risk when they configure monitoring systems to ignore any alerts related to these accounts. Information security managers should consider adopting tools to manage service accounts securely. 1.3.13.4.1 Service Accounts Service accounts are convenient because they can tailor enhanced access for the processes that use them. However, if they are used for other purposes, they are untraceable to a particular user or administrator. Unless they have access to decryption keys, service accounts do not threaten encrypted data. This may be especially important for data held on servers storing legal documents, medical information, trade secrets, or confidential executive planning. Restrict the use of service accounts to specific tasks or commands on specific systems, and require documentation and approval for distributing the credentials. Consider assigning a new password every time distribution occurs, using processes such as those in place for Super User accounts. 1.3.13.4.2 Shared Accounts Shared accounts are created when an application cannot handle the number of user accounts needed or when adding specific users requires a large effort or incurs additional licensing costs. For shared accounts, credentials are given to multiple users, and the password is rarely changed due to the effort to notify all users. Because they provide essentially ungoverned access, any use of shared accounts should be carefully evaluated. They should never be used by default. 1.3.13.5 Platform Intrusion Attacks Software updates and intrusion prevention protection of database assets requires a combination of regular software updates (patches) and the implementation of a dedicated Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). An IPS is usually, but not always, implemented alongside of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). The goal is to prevent the vast majority of network intrusion attempts and to respond quickly to any intrusion that has succeeded in working its way past a prevention system. The most primitive form of intrusion protection is a firewall, but with mobile users, web access, and mobile computing equipment a part of most enterprise environments, a simple firewall, while still necessary, is no longer sufficient. Vendor-provided updates reduce vulnerabilities found in database platforms over time. Unfortunately, software updates are often implemented by enterprises according to periodic maintenance cycles rather than as soon as possible after the patches are made available. In between update cycles, databases are not protected. In addition, compatibility problems sometimes prevent software updates altogether. To address these problems, implement IPS. Order 11611 by LEXIE MAY on August 25, 2017 D A T A SE CUR IT Y 241 1.3.13.6 SQL Injection Vulnerability SQL data channel, such as stored procedures and Web application input spaces. These injected SQL statements are passed to the database, where they are often executed as legitimate commands. Using SQL injection, attackers may gain unrestricted access to an entire database. SQL injections are also used to attack the DBMS, by passing SQL commands as a parameter of a function or stored procedure. For example, a component that provides backup functionality usually runs at a high privilege; calling a SQL injection vulnerable function i

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser