Project 5: Database Security Assessment
Modern health care systems incorporate databases for effective
and efficient management of patient health care. Databases are
vulnerable to cyberattacks and must be designed and built with
security controls from the beginning of the life cycle.
Although hardening the database early in the life cycle is better,
security is often incorporated after deployment, forcing hospital
and health care IT professionals to play catch-up. Database
security requirements should be defined at the requirements
stage of acquisition and procurement.
System security engineers and other acquisition personnel can
effectively assist vendors in building better health care database
systems by specifying security requirements up front within the
request for proposal (RFP). In this project, you will be developing
an RFP for a new medical health care database management
system.
Parts of your deliverables will be developed through your
learning lab. You will submit the following deliverables for this
project:
Deliverables
•
An RFP, about 10 to 12 pages, in the form of a doublespaced Word document with citations in APA format. The
page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or
citations. There is no penalty for using additional pages.
Include a minimum of six references. Include a reference
list with the report.
There are 11 steps in this project. You will begin with the
workplace scenario and continue with Step 1: "Provide an
Overview for Vendors."
Competencies
Your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed
below.
•
1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner
that promotes understanding and meets the requirements
of the assignment.
•
1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is
internally unified and so that each functions as part of the
whole document or presentation.
•
1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that
substantiates the writer's ideas.
•
1.8: Create clear oral messages.
•
2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or
problem under critical consideration.
•
2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate
the issue or problem.
•
2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized
manner to determine its value and relevance to the
problem.
•
2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the
issue or problem.
•
2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions,
checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.
•
4.2: Demonstrate the ability to plan and execute a project,
articulating clear objectives and goals for the team.
•
9.4: Manages and supports the acquisition life cycle,
including planning, determining specifications, selecting,
and procuring information and communications technology
(ICT) and cybersecurity products used in the organization's
design, development, and maintenance of its infrastructure
to minimize potential risks and vulnerabilities.
Step 1: Provide an Overview for
Vendors
As the contracting officer's technical representative (COTR), you
are the liaison between your hospital and potential vendors. It is
your duty to provide vendors with an overview of your
organization. To do so, identify information about your hospital.
Conduct independent research on hospital database
management. Think about the hospital's different organizational
needs. What departments or individuals will use the Security
Concerns Common to All RDBMSs, and for what purposes?
Provide an overview with the types of data that may be stored in
the system and the importance of keeping these data secure.
Include this information in the RFP.
After the overview is complete, move to the next step to provide
context for the vendors with an overview of needs.
Step 2: Provide Context for the Work
Now that you have provided vendors with an overview of your
hospital's needs, you will provide the vendors with a context for
the work needed.
Since you are familiar with the application and implementation,
give guidance to the vendors by explaining the attributes of the
database and by describing the environment in which it will
operate. Details are important in order for the vendors to
provide optimal services.
It is important to understand the vulnerability of a relational
database management system (RDBMS). Read the following
resources about RDBMSs.
•
error handling and information leakage
•
insecure handling
•
cross-site scripting (XSS/CSRF) flaws
•
SQL injections
•
insecure configuration management
•
authentication (with a focus on broken authentication)
•
access control (with a focus on broken access control)
Describe the security concepts and concerns for databases.
Identify at least three security assurance and security functional
requirements for the database that contain information for
medical personnel and emergency responders.
Include this information in the RFP.
In the next step, you will provide security standards for the
vendors.
Step 3: Provide Vendor Security
Standards
In the previous step, you added context for the needed work.
Now, provide a set of internationally recognized standards that
competing vendors will incorporate into the database. These
standards will also serve as a checklist to measure security
performance and security processes.
Read the following resources to prepare:
•
database models
•
Common Criteria (CC) for information technology security
evaluation
•
evaluated assurance levels (EALs)
•
continuity of service
Address the concepts and issues with respect to disasters and
disaster recovery, mission continuity, threats, and cyberattacks.
Include these security standards in the RFP.
In the next step, you will describe defense models for the RFP.
Step 4: Describe Defense Models
Now that you have established security standards for the RFP,
you will define the use of defense models. This information is
important since the networking environment will have numerous
users with different levels of access.
Provide requirements in the RFP for the vendor to state its
overall strategy for defensive principles. Explain the importance
of understanding these principles. To further your
understanding, click the link and read about defensive
principles.
Read these resources on enclave computing environment:
•
enclave/computing environment
•
cyber operations in DoD policy and plans
Explain how enclave computing relates to defensive principles.
The network domains should be at different security levels, have
different levels of access, and different read and write
permissions.
Define enclave computing boundary defense.
Include enclave firewalls to separate databases and networks.
Define the different environments you expect the databases to
be working in and the security policies applicable.
Provide this information in the RFP.
In the next step, you will consider database defenses.
Step 6: Provide a Requirement
Statement for System Structure
In the previous step, you identified defense requirements for the
vendor. In this step of the RFP, you will focus on the structure of
the system.
Provide requirement statements for a web interface to:
1. Allow patients and other health care providers to view,
modify, and update the database.
2. Allow integrated access across multiple systems.
3. Prevent data exfiltration through external media.
State these requirements in the context of the medical database.
Include this information in the RFP.
In the next step, you will outline operating system security
components.
Step 7: Provide Operating System
Security Components
In the previous step, you composed requirement statements
regarding the system setup. In this step, you will provide the
operating system security components that will support the
database and the security protection mechanisms.
Read these resources on operating system security. Then:
1. Provide requirements for segmentation by operating system
rings to ensure processes do not affect each other.
2. Provide one example of a process that could violate the
segmentation mechanism. Ensure your requirement
statements prevent such a violation from occurring.
Specify requirement statements that include a trusted platform
module (TPM), in which a cryptographic key is supplied at the
chip level. In those specifications:
1. Describe the expected security gain from incorporating
TPM.
2. Provide requirement statements that adhere to the trusted
computing base (TCB) standard.
3. Provide examples of components to consider in the TCB.
4. Provide requirements of how to ensure protection of these
components, such as authentication procedures and
malware protection.
Read the following resources to familiarize yourself with these
concepts:
•
trusted computing
•
trusted computing base
Include this information in the RFP.
In the following step, you will write requirements for levels of
security.
Step 8: Write Requirements for Multiple
Independent Levels of Security
The previous step required you to identify operating system
security components to support the database. For this step, you
will focus on identification, authentication, and access. Access to
the data is accomplished using security concepts and security
models that ensure confidentiality and integrity of the data.
Refer to access control and authentication to refresh your
knowledge.
The healthcare database should be able to incorporate multiple
independent levels of security (MILS) because the organization
plans to expand the number of users.
Write requirement statements for MILS for your database in the
RFP.
1. Include the definitions and stipulations for cybersecurity
models, including the Biba Integrity Model, Bell-LaPadula
Model, and the Chinese Wall Model.
2. Indicate any limitations for the application of these models.
Read the following resources and note which cybersecurity
models are most beneficial to your database:
•
multiple independent levels of security (MILS)
•
cybersecurity models
•
insecure handling
Include requirement statements for addressing insecure
handling of data.
Include this information in your RFP.
In the next step, you will consider access control.
Step 9: Include Access Control
Concepts, Capabilities
In the previous step, you wrote requirements for multiple levels
of security, including the topics of identification, authentication,
and access. In this step, you will focus on access control. The
vendor will need to demonstrate capabilities to enforce
identification, authentication, access, and authorization to the
database management systems.
Include requirement statements in the RFP that the vendor must
identify, the types of access control capabilities, and how they
execute access control.
Provide requirement statements for the vendor regarding access
control concepts, authentication, and direct object access.
Include the requirement statements in the RFP.
In the next step, you will incorporate additional security
requirements and request vendors to provide a test plan.
Step 10: Include Test Plan
Requirements
In the previous step, you defined access control requirements.
Here, you will define test plan requirements for vendors.
Incorporate a short paragraph requiring the vendor to propose a
test plan after reviewing these guidelines for a test and
remediation results (TPRR) report.
Provide requirements for the vendor to supply an approximate
timeline for the delivery of technology.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment