Risk Assessment Report, computer science homework help

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Work has to be original, no plagiarism. Paper should be 7 pages single space in length with document and citation formatting per APA Requirements.

The objective of this assignment is to develop a risk assessment report for a company, government agency, or other organization (the ”subject organization”). The analysis will be conducted using only publicly available information (e.g., information obtainable on the Internet, company reports, news reports, journal articles, etc.) and based on judicious, believable extrapolation of that information. Your risk analysis should consider subject organization information assets (computing and networking infrastructure), their vulnerabilities, and legitimate, known threats that can exploit those vulnerabilities. Your assignment is then to derive the risk profile for the subject organization. Your report should also contain recommendations to mitigate the risks.

There is a wealth of business-oriented and technical information that can be used to infer likely vulnerabilities and assets for an organization. It is recommended that students select their organizations based at least in part on ease of information gathering, from a public record perspective.

1. Pick a Subject Organization: Follow these guidelines:

You should pick a company or organization that has sufficient publicly available information to support a reasonable risk analysis, particularly including threat and vulnerability identification.

2. Develop Subject Organization Information: Examples of relevant information include:

  • Company/Organization name and location
  • Company/Organization management or basic organization structure
  • Company/Organization industry and purpose (i.e., the nature of its business)
  • Company/Organization profile (financial information, standing in its industry, reputation)
  • Identification of relevant aspects of the company/organization’s computing and network infrastructure

Note: Do not try to access more information through social engineering, or through attempted cyber attacks or intrusion attempts. This is a look at how readily available information might be used from a risk management perspective.

3. Analyze Risks

  • For the purposes of this assignment, you will follow the standard risk assessment methodology used within the U.S. federal government, as described in NIST Special Publication 800-30 Risk Management Guide for Information Technology Systems (linked at the bottom of the page).
  • In conducting your analysis, focus on identifying threats and vulnerabilities faced by your subject organization.
  • Based on the threats and vulnerabilities you identify, next determine both the relative likelihood and severity of impact that would occur should each of the threats materialize. This should produce a listing of risks, at least roughly ordered by their significance to the organization.
  • For the risks you have identified, suggest ways that the subject organization might respond to mitigate the risk.

4. Prepare Risk Assessment Report

The report should include the following:

  • Approved organization identification summary submitted in Week 4
  • Executive Summary
    • Scope
    • Overall level of risk
    • Number of risks identified and brief description of what they are
  • Body of the paper
    • Purpose of risk assessment
    • Identify assumptions and constraints
    • Describe risk tolerance
    • Identify and describe risk model
    • Rationale for any risk-related decisions
    • Missions and functions
    • Summarize risk assessment results
    • Identify the time frames for which the risk assessment is valid
  • Need to be 7pages single space in length
  • Include minimum of three references
  • Be formatted according to APA Requirements.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

NIST Special Publication 800-30 Revision 1 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments JOINT TASK FORCE TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE INFORMATION SECURITY Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 September 2012 U.S. Department of Commerce Rebecca M. Blank, Acting Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Patrick D. Gallagher, Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and Director Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reports on Computer Systems Technology The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes the U.S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods, reference data, proof of concept implementations, and technical analyses to advance the development and productive use of information technology. ITL’s responsibilities include the development of management, administrative, technical, and physical standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of other than national security-related information in federal information systems. The Special Publication 800-series reports on ITL’s research, guidelines, and outreach efforts in information system security, and its collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations. PAGE ii Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Authority This publication has been developed by NIST to further its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Public Law (P.L.) 107-347. NIST is responsible for developing information security standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements for federal information systems, but such standards and guidelines shall not apply to national security systems without the express approval of appropriate federal officials exercising policy authority over such systems. This guideline is consistent with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Section 8b(3), Securing Agency Information Systems, as analyzed in Circular A-130, Appendix IV: Analysis of Key Sections. Supplemental information is provided in Circular A-130, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources. Nothing in this publication should be taken to contradict the standards and guidelines made mandatory and binding on federal agencies by the Secretary of Commerce under statutory authority. Nor should these guidelines be interpreted as altering or superseding the existing authorities of the Secretary of Commerce, Director of the OMB, or any other federal official. This publication may be used by nongovernmental organizations on a voluntary basis and is not subject to copyright in the United States. Attribution would, however, be appreciated by NIST. NIST Special Publication 800-30, 95 pages (September 2012) CODEN: NSPUE2 Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST, nor is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. There may be references in this publication to other publications currently under development by NIST in accordance with its assigned statutory responsibilities. The information in this publication, including concepts and methodologies, may be used by federal agencies even before the completion of such companion publications. Thus, until each publication is completed, current requirements, guidelines, and procedures, where they exist, remain operative. For planning and transition purposes, federal agencies may wish to closely follow the development of these new publications by NIST. Organizations are encouraged to review all draft publications during public comment periods and provide feedback to NIST. All NIST publications are available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications. Comments on this publication may be submitted to: National Institute of Standards and Technology Attn: Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory 100 Bureau Drive (Mail Stop 8930) Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 Electronic mail: sec-cert@nist.gov PAGE iii Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Compliance with NIST Standards and Guidelines In accordance with the provisions of FISMA, 1 the Secretary of Commerce shall, on the basis of standards and guidelines developed by NIST, prescribe standards and guidelines pertaining to federal information systems. The Secretary shall make standards compulsory and binding to the extent determined necessary by the Secretary to improve the efficiency of operation or security of federal information systems. Standards prescribed shall include information security standards that provide minimum information security requirements and are otherwise necessary to improve the security of federal information and information systems. • Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) are approved by the Secretary of Commerce and issued by NIST in accordance with FISMA. FIPS are compulsory and binding for federal agencies. 2 FISMA requires that federal agencies comply with these standards, and therefore, agencies may not waive their use. • Special Publications (SPs) are developed and issued by NIST as recommendations and guidance documents. For other than national security programs and systems, federal agencies must follow those NIST Special Publications mandated in a Federal Information Processing Standard. FIPS 200 mandates the use of Special Publication 800-53, as amended. In addition, OMB policies (including OMB Reporting Instructions for FISMA and Agency Privacy Management) state that for other than national security programs and systems, federal agencies must follow certain specific NIST Special Publications. 3 • Other security-related publications, including interagency reports (NISTIRs) and ITL Bulletins, provide technical and other information about NIST's activities. These publications are mandatory only when specified by OMB. • Compliance schedules for NIST security standards and guidelines are established by OMB in policies, directives, or memoranda (e.g., annual FISMA Reporting Guidance).4 1 The E-Government Act (P.L. 107-347) recognizes the importance of information security to the economic and national security interests of the United States. Title III of the E-Government Act, entitled the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), emphasizes the need for organizations to develop, document, and implement an organization-wide program to provide security for the information systems that support its operations and assets. 2 The term agency is used in this publication in lieu of the more general term organization only in those circumstances where its usage is directly related to other source documents such as federal legislation or policy. 3 While federal agencies are required to follow certain specific NIST Special Publications in accordance with OMB policy, there is flexibility in how agencies apply the guidance. Federal agencies apply the security concepts and principles articulated in the NIST Special Publications in accordance with and in the context of the agency’s missions, business functions, and environment of operation. Consequently, the application of NIST guidance by federal agencies can result in different security solutions that are equally acceptable, compliant with the guidance, and meet the OMB definition of adequate security for federal information systems. Given the high priority of information sharing and transparency within the federal government, agencies also consider reciprocity in developing their information security solutions. When assessing federal agency compliance with NIST Special Publications, Inspectors General, evaluators, auditors, and assessors consider the intent of the security concepts and principles articulated within the specific guidance document and how the agency applied the guidance in the context of its mission/business responsibilities, operational environment, and unique organizational conditions. 4 Unless otherwise stated, all references to NIST publications in this document (i.e., Federal Information Processing Standards and Special Publications) are to the most recent version of the publication. PAGE iv Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Acknowledgements This publication was developed by the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative Interagency Working Group with representatives from the Civil, Defense, and Intelligence Communities in an ongoing effort to produce a unified information security framework for the federal government. The National Institute of Standards and Technology wishes to acknowledge and thank the senior leaders from the Departments of Commerce and Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Committee on National Security Systems, and the members of the interagency technical working group whose dedicated efforts contributed significantly to the publication. The senior leaders, interagency working group members, and their organizational affiliations include: Department of Defense Office of the Director of National Intelligence Teresa M. Takai DoD Chief Information Officer Adolpho Tarasiuk Jr. Assistant DNI and Intelligence Community Chief Information Officer Richard Hale Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity Charlene Leubecker Deputy Intelligence Community Chief Information Officer Paul Grant Director, Cybersecurity Policy Catherine A. Henson Director, Data Management Dominic Cussatt Deputy Director, Cybersecurity Policy Greg Hall Chief, Risk Management and Information Security Programs Division Kurt Eleam Policy Advisor National Institute of Standards and Technology Committee on National Security Systems Charles H. Romine Director, Information Technology Laboratory Teresa M. Takai Chair, CNSS Donna Dodson Cybersecurity Advisor, Information Technology Laboratory Richard Spires Co-Chair, CNSS Donna Dodson Chief, Computer Security Division Dominic Cussatt CNSS Subcommittee Co-Chair Ron Ross FISMA Implementation Project Leader Jeffrey Wilk CNSS Subcommittee Co-Chair Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative Interagency Working Group Ron Ross NIST, JTF Leader Gary Stoneburner Johns Hopkins APL Jennifer Fabius The MITRE Corporation Kelley Dempsey NIST Deborah Bodeau The MITRE Corporation Steve Rodrigo Tenacity Solutions, Inc. Peter Gouldmann Department of State Arnold Johnson NIST Peter Williams Booz Allen Hamilton Karen Quigg The MITRE Corporation Christina Sames TASC Christian Enloe NIST In addition to the above acknowledgments, a special note of thanks goes to Peggy Himes and Elizabeth Lennon of NIST for their superb technical editing and administrative support. The authors also gratefully acknowledge and appreciate the significant contributions from individuals and organizations in the public and private sectors, both nationally and internationally, whose thoughtful and constructive comments improved the overall quality, thoroughness, and usefulness of this publication. PAGE v Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ DEVELOPING COMMON INFORMATION SECURITY FOUNDATIONS COLLABORATION AMONG PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES In developing standards and guidelines required by FISMA, NIST consults with other federal agencies and offices as well as the private sector to improve information security, avoid unnecessary and costly duplication of effort, and ensure that NIST publications are complementary with the standards and guidelines employed for the protection of national security systems. In addition to its comprehensive public review and vetting process, NIST is collaborating with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) to establish a common foundation for information security across the federal government. A common foundation for information security will provide the Intelligence, Defense, and Civil sectors of the federal government and their contractors, more uniform and consistent ways to manage the risk to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation that results from the operation and use of information systems. A common foundation for information security will also provide a strong basis for reciprocal acceptance of security authorization decisions and facilitate information sharing. NIST is also working with public and private sector entities to establish specific mappings and relationships between the security standards and guidelines developed by NIST and the International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC). PAGE vi Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY .................................................................................................. TARGET AUDIENCE.................................................................................................................. RELATED PUBLICATIONS .......................................................................................................... ORGANIZATION OF THIS SPECIAL PUBLICATION.......................................................................... 2 2 3 3 CHAPTER TWO THE FUNDAMENTALS .................................................................................. 4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS .................................................................................................. 4 RISK ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................. 5 KEY RISK CONCEPTS ............................................................................................................... 6 APPLICATION OF RISK ASSESSMENTS ..................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER THREE THE PROCESS ...................................................................................... 23 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 PREPARING FOR THE RISK ASSESSMENT ................................................................................ CONDUCTING THE RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................... COMMUNICATING AND SHARING RISK ASSESSMENT INFORMATION ............................................ MAINTAINING THE RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................... 24 29 37 38 APPENDIX A REFERENCES ............................................................................................ A-1 APPENDIX B GLOSSARY ................................................................................................ B-1 APPENDIX C ACRONYMS ............................................................................................... C-1 APPENDIX D THREAT SOURCES ..................................................................................... D-1 APPENDIX E THREAT EVENTS ........................................................................................ E-1 APPENDIX F VULNERABILITIES AND PREDISPOSING CONDITIONS ...................................... F-1 APPENDIX G LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE .................................................................... G-1 APPENDIX H IMPACT ..................................................................................................... H-1 APPENDIX I RISK DETERMINATION...................................................................................I-1 APPENDIX J INFORMING RISK RESPONSE ........................................................................ J-1 APPENDIX K RISK ASSESSMENT REPORTS ...................................................................... K-1 APPENDIX L SUMMARY OF TASKS ...................................................................................L-1 PAGE vii Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Prologue “... Through the process of risk management, leaders must consider risk to U.S. interests from adversaries using cyberspace to their advantage and from our own efforts to employ the global nature of cyberspace to achieve objectives in military, intelligence, and business operations...” “... For operational plans development, the combination of threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts must be evaluated in order to identify important trends and decide where effort should be applied to eliminate or reduce threat capabilities; eliminate or reduce vulnerabilities; and assess, coordinate, and deconflict all cyberspace operations...” “... Leaders at all levels are accountable for ensuring readiness and security to the same degree as in any other domain...” -- THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PAGE viii Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ CAUTIONARY NOTES SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY OF RISK ASSESSMENTS • Risk assessments are a key part of effective risk management and facilitate decision making at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy including the organization level, mission/business process level, and information system level. • Because risk management is ongoing, risk assessments are conducted throughout the system development life cycle, from pre-system acquisition (i.e., material solution analysis and technology development), through system acquisition (i.e., engineering/manufacturing development and production/deployment), and on into sustainment (i.e., operations/support). • There are no specific requirements with regard to: (i) the formality, rigor, or level of detail that characterizes any particular risk assessment; (ii) the methodologies, tools, and techniques used to conduct such risk assessments; or (iii) the format and content of assessment results and any associated reporting mechanisms. Organizations have maximum flexibility on how risk assessments are conducted and are encouraged to apply the guidance in this document so that the various needs of organizations can be addressed and the risk assessment activities can be integrated into broader organizational risk management processes. • Organizations are also cautioned that risk assessments are often not precise instruments of measurement and reflect: (i) the limitations of the specific assessment methodologies, tools, and techniques employed; (ii) the subjectivity, quality, and trustworthiness of the data used; (iii) the interpretation of assessment results; and (iv) the skills and expertise of those individuals or groups conducting the assessments. • Since cost, timeliness, and ease of use are a few of the many important factors in the application of risk assessments, organizations should attempt to reduce the level of effort for risk assessments by sharing risk-related information, whenever possible. PAGE ix Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION THE NEED FOR RISK ASSESSMENTS TO SUPPORT ENTERPRISE-WIDE RISK MANAGEMENT O rganizations 5 in the public and private sectors depend on information technology 6 and information systems 7 to successfully carry out their missions and business functions. Information systems can include very diverse entities ranging from office networks, financial and personnel systems to very specialized systems (e.g., industrial/process control systems, weapons systems, telecommunications systems, and environmental control systems). Information systems are subject to serious threats that can have adverse effects on organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation by exploiting both known and unknown vulnerabilities to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the information being processed, stored, or transmitted by those systems. Threats to information systems can include purposeful attacks, environmental disruptions, human/machine errors, and structural failures, and can result in harm to the national and economic security interests of the United States. Therefore, it is imperative that leaders and managers at all levels understand their responsibilities and are held accountable for managing information security risk—that is, the risk associated with the operation and use of information systems that support the missions and business functions of their organizations. Risk assessment is one of the fundamental components of an organizational risk management process as described in NIST Special Publication 800-39. Risk assessments are used to identify, estimate, and prioritize risk to organizational operations (i.e., mission, functions, image, and reputation), organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation, resulting from the operation and use of information systems. The purpose of risk assessments is to inform decision makers and support risk responses by identifying: (i) relevant threats to organizations or threats directed through organizations against other organizations; (ii) vulnerabilities both internal and external to organizations; (iii) impact (i.e., harm) to organizations that may occur given the potential for threats exploiting vulnerabilities; and (iv) likelihood that harm will occur. The end result is a determination of risk (i.e., typically a function of the degree of harm and likelihood of harm occurring). Risk assessments can be conducted at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy—including Tier 1 (organization level), Tier 2 (mission/business process level), and Tier 3 (information system level). At Tiers 1 and 2, organizations use risk assessments to evaluate, for example, systemic information security-related risks associated with organizational governance and management activities, mission/business processes, enterprise architecture, or the funding of information security programs. At Tier 3, organizations use risk assessments to more effectively support the implementation of the Risk Management Framework (i.e., security categorization; security control selection, implementation, and assessment; information system and common control authorization; and security control monitoring). 8 5 The term organization describes an entity of any size, complexity, or positioning within an organizational structure (e.g., a federal agency or, as appropriate, any of its operational elements) that is charged with carrying out assigned mission/business processes and that uses information systems in support of those processes. 6 Organizations also manage information technology in the form of common infrastructures, sets of shared services, and sets of common controls. 7 An information system is a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information. 8 The Risk Management Framework is described in NIST Special Publication 800-37. CHAPTER 1 PAGE 1 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.1 PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY The purpose of Special Publication 800-30 is to provide guidance for conducting risk assessments of federal information systems and organizations, amplifying the guidance in Special Publication 800-39. Risk assessments, carried out at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy, are part of an overall risk management process—providing senior leaders/executives with the information needed to determine appropriate courses of action in response to identified risks. In particular, this document provides guidance for carrying out each of the steps in the risk assessment process (i.e., preparing for the assessment, conducting the assessment, communicating the results of the assessment, and maintaining the assessment) and how risk assessments and other organizational risk management processes complement and inform each other. Special Publication 800-30 also provides guidance to organizations on identifying specific risk factors to monitor on an ongoing basis, so that organizations can determine whether risks have increased to unacceptable levels (i.e., exceeding organizational risk tolerance) and different courses of action should be taken. This publication satisfies the requirements of FISMA and meets or exceeds the information security requirements established for executive agencies 9 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Circular A-130, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources. The guidelines in this publication are applicable to all federal information systems other than those systems designated as national security systems as defined in 44 U.S.C., Section 3542. The guidelines have been broadly developed from a technical perspective to complement similar guidelines for national security systems and may be used for such systems with the approval of appropriate federal officials exercising policy authority over such systems. State, local, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations are encouraged to consider using these guidelines, as appropriate. 1.2 TARGET AUDIENCE This publication is intended to serve a diverse group of risk management professionals including: • Individuals with oversight responsibilities for risk management (e.g., heads of agencies, chief executive officers, chief operating officers, risk executive [function]); • Individuals with responsibilities for conducting organizational missions/business functions (e.g., mission/business owners, information owners/stewards, authorizing officials); • Individuals with responsibilities for acquiring information technology products, services, or information systems (e.g., acquisition officials, procurement officers, contracting officers); • Individuals with information system/security design, development, and implementation responsibilities (e.g., program managers, enterprise architects, information security architects, information system/security engineers, information systems integrators); • Individuals with information security oversight, management, and operational responsibilities (e.g., chief information officers, senior information security officers,10 information security managers, information system owners, common control providers); and 9 An executive agency is: (i) an executive department specified in 5 U.S.C., Section 101; (ii) a military department specified in 5 U.S.C., Section 102; (iii) an independent establishment as defined in 5 U.S.C., Section 104(1); and (iv) a wholly owned government corporation fully subject to the provisions of 31 U.S.C., Chapter 91. In this publication, the term executive agency is synonymous with the term federal agency. 10 At the agency level, this position is known as the Senior Agency Information Security Officer. Organizations may also refer to this position as the Chief Information Security Officer. CHAPTER 1 PAGE 2 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Individuals with information security/risk assessment and monitoring responsibilities (e.g., system evaluators, penetration testers, security control assessors, risk assessors, independent verifiers/validators, inspectors general, auditors). 1.3 RELATED PUBLICATIONS The risk assessment approach described in this publication is supported by a series of security standards and guidelines necessary for managing information security risk. In addition to this publication, the Special Publications developed by the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative supporting the unified information security framework for the federal government include: • Special Publication 800-39, Managing Information Security Risk: Organization, Mission, and Information System View; 11 • Special Publication 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach; • Special Publication 800-53, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations; and • Special Publication 800-53A, Guide for Assessing the Security Controls in Federal Information Systems and Organizations: Building Effective Security Assessment Plans. The concepts and principles associated with the risk assessment processes and approaches contained in this publication are intended to be similar to and consistent with the processes and approaches described in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. Extending the concepts and principles of these international standards for the federal government and its contractors and promoting the reuse of risk assessment results, reduces the burden on organizations that must conform to ISO/IEC and NIST standards. 1.4 ORGANIZATION OF THIS SPECIAL PUBLICATION The remainder of this special publication is organized as follows: • Chapter Two describes: (i) the risk management process and how risk assessments are an integral part of that process; (ii) the basic terminology used in conducting risk assessments; and (iii) how risk assessments can be applied across the organization’s risk management tiers (i.e., organization level, mission/business process level, and information system level). • Chapter Three describes the process of assessing information security risk including: (i) a high-level overview of the risk assessment process; (ii) the activities necessary to prepare for a risk assessment; (iii) the activities necessary to conduct a risk assessment; (iv) the activities necessary to communicate risk assessment results and share risk-related information across the organization; and (v) the activities necessary to maintain the results of a risk assessment. • Supporting appendices provide additional risk assessment information including: (i) general references; (ii) a glossary of terms; (iii) acronyms; (iv) threat sources; (v) threat events; (vi) vulnerabilities and predisposing conditions; (vii) likelihood of threat event occurrence; (viii) organizational impact; (ix) risk determination; (x) informing risk response; (xi) essential information for risk assessment reports; and (xii) a summary of risk assessment tasks. 11 Special Publication 800-39 supersedes Special Publication 800-30 as the primary source for guidance on information security risk management. CHAPTER 1 PAGE 3 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER TWO THE FUNDAMENTALS BASIC CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH RISK ASSESSMENTS T his chapter describes the fundamental concepts associated with assessing information security risk within an organization including: (i) a high-level overview of the risk management process and the role risk assessments play in that process; (ii) the basic concepts used in conducting risk assessments; and (iii) how risk assessments can be applied across the organization’s risk management tiers. 12 2.1 RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS Risk assessment is a key component of a holistic, organization-wide risk management process as defined in NIST Special Publication 800-39, Managing Information Security Risk: Organization, Mission, and Information System View. Risk management processes include: (i) framing risk; (ii) assessing risk; (iii) responding to risk; and (iv) monitoring risk. Figure 1 illustrates the four steps in the risk management process—including the risk assessment step and the information and communications flows necessary to make the process work effectively. 13 ASSESS Information and Communications Flows Information and Communications Flows FRAME MONITOR RESPOND FIGURE 1: RISK ASSESSMENT WITHIN THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS The first component of risk management addresses how organizations frame risk or establish a risk context—that is, describing the environment in which risk-based decisions are made. The purpose of the risk framing component is to produce a risk management strategy that addresses how organizations intend to assess risk, respond to risk, and monitor risk—making explicit and 12 NIST Special Publication 800-39 provides guidance on the three tiers in the risk management hierarchy including Tier 1 (organization), Tier 2 (mission/business process), and Tier 3 (information system). 13 Many of the outputs from the risk framing step provide essential inputs to the risk assessment step and the associated risk assessment process. These include, for example, the risk management strategy, organizational risk tolerance, risk assessment methodology, assumptions, constraints, and mission/business priorities. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 4 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ transparent the risk perceptions that organizations routinely use in making both investment and operational decisions. The risk management strategy establishes a foundation for managing risk and delineates the boundaries for risk-based decisions within organizations. 14 The second component of risk management addresses how organizations assess risk within the context of the organizational risk frame. The purpose of the risk assessment component is to identify: (i) threats to organizations (i.e., operations, assets, or individuals) or threats directed through organizations against other organizations or the Nation; (ii) vulnerabilities internal and external to organizations; 15 (iii) the harm (i.e., adverse impact) that may occur given the potential for threats exploiting vulnerabilities; and (iv) the likelihood that harm will occur. The end result is a determination of risk (i.e., typically a function of the degree of harm and likelihood of harm occurring). The third component of risk management addresses how organizations respond to risk once that risk is determined based on the results of a risk assessment. The purpose of the risk response component is to provide a consistent, organization-wide response to risk in accordance with the organizational risk frame by: (i) developing alternative courses of action for responding to risk; (ii) evaluating the alternative courses of action; (iii) determining appropriate courses of action consistent with organizational risk tolerance; and (iv) implementing risk responses based on selected courses of action. The fourth component of risk management addresses how organizations monitor risk over time. The purpose of the risk monitoring component is to: (i) determine the ongoing effectiveness of risk responses (consistent with the organizational risk frame); (ii) identify risk-impacting changes to organizational information systems and the environments in which the systems operate; 16 and (iii) verify that planned risk responses are implemented and information security requirements derived from and traceable to organizational missions/business functions, federal legislation, directives, regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines are satisfied. 2.2 RISK ASSESSMENT This publication focuses on the risk assessment component of risk management—providing a step-by-step process for organizations on: (i) how to prepare for risk assessments; (ii) how to conduct risk assessments; (iii) how to communicate risk assessment results to key organizational personnel; and (iv) how to maintain the risk assessments over time. Risk assessments are not simply one-time activities that provide permanent and definitive information for decision makers to guide and inform responses to information security risks. Rather, organizations employ risk assessments on an ongoing basis throughout the system development life cycle and across all of the tiers in the risk management hierarchy—with the frequency of the risk assessments and the resources applied during the assessments, commensurate with the expressly defined purpose and scope of the assessments. 14 In the absence of an explicit or formal organizational risk management strategy, organizational resources (e.g., tools, data repositories) and references (e.g., exemplary risk assessment reports) can be used to discern those aspects of the organization’s approach to risk management that affect risk assessment. 15 Organizational vulnerabilities are not confined to information systems but can include, for example, vulnerabilities in governance structures, mission/business processes, enterprise architecture, information security architecture, facilities, equipment, system development life cycle processes, supply chain activities, and external service providers. 16 Environments of operation include, but are not limited to: the threat space; vulnerabilities; missions/business functions; mission/business processes; enterprise and information security architectures; information technologies; personnel; facilities; supply chain relationships; organizational governance/culture; procurement/acquisition processes; organizational policies/procedures; organizational assumptions, constraints, risk tolerance, and priorities/trade-offs). CHAPTER 2 PAGE 5 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Risk assessments address the potential adverse impacts to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, and the economic and national security interests of the United States, arising from the operation and use of information systems and the information processed, stored, and transmitted by those systems. Organizations conduct risk assessments to determine risks that are common to the organization’s core missions/business functions, mission/business processes, mission/business segments, common infrastructure/support services, or information systems. Risk assessments can support a wide variety of risk-based decisions and activities by organizational officials across all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy including, but not limited to, the following: • Development of an information security architecture; • Definition of interconnection requirements for information systems (including systems supporting mission/business processes and common infrastructure/support services); • Design of security solutions for information systems and environments of operation including selection of security controls, information technology products, suppliers/supply chain, and contractors; • Authorization (or denial of authorization) to operate information systems or to use security controls inherited by those systems (i.e., common controls); • Modification of missions/business functions and/or mission/business processes permanently, or for a specific time frame (e.g., until a newly discovered threat or vulnerability is addressed, until a compensating control is replaced); • Implementation of security solutions (e.g., whether specific information technology products or configurations for those products meet established requirements); and • Operation and maintenance of security solutions (e.g., continuous monitoring strategies and programs, ongoing authorizations). Because organizational missions and business functions, supporting mission/business processes, information systems, threats, and environments of operation tend to change over time, the validity and usefulness of any risk assessment is bounded in time. 2.3 KEY RISK CONCEPTS Risk is a measure of the extent to which an entity is threatened by a potential circumstance or event, and is typically a function of: (i) the adverse impacts that would arise if the circumstance or event occurs; and (ii) the likelihood of occurrence. Information security risks are those risks that arise from the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or information systems and reflect the potential adverse impacts to organizational operations (i.e., mission, functions, image, or reputation), organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation. Risk assessment is the process of identifying, estimating, and prioritizing information security risks. Assessing risk requires the careful analysis of threat and vulnerability information to determine the extent to which circumstances or events could adversely impact an organization and the likelihood that such circumstances or events will occur. A risk assessment methodology typically includes: (i) a risk assessment process (as described in Chapter Three); (ii) an explicit risk model, defining key terms and assessable risk factors and the relationships among the factors; (iii) an assessment approach (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, or semi-qualitative), specifying the range of values those risk factors can assume during the risk assessment and how combinations of risk factors are identified/analyzed so that values of those CHAPTER 2 PAGE 6 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ factors can be functionally combined to evaluate risk; and (iv) an analysis approach (e.g., threatoriented, asset/impact-oriented, or vulnerability-oriented), describing how combinations of risk factors are identified/analyzed to ensure adequate coverage of the problem space at a consistent level of detail. Risk assessment methodologies are defined by organizations and are a component of the risk management strategy developed during the risk framing step of the risk management process.17 Figure 2 illustrates the fundamental components in organizational risk frames and the relationships among those components. - Risk Assumptions Risk Constraints Priorities and Tradeoffs Risk Tolerance Uncertainty ORGANIZATIONAL RISK FRAME RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OR APPROACH - Establishes Foundation for Risk Management - Delineates Boundaries for Risk-Based Decisions DETERMINES DETERMINES Risk Assessment Methodology Risk Assessment Process Risk Model Assessment Approach Analysis Approach FIGURE 2: RELATIONSHIP AMONG RISK FRAMING COMPONENTS Organizations can use a single risk assessment methodology or can employ multiple assessment methodologies, with the selection of a specific methodology depending on, for example: (i) the time frame for investment planning or for planning policy changes; (ii) the complexity/maturity of organizational mission/business processes (by enterprise architecture segments); (iii) the phase of the information systems in the system development life cycle; or (iv) the criticality/sensitivity 18 of the information and information systems supporting the core organizational missions/business functions. By making explicit the risk model, the assessment approach, and the analysis approach employed, and requiring as part of the assessment process, a rationale for the assessed values of risk factors, organizations can increase the reproducibility and repeatability of risk assessments. 19 17 Risk assessment methodologies are influenced in large measure by the organizational risk management strategy. However, risk assessment methodologies can be customized for each risk assessment based on the purpose and scope of the assessment and the specific inputs organizations choose to make regarding the risk assessment process, risk model, assessment approach, and analysis approach. 18 NIST Special Publication 800-60 discusses the concepts of criticality and sensitivity of information with respect to security categorization. 19 Reproducibility refers to the ability of different experts to produce the same results from the same data. Repeatability refers to the ability to repeat the assessment in the future, in a manner that is consistent with and hence comparable to prior assessments—enabling the organization to identify trends. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 7 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.3.1 Risk Models Risk models define the risk factors to be assessed and the relationships among those factors.20 Risk factors are characteristics used in risk models as inputs to determining levels of risk in risk assessments. Risk factors are also used extensively in risk communications to highlight what strongly affects the levels of risk in particular situations, circumstances, or contexts. Typical risk factors include threat, vulnerability, impact, likelihood, and predisposing condition. Risk factors can be decomposed into more detailed characteristics (e.g., threats decomposed into threat sources and threat events). 21 These definitions are important for organizations to document prior to conducting risk assessments because the assessments rely upon well-defined attributes of threats, vulnerabilities, impact, and other risk factors to effectively determine risk. Threats A threat is any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely impact organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation through an information system via unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, or modification of information, and/or denial of service. 22 Threat events are caused by threat sources. A threat source is characterized as: (i) the intent and method targeted at the exploitation of a vulnerability; or (ii) a situation and method that may accidentally exploit a vulnerability. In general, types of threat sources include: (i) hostile cyber or physical attacks; (ii) human errors of omission or commission; (iii) structural failures of organization-controlled resources (e.g., hardware, software, environmental controls); and (iv) natural and man-made disasters, accidents, and failures beyond the control of the organization. Various taxonomies of threat sources have been developed. 23 Some taxonomies of threat sources use the type of adverse impacts as an organizing principle. Multiple threat sources can initiate or cause the same threat event—for example, a provisioning server can be taken offline by a denial-of-service attack, a deliberate act by a malicious system administrator, an administrative error, a hardware fault, or a power failure. Risk models differ in the degree of detail and complexity with which threat events are identified. When threat events are identified with great specificity, threat scenarios can be modeled, developed, and analyzed. 24 Threat events for cyber or physical attacks are characterized by the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by adversaries. Understanding adversarybased threat events gives organizations insights into the capabilities associated with certain threat sources. In addition, having greater knowledge about who is carrying out the attacks gives organizations a better understanding of what adversaries desire to gain by the attacks. Knowing 20 Documentation of a risk model includes: (i) identification of risk factors (definitions, descriptions, value scales); and (ii) identification of the relationships among those risk factors (both conceptual relationships, presented descriptively, and algorithms for combining values). The risk model presented in this section (and described in Appendices D-I) does not specify algorithms for combining values. 21 A risk factor can have a single assessable characteristic (e.g., impact severity) or multiple characteristics, some of which may be assessable and some of which may not be assessable. Characteristics which are not assessable typically help determine what lower-level characteristics are relevant. For example, a threat source has a (characteristic) threat type (using a taxonomy of threat types, which are nominal rather than assessable). The threat type determines which of the more detailed characteristics are relevant (e.g., a threat source of type adversary has associated characteristics of capabilities, intent, and targeting, which are directly assessable characteristics). 22 Organizations can choose to specify threat events as: (i) single events, actions, or circumstances; or (ii) sets and/or sequences of related actions, activities, and/or circumstances. 23 Appendix D provides an exemplary taxonomy of threat sources and associated threat characteristics. 24 A threat scenario is a set of discrete threat events, attributed to a specific threat source or multiple threat sources, ordered in time, that result in adverse effects. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 8 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ the intent and targeting aspects of a potential attack helps organizations narrow the set of threat events that are most relevant to consider. Threat shifting is the response of adversaries to perceived safeguards and/or countermeasures (i.e., security controls), in which adversaries change some characteristic of their intent/targeting in order to avoid and/or overcome those safeguards/countermeasures. Threat shifting can occur in one or more domains including: (i) the time domain (e.g., a delay in an attack or illegal entry to conduct additional surveillance); (ii) the target domain (e.g., selecting a different target that is not as well protected); (iii) the resource domain (e.g., adding resources to the attack in order to reduce uncertainty or overcome safeguards and/or countermeasures); or (iv) the attack planning/attack method domain (e.g., changing the attack weapon or attack path). Threat shifting is a natural consequence of a dynamic set of interactions between threat sources and types of organizational assets targeted. With more sophisticated threat sources, it also tends to default to the path of least resistance to exploit particular vulnerabilities, and the responses are not always predictable. In addition to the safeguards and/or countermeasures implemented and the impact of a successful exploit of an organizational vulnerability, another influence on threat shifting is the benefit to the attacker. That perceived benefit on the attacker side can also influence how much and when threat shifting occurs. Vulnerabilities and Predisposing Conditions A vulnerability is a weakness in an information system, system security procedures, internal controls, or implementation that could be exploited by a threat source. 25 Most information system vulnerabilities can be associated with security controls that either have not been applied (either intentionally or unintentionally), or have been applied, but retain some weakness. However, it is also important to allow for the possibility of emergent vulnerabilities that can arise naturally over time as organizational missions/business functions evolve, environments of operation change, new technologies proliferate, and new threats emerge. In the context of such change, existing security controls may become inadequate and may need to be reassessed for effectiveness. The tendency for security controls to potentially degrade in effectiveness over time reinforces the need to maintain risk assessments during the entire system development life cycle and also the importance of continuous monitoring programs to obtain ongoing situational awareness of the organizational security posture. Vulnerabilities are not identified only within information systems. Viewing information systems in a broader context, vulnerabilities can be found in organizational governance structures (e.g., the lack of effective risk management strategies and adequate risk framing, poor intra-agency communications, inconsistent decisions about relative priorities of missions/business functions, or misalignment of enterprise architecture to support mission/business activities). Vulnerabilities can also be found in external relationships (e.g., dependencies on particular energy sources, supply chains, information technologies, and telecommunications providers), mission/business processes (e.g., poorly defined processes or processes that are not risk-aware), and enterprise/information security architectures (e.g., poor architectural decisions resulting in lack of diversity or resiliency in organizational information systems). 26 25 The severity of a vulnerability is an assessment of the relative importance of mitigating/remediating the vulnerability. The severity can be determined by the extent of the potential adverse impact if such a vulnerability is exploited by a threat source. Thus, the severity of vulnerabilities, in general, is context-dependent. 26 NIST Special Publication 800-39 provides guidance on vulnerabilities at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy and the potential adverse impact that can occur if threats exploit such vulnerabilities. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 9 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In general, risks materialize as a result of a series of threat events, each of which takes advantage of one or more vulnerabilities. Organizations define threat scenarios to describe how the events caused by a threat source can contribute to or cause harm. Development of threat scenarios is analytically useful, since some vulnerabilities may not be exposed to exploitation unless and until other vulnerabilities have been exploited. Analysis that illuminates how a set of vulnerabilities, taken together, could be exploited by one or more threat events is therefore more useful than the analysis of individual vulnerabilities. In addition, a threat scenario tells a story, and hence is useful for risk communication as well as for analysis. In addition to vulnerabilities as described above, organizations also consider predisposing conditions. A predisposing condition is a condition that exists within an organization, a mission or business process, enterprise architecture, information system, or environment of operation, which affects (i.e., increases or decreases) the likelihood that threat events, once initiated, result in adverse impacts to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation. 27 Predisposing conditions include, for example, the location of a facility in a hurricane- or flood-prone region (increasing the likelihood of exposure to hurricanes or floods) or a stand-alone information system with no external network connectivity (decreasing the likelihood of exposure to a network-based cyber attack). Vulnerabilities resulting from predisposing conditions that cannot be easily corrected could include, for example, gaps in contingency plans, use of outdated technologies, or weaknesses/deficiencies in information system backup and failover mechanisms. In all cases, these types of vulnerabilities create a predisposition toward threat events having adverse impacts on organizations. Vulnerabilities (including those attributed to predisposing conditions) are part of the overall security posture of organizational information systems and environments of operation that can affect the likelihood of occurrence of a threat event. Likelihood The likelihood of occurrence is a weighted risk factor based on an analysis of the probability that a given threat is capable of exploiting a given vulnerability (or set of vulnerabilities). The likelihood risk factor combines an estimate of the likelihood that the threat event will be initiated with an estimate of the likelihood of impact (i.e., the likelihood that the threat event results in adverse impacts). For adversarial threats, an assessment of likelihood of occurrence is typically based on: (i) adversary intent; (ii) adversary capability; and (iii) adversary targeting. For other than adversarial threat events, the likelihood of occurrence is estimated using historical evidence, empirical data, or other factors. Note that the likelihood that a threat event will be initiated or will occur is assessed with respect to a specific time frame (e.g., the next six months, the next year, or the period until a specified milestone is reached). If a threat event is almost certain to be initiated or occur in the (specified or implicit) time frame, the risk assessment may take into consideration the estimated frequency of the event. The likelihood of threat occurrence can also be based on the state of the organization (including for example, its core mission/business processes, enterprise architecture, information security architecture, information systems, and environments in which those systems operate)—taking into consideration predisposing conditions and the presence and effectiveness of deployed security controls to protect against unauthorized/undesirable behavior, detect and limit damage, and/or maintain or restore mission/business capabilities. The likelihood of impact addresses the probability (or possibility) that the threat event will result in an adverse impact, regardless of the magnitude of harm that can be expected. 27 The concept of predisposing condition is also related to the term susceptibility or exposure. Organizations are not susceptible to risk (or exposed to risk) if a threat cannot exploit a vulnerability to cause adverse impact. For example, organizations that do not employ database management systems are not vulnerable to the threat of SQL injections and therefore, are not susceptible to such risk. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 10 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Organizations typically employ a three-step process to determine the overall likelihood of threat events. First, organizations assess the likelihood that threat events will be initiated (for adversarial threat events) or will occur (for non-adversarial threat events). Second, organizations assess the likelihood that the threat events once initiated or occurring, will result in adverse impacts or harm to organizational operations and assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation. Finally, organizations assess the overall likelihood as a combination of likelihood of initiation/occurrence and likelihood of resulting in adverse impact. Threat-vulnerability pairing (i.e., establishing a one-to-one relationship between threats and vulnerabilities) may be undesirable when assessing likelihood at the mission/business function level, and in many cases, can be problematic even at the information system level due to the potentially large number of threats and vulnerabilities. This approach typically drives the level of detail in identifying threat events and vulnerabilities, rather than allowing organizations to make effective use of threat information and/or to identify threats at a level of detail that is meaningful. Depending on the level of detail in threat specification, a given threat event could exploit multiple vulnerabilities. In assessing likelihoods, organizations examine vulnerabilities that threat events could exploit and also the mission/business function susceptibility to events for which no security controls or viable implementations of security controls exist (e.g., due to functional dependencies, particularly external dependencies). In certain situations, the most effective way to reduce mission/business risk attributable to information security risk is to redesign the mission/business processes so there are viable work-arounds when information systems are compromised. Using the concept of threat scenarios described above, may help organizations overcome some of the limitations of threat-vulnerability pairing. Impact The level of impact from a threat event is the magnitude of harm that can be expected to result from the consequences of unauthorized disclosure of information, unauthorized modification of information, unauthorized destruction of information, or loss of information or information system availability. Such harm can be experienced by a variety of organizational and nonorganizational stakeholders including, for example, heads of agencies, mission and business owners, information owners/stewards, mission/business process owners, information system owners, or individuals/groups in the public or private sectors relying on the organization—in essence, anyone with a vested interest in the organization’s operations, assets, or individuals, including other organizations in partnership with the organization, or the Nation. 28 Organizations make explicit: (i) the process used to conduct impact determinations; (ii) assumptions related to impact determinations; (iii) sources and methods for obtaining impact information; and (iv) the rationale for conclusions reached with regard to impact determinations. Organizations may explicitly define how established priorities and values guide the identification of high-value assets and the potential adverse impacts to organizational stakeholders. If such information is not defined, priorities and values related to identifying targets of threat sources and associated organizational impacts can typically be derived from strategic planning and policies. For example, security categorization levels indicate the organizational impacts of compromising different types of information. Privacy Impact Assessments and criticality levels (when defined as part of contingency planning or Mission/Business Impact Analysis) indicate the adverse impacts of destruction, corruption, or loss of accountability for information resources to organizations. 28 The term organizational assets can have a very wide scope of applicability to include, for example, high-impact programs, physical plant, mission-critical information systems, personnel, equipment, or a logically related group of systems. More broadly, organizational assets represent any resource or set of resources which the organization values, including intangible assets such as image or reputation. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 11 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Strategic plans and policies also assert or imply the relative priorities of immediate or near-term mission/business function accomplishment and long-term organizational viability (which can be undermined by the loss of reputation or by sanctions resulting from the compromise of sensitive information). Organizations can also consider the range of effects of threat events including the relative size of the set of resources affected, when making final impact determinations. Risk tolerance assumptions may state that threat events with an impact below a specific value do not warrant further analysis. Risk Figure 3 illustrates an example of a risk model including the key risk factors discussed above and the relationship among the factors. Each of the risk factors is used in the risk assessment process in Chapter Three. Threat Source initiates with with Likelihood of Characteristics Initiation (e.g., Capability, Intent, and Targeting for Adversarial Threats) Threat Event exploits with with Likelihood of Sequence of Success actions, activities, or scenarios Inputs from Risk Framing Step Vulnerability causing with Severity with Degree In the context of Predisposing Conditions with Pervasiveness (Risk Management Strategy or Approach) Influencing and Potentially Modifying Key Risk Factors Security Controls Planned / Implemented with Effectiveness Adverse Impact with Risk as a combination of Impact and Likelihood producing ORGANIZATIONAL RISK To organizational operations (mission, functions, image, reputation), organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, and the Nation. Risk Framing FIGURE 3: GENERIC RISK MODEL WITH KEY RISK FACTORS As noted above, risk is a function of the likelihood of a threat event’s occurrence and potential adverse impact should the event occur. This definition accommodates many types of adverse impacts at all tiers in the risk management hierarchy described in Special Publication 800-39 (e.g., damage to image or reputation of the organization or financial loss at Tier 1; inability to successfully execute a specific mission/business process at Tier 2; or the resources expended in responding to an information system incident at Tier 3). It also accommodates relationships among impacts (e.g., loss of current or future mission/business effectiveness due to the loss of data confidentiality; loss of confidence in critical information due to loss of data or system integrity; or unavailability or degradation of information or information systems). This broad definition also allows risk to be represented as a single value or as a vector (i.e., multiple values), in which different types of impacts are assessed separately. For purposes of risk communication, risk is generally grouped according to the types of adverse impacts (and possibly the time frames in which those impacts are likely to be experienced). CHAPTER 2 PAGE 12 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aggregation Organizations may use risk aggregation to roll up several discrete or lower-level risks into a more general or higher-level risk. Organizations may also use risk aggregation to efficiently manage the scope and scale of risk assessments involving multiple information systems and multiple mission/business processes with specified relationships and dependencies among those systems and processes. Risk aggregation, conducted primarily at Tiers 1 and 2 and occasionally at Tier 3, assesses the overall risk to organizational operations, assets, and individuals given the set of discrete risks. In general, for discrete risks (e.g., the risk associated with a single information system supporting a well-defined mission/business process), the worst-case impact establishes an upper bound for the overall risk to organizational operations, assets, and individuals. 29 One issue for risk aggregation is that this upper bound for risk may fail to apply. For example, it may be advantageous for organizations to assess risk at the organization level when multiple risks materialize concurrently or when the same risk materializes repeatedly over a period of time. In such situations, there is the possibility that the amount of overall risk incurred is beyond the risk capacity of the organization, and therefore the overall impact to organizational operations and assets (i.e., mission/business impact) goes beyond that which was originally assessed for each specific risk. When aggregating risk, organizations consider the relationship among various discrete risks. For example, there may be a cause and effect relationship in that if one risk materializes, another risk is more or less likely to materialize. If there is a direct or inverse relationship among discrete risks, then the risks can be coupled (in a qualitative sense) or correlated (in a quantitative sense) either in a positive or negative manner. Risk coupling or correlation (i.e., finding relationships among risks that increase or decrease the likelihood of any specific risk materializing) can be done at Tiers 1, 2, or 3. Uncertainty Uncertainty is inherent in the evaluation of risk, due to such considerations as: (i) limitations on the extent to which the future will resemble the past; (ii) imperfect or incomplete knowledge of the threat (e.g., characteristics of adversaries including tactics, techniques, and procedures); (iii) undiscovered vulnerabilities in technologies or products; and (iv) unrecognized dependencies, which can lead to unforeseen impacts. Uncertainty about the value of specific risk factors can also be due to the step in the RMF or phase in the system development life cycle at which a risk assessment is performed. For example, at early phases in the system development life cycle, the presence and effectiveness of security controls may be unknown, while at later phases in the life cycle, the cost of evaluating control effectiveness may outweigh the benefits in terms of more fully informed decision making. Finally, uncertainty can be due to incomplete knowledge of the risks associated with other information systems, mission/ business processes, services, common infrastructures, and/or organizations. The degree of uncertainty in risk assessment results, due to these different reasons, can be communicated in the form of the results (e.g., by expressing results qualitatively, by providing ranges of values rather than single values for identified risks, or by using a visual representations of fuzzy regions rather than points). 29 Security categorizations conducted in accordance with FIPS Publication 199 provide examples of worst-case impact analyses (using the high water mark concept). This type of impact analysis provides an upper bound for risk when applied to discrete situations within organizations. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 13 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.3.2 Assessment Approaches Risk, and its contributing factors, can be assessed in a variety of ways, including quantitatively, qualitatively, or semi-quantitatively. Each risk assessment approach considered by organizations has advantages and disadvantages. A preferred approach (or situation-specific set of approaches) can be selected based on organizational culture and, in particular, attitudes toward the concepts of uncertainty and risk communication. Quantitative assessments typically employ a set of methods, principles, or rules for assessing risk based on the use of numbers—where the meanings and proportionality of values are maintained inside and outside the context of the assessment. This type of assessment most effectively supports cost-benefit analyses of alternative risk responses or courses of action. However, the meaning of the quantitative results may not always be clear and may require interpretation and explanation—particularly to explain the assumptions and constraints on using the results. For example, organizations may typically ask if the numbers or results obtained in the risk assessments are reliable or if the differences in the obtained values are meaningful or insignificant. Additionally, the rigor of quantification is significantly lessened when subjective determinations are buried within the quantitative assessments, or when significant uncertainty surrounds the determination of values. The benefits of quantitative assessments (in terms of the rigor, repeatability, and reproducibility of assessment results) can, in some cases, be outweighed by the costs (in terms of the expert time and effort and the possible deployment and use of tools required to make such assessments). In contrast to quantitative assessments, qualitative assessments typically employ a set of methods, principles, or rules for assessing risk based on nonnumerical categories or levels (e.g., very low, low, moderate, high, very high). This type of assessment supports communicating risk results to decision makers. However, the range of values in qualitative assessments is comparatively small in most cases, making the relative prioritization or comparison within the set of reported risks difficult. Additionally, unless each value is very clearly defined or is characterized by meaningful examples, different experts relying on their individual experiences could produce significantly different assessment results. The repeatability and reproducibility of qualitative assessments are increased by the annotation of assessed values (e.g., this value is high because of the following reasons) and by the use of tables or other well-defined functions to combine qualitative values. Finally, semi-quantitative assessments typically employ a set of methods, principles, or rules for assessing risk that uses bins, scales, or representative numbers whose values and meanings are not maintained in other contexts. This type of assessment can provide the benefits of quantitative and qualitative assessments. The bins (e.g., 0-15, 16-35, 36-70, 71-85, 86-100) or scales (e.g., 1-10) translate easily into qualitative terms that support risk communications for decision makers (e.g., a score of 95 can be interpreted as very high), while also allowing relative comparisons between values in different bins or even within the same bin (e.g., the difference between risks scored 70 and 71 respectively is relatively insignificant, while the difference between risks scored 36 and 70 is relatively significant). The role of expert judgment in assigning values is more evident than in a purely quantitative approach. Moreover, if the scales or sets of bins provide sufficient granularity, relative prioritization among results is better supported than in a purely qualitative approach. As in a quantitative approach, rigor is significantly lessened when subjective determinations are buried within assessments, or when significant uncertainty surrounds a determination of value. As with the nonnumeric categories or levels used in a well-founded qualitative approach, each bin or range of values needs to be clearly defined and/or characterized by meaningful examples. Independent of the type of value scale selected, assessments make explicit the temporal element of risk factors. For example, organizations can associate a specific time period with assessments of likelihood of occurrence and assessments of impact severity. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 14 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.3.3 Analysis Approaches Analysis approaches differ with respect to the orientation or starting point of the risk assessment, level of detail in the assessment, and how risks due to similar threat scenarios are treated. An analysis approach can be: (i) threat-oriented; (ii) asset/impact-oriented; or (iii) vulnerabilityoriented. 30 A threat-oriented approach starts with the identification of threat sources and threat events, and focuses on the development of threat scenarios; vulnerabilities are identified in the context of threats, and for adversarial threats, impacts are identified based on adversary intent. An asset/impact-oriented approach starts with the identification of impacts or consequences of concern and critical assets, possibly using the results of a mission or business impact analyses 31 and identifying threat events that could lead to and/or threat sources that could seek those impacts or consequences. A vulnerability-oriented approach starts with a set of predisposing conditions or exploitable weaknesses/deficiencies in organizational information systems or the environments in which the systems operate, and identifies threat events that could exercise those vulnerabilities together with possible consequences of vulnerabilities being exercised. Each analysis approach takes into consideration the same risk factors, and thus entails the same set of risk assessment activities, albeit in different order. Differences in the starting point of the risk assessment can potentially bias the results, causing some risks not to be identified. Therefore, identification of risks from a second orientation (e.g., complementing a threat-oriented analysis approach with an asset/impact-oriented analysis approach) can improve the rigor and effectiveness of the analysis. In addition to the orientation of the analysis approach, organizations can apply more rigorous analysis techniques (e.g., graph-based analyses) to provide an effective way to account for the many-to-many relationships between: (i) threat sources and threat events (i.e., a single threat event can be caused by multiple threat sources and a single threat source can cause multiple threat events); (ii) threat events and vulnerabilities (i.e., a single threat event can exploit multiple vulnerabilities and a single vulnerability can be exploited by multiple threat events); and (iii) threat events and impacts/assets (i.e., a single threat event can affect multiple assets or have multiple impacts, and a single asset can be affected by multiple threat events). 32 Rigorous analysis approaches also provide a way to account for whether, in the time frame for which risks are assessed, a specific adverse impact could occur (or a specific asset could be harmed) at most once, or perhaps repeatedly, depending on the nature of the impacts and on how organizations (including mission/business processes or information systems) recover from such adverse impacts. 30 Organizations have great flexibility in choosing a particular analysis approach. The specific approach taken is driven by different organizational considerations (e.g., the quality and quantity of information available with respect to threats, vulnerabilities, and impacts/assets; the specific orientation carrying the highest priority for organizations; availability of analysis tools emphasizing certain orientations; or a combination of the above). 31 A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) identifies high-value assets and adverse impacts with respect to the loss of integrity or availability. DHS Federal Continuity Directive 2 provides guidance on BIAs at the organization and mission/business process levels of the risk management hierarchy, respectively. NIST Special Publication 800-34 provides guidance on BIAs at the information system level of the risk management hierarchy. 32 For example, graph-based analysis techniques (e.g., functional dependency network analysis, attack tree analysis for adversarial threats, fault tree analysis for other types of threats) provide ways to use specific threat events to generate threat scenarios. Graph-based analysis techniques can also provide ways to account for situations in which one event can change the likelihood of occurrence for another event. Attack and fault tree analyses, in particular, can generate multiple threat scenarios that are nearly alike, for purposes of determining the levels of risk. With automated modeling and simulation, large numbers of threat scenarios (e.g., attack/fault trees, traversals of functional dependency networks) can be generated. Thus, graph-based analysis techniques include ways to restrict the analysis to define a reasonable subset of all possible threat scenarios. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 15 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.3.4 Effects of Organizational Culture on Risk Assessments Organizations can differ in the risk models, assessment approaches, and analysis approaches that they prefer for a variety of reasons. For example, cultural issues 33 can predispose organizations to employ risk models that assume a constant value for one or more possible risk factors, so that some factors that are present in other organizations’ models are not represented. Culture can also predispose organizations to employ risk models that require detailed analyses using quantitative assessments (e.g., nuclear safety). Alternately, organizations may prefer qualitative or semiquantitative assessment approaches. In addition to differences among organizations, differences can also exist within organizations. For example, organizations can use coarse or high-level risk models early in the system development life cycle to select security controls, and subsequently, more detailed models to assess risk to given missions or business functions. Organizational risk frames 34 determine which risk models, assessment approaches, and analysis approaches to use under varying circumstances. THE USE OF RISK MODELS A single risk model (consisting of a fixed set of factors, a fixed assessment scale for each factor, and a fixed algorithm for combining factors) cannot meet the diverse needs of the organizations in the public and private sectors that rely on Special Publication 800-30. For example, while some organizations may emphasize adversarial threats and provide detailed information about such threats, other organizations may choose instead to focus on non-adversarial threats, providing greater detail for those types of threats and lesser detail for adversarial threats. Therefore, the risk models developed by organizations with different assumptions regarding threats will involve different factors as well as different levels of detail. Similarly, within a single organization or community of interest, different assessment scales may be appropriate for different missions/business functions, different categories of information systems, and/or for systems at different stages in the system development life cycle. For example, during an initial risk assessment performed when an information system is first being considered, the information available about threats and vulnerabilities may be nonspecific and highly uncertain. For such risk assessments, a qualitative assessment, using only a few factors, may be appropriate. By contrast, a risk assessment informed by a security controls assessment can be far more specific, and estimates can be made with greater fidelity. For such assessments, a semi-quantitative assessment using the 0-100 value scales may be more appropriate. The expectation set forth in Special Publications 800-39 and 800-30 is that each organization or community will define a risk model appropriate to its view of risk (i.e., formulas that reflect organizational or community views of which risk factors must be considered, which factors can be combined, which factors must be further decomposed, and how assessed values should be combined algorithmically). Special Publication 800-30 does identify risk factors that are common across a wide spectrum of risk models. In addition, by defining multiple aligned value scales, this publication provides a foundation for a consistent approach to estimating information security risk across the system development life cycle, without forcing assessments early in the life cycle to be more detailed than can be justified by available information. 33 NIST Special Publication 800-39 describes how organizational culture affects risk management. 34 NIST Special Publication 800-39 defines an organization’s risk frame as the set of assumptions, constraints, risk tolerances, priorities, and trade-offs that underpin the organization’s risk management strategy—establishing a solid foundation for managing risk and bounding its risk-based decisions. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 16 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.4 APPLICATION OF RISK ASSESSMENTS As stated previously, risk assessments can be conducted at all three tiers in the risk management hierarchy—organization level, mission/business process level, and information system level. Figure 4 illustrates the risk management hierarchy defined in NIST Special Publication 800-39, which provides multiple risk perspectives from the strategic level to the tactical level. Traditional risk assessments generally focus at the Tier 3 level (i.e., information system level) and as a result, tend to overlook other significant risk factors that may be more appropriately assessed at the Tier 1 or Tier 2 levels (e.g., exposure of a core mission/business function to an adversarial threat based on information system interconnections). STRATEGIC RISK - Traceability and Transparency of Risk-Based Decisions - Organization-Wide Risk Awareness TIER 1 ORGANIZATION - Inter-Tier and Intra-Tier Communications - Feedback Loop for Continuous Improvement TIER 2 MISSION / BUSINESS PROCESSES TIER 3 INFORMATION SYSTEMS TACTICAL RISK FIGURE 4: RISK MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY Risk assessments support risk response decisions at the different tiers of the risk management hierarchy. At Tier 1, risk assessments can affect, for example: (i) organization-wide information security programs, policies, procedures, and guidance; (ii) the types of appropriate risk responses (i.e., risk acceptance, avoidance, mitigation, sharing, or transfer); (iii) investment decisions for information technologies/systems; (iv) procurements; (v) minimum organization-wide security controls; (vi) conformance to enterprise/security architectures; and (vii) monitoring strategies and ongoing authorizations of information systems and common controls. At Tier 2, risk assessments can affect, for example: (i) enterprise architecture/security architecture design decisions; (ii) the selection of common controls; (iii) the selection of suppliers, services, and contractors to support organizational missions/business functions; (iv) the development of risk-aware mission/business processes; and (v) the interpretation of information security policies with respect to organizational information systems and environments in which those systems operate. Finally, at Tier 3, risk assessments can affect, for example: (i) design decisions (including the selection, tailoring, and supplementation of security controls and the selection of information technology products for organizational information systems); (ii) implementation decisions (including whether specific information technology products or product configurations meet security control requirements); and (iii) operational decisions (including the requisite level of monitoring activity, the frequency of ongoing information system authorizations, and system maintenance decisions). CHAPTER 2 PAGE 17 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Risk assessments can also inform other risk management activities across the three tiers that are not security-related. For example, at Tier 1, risk assessments can provide useful inputs to: (i) operational risk determinations (including business continuity for organizational missions and business functions); (ii) organizational risk determinations (including financial risk, compliance risk, regulatory risk, reputation risk, and cumulative acquisition risk across large-scale projects); and (iii) multiple-impact risk (including supply chain risk and risk involving partnerships). At Tier 2, risk assessments can provide the same useful inputs to operational, organizational, and multiple-impact risks, specific to mission/business processes. At Tier 3, risk assessments can inform assessments of cost, schedule, and performance risks associated with information systems, with information security experts coordinating with program managers, information system owners, and authorizing officials. This type of coordination is essential within organizations in order to eliminate silos and/or stove-piped activities that produce less than optimal or inefficient information technology and security solutions—thus affecting the ability of organizations to carry out assigned missions/business functions with maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It is important to note that information security risk contributes to non-security risks at each tier. Thus, the results of a risk assessment at a given tier serve as inputs to, and are aligned with, nonsecurity risk management activities at that tier. 35 In addition, the results of risk assessments at lower tiers serve as inputs to risk assessments at higher tiers. Risks can arise on different time scales (e.g., the disclosure of information about current organizational operations can compromise the effectiveness of those operations immediately, while the disclosure of strategic planning information can compromise future operational capabilities). Risk response decisions can also take effect in different time frames (e.g., changes in organizational policies or investment strategies can sometimes require years to take effect, while configuration changes in an individual system can often be implemented immediately). In general, the risk management process tends to move more slowly at Tiers 1 and 2 than at Tier 3. This is due to how organizations typically respond to risks that potentially affect widespread organizational operations and assets—where such risk responses may need to address systemic or institutional issues. However, some Tier 1 decisions (e.g., newly discovered threats or vulnerabilities requiring the implementation of an organization-wide mandate for mitigation) can involve immediate action. 2.4.1 Risk Assessments at the Organizational Tier At Tier 1, risk assessments support organizational strategies, policies, guidance, and processes for managing risk. Risk assessments conducted at Tier 1 focus on organizational operations, assets, and individuals—comprehensive assessments across mission/business lines. For example, Tier 1 risk assessments may address: (i) the specific types of threats directed at organizations that may be different from other organizations and how those threats affect policy decisions; (ii) systemic weaknesses or deficiencies discovered in multiple organizational information systems capable of being exploited by adversaries; (iii) the potential adverse impact on organizations from the loss or compromise of organizational information (either intentionally or unintentionally); and (iv) the use of new information and computing technologies such as mobile and cloud and the potential effect on the ability of organizations to successfully carry out their missions/business operations while using those technologies. Organization-wide assessments of risk can be based solely on the assumptions, constraints, risk tolerances, priorities, and trade-offs established in the risk framing step (i.e., derived primarily from Tier 1 activities). However, more realistic and meaningful risk assessments are based on assessments conducted across multiple mission/business lines (i.e., derived primarily from Tier 2 activities). The ability of organizations to effectively use Tier 2 risk 35 In particular, risk assessment results support investment risk management. NIST Special Publication 800-65 provides guidance on integrating information security into the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 18 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ assessments as inputs to Tier 1 risk assessments is shaped by such considerations as: (i) the similarity of organizational missions/business functions and mission/business processes; and (ii) the degree of autonomy that organizational entities or subcomponents have with respect to parent organizations. In decentralized organizations or organizations with varied missions/business functions and/or environments of operation, expert analysis may be needed to normalize the results from Tier 2 risk assessments. Finally, risk assessments at Tier 1 take into consideration the identification of mission-essential functions from Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) 36 prepared by organizations when determining the contribution of Tier 2 risks. Risk assessment results at Tier 1 are communicated to organizational entities at Tier 2 and Tier 3. 2.4.2 Risk Assessments at the Mission/Business Process Tier At Tier 2, risk assessments support the determination of mission/business process protection and resiliency requirements, and the allocation of those requirements to the enterprise architecture as part of mission/business segments (that support mission/business processes). This allocation is accomplished through an information security architecture embedded within the enterprise architecture. Tier 2 risk assessments also inform and guide decisions on whether, how, and when to use information systems for specific mission/business processes, in particular for alternative mission/business processing in the face of compromised information systems. Risk management and associated risk assessment activities at Tier 2 are closely aligned with the development of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs). Tier 2 risk assessments focus on mission/business segments, which typically include multiple information systems, with varying degrees of criticality and/or sensitivity with regard to core organizational missions/business functions. 37 Risk assessments at Tier 2 can also focus on information security architecture as a critical component of enterprise architecture to help organizations select common controls inherited by organizational information systems at Tier 3. Risk assessment results produced at Tier 2 are communicated to and shared with organizational entities at Tier 3 to help inform and guide the allocation of security controls to information systems and environments in which those systems operate. Tier 2 risk assessments also provide assessments of the security and risk posture of organizational mission/business processes, which inform assessments of organizational risks at Tier 1. Thus, risk assessment results at Tier 2 are routinely communicated to organizational entities at Tier 1 and Tier 3. 2.4.3 Risk Assessments at the Information System Tier The Tier 2 context and the system development life cycle determine the purpose and define the scope of risk assessment activities at Tier 3. While initial risk assessments (i.e., risk assessments performed for the first time, rather than updating prior risk assessments) can be performed at any phase in the system development life cycle, ideally these assessments should be performed in the Initiation phase.38 In the Initiation phase, risk assessments evaluate the anticipated vulnerabilities and predisposing conditions affecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information systems in the context of the planned environments of operation. Such assessments inform risk response, enabling information system owners/program managers, together with mission/business owners to make the final decisions about the security controls necessary based on the security categorization and the environment of operation. Risk assessments are also conducted at later phases in the system development life cycle, updating risk assessment results from earlier phases. These risk assessment results for as-built or as-deployed information systems typically include 36 NIST Special Publication 800-34 provides guidance on Information System Contingency Planning (ISCP). 37 The criticality of information systems to organizational missions/business functions may be identified in Business Impact Analyses. 38 NIST Special Publication 800-64 provides guidance for security considerations in the system development life cycle. CHAPTER 2 PAGE 19 Special Publication 800-30 Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments ________________________________________________________________________________________________ descriptions of vulnerabilities in the systems, an assessment of the risks associated with each vulnerability (thereby updating the assessment of vulnerability severity), and corrective actions that can be taken to mitigate the risks. The risk assessment results also include an assessment of the overall risk to the organization and the information contained in the information systems by operating the systems as evaluated. Risk assessment results at Tier 3 are communicated to organizational entities at Tier 1 and Tier 2. Risk assessment activities can be integrated with the steps in the Risk Management Framework (RMF), as defined in NIST Special Publication 800-37. The RMF, in its system development life cycle approach, operates primarily at Tier 3 with some application at Tiers 1 and 2, for example, in the selection of common controls. Risk assessments can be tailored to each step in the RMF as reflected in the purpose and scope of the assessments described in Section 3.1. Risk assessments can also help determine the type of security assessments conducted during various phases of the system development life cycle, the frequency of such assessments, the level of rigor applied during the assessments, the assessment methods used, and the types/number of objects assessed. The benefit of risk assessments conducted as part of the RMF can be realized from both initial assessments and from updated assessments, as described below. RMF Step 1 – Categorize Organizations can use initial risk assessments to make security categorization decisions consistent with the risk management strategy provided by the risk executive (function) and as a preparatory step to security control selection. Conducting initial risk assessments brings together the available information on threat sources, threat events, vulnerabilities, and predisposing conditions—thus enabling organizations to use such information to categorize information and information systems based on known and potential threats to and vulnerabilities in organizational information systems and environments in which those systems operate. 39 Security categorization decisions inform the selection of initial baseline security controls. Baseline security controls serve as the starting point for organizational tailoring and supplementation activities described in the RMF Select step. RMF Step 2 – Select Organizations can use risk assessments to inform and guide the selection of security controls for organizational information systems and environments of operation. After the initial security control baseline is selected based on the security categorization process, the risk assessment results help organizations: (i) apply appropri...
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Running Head: RISK AND VULNERABILITY IDENTIFICATION AT IBM

Risk and Vulnerability Identification at IBM

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RISK AND VULNERABILITY IDENTIFICATION AT IBM

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Organization Summary
Company Name: International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
Location: Armonk, New York United States of America
Date of Foundation: 1911
Founder: Charles Flint
IBM is an international company operating in more than 170 countries all over the world.
It started as a Computing-Tabulating and Recording Company only to be renamed IBM in
1924, founded by Charles Flint. It is a company that specializes in computer software,
hardware and middleware manufacturing. It also offers hosting and consultancy services in
various technological areas such as nanotechnology and mainframe computing technology
(Derr, 2016).
Management/Organizational Structure
IBM is a very big corporation and it has one of the most efficient and effective
organizational structures emulated by other minor companies globally. The Board of directors
has a membership of about ten to fourteen members. However, the range given by the
incorporation certificate dictates nine to twenty-five members. However, the company has
been managed efficiently by the smaller number due to faster and effective decision-making
strategies (IBM Corporation Software Group, 2014). The variance has also been affected by
the availability of suitable candidates for the positions. The tasks that the board has are to
ensure an annual self-evaluation of the company as well as her CEO.
When it comes to the audit committee, IBM has a number of them and they include the
Executive committee, the audit committee, corporate and governance committee and finally,
the compensation and resource management committee. All these are tasked at ensuring that
each and every department functions properly. Virginia Rometty is the CEO and Executive
committee chair for IBM. Other departments headed by various executives include; research,
human resource, marketing and communication, sales and distribution, global technology,
and software and systems departments (Derr, 2016).
Industry and Purpose
IBM operates in the various forms of technologies and they include the cloud computing,
information technology, and cognitive computing industry. She has had a number of
successes such as the invention of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), the magnetic stripe
card, floppy disk, SQL language of programming, UPC barcode, the dynamic RAM, and the
relational database among others. It is through her five segments in the industry, namely;
Global Technology Services, Global Financing, Systems hardware, software, and Global
business Services that she has been able to expand her industry all over the world
(Rasmussen & Iverson, 2005).
The purpose of IBM was to avail knowledge and protection for business processes in
various corporations. It had the aim of regulating and mitigating security breaches to
organizational data via identification of existing security gaps in businesses computerized
strictures. IBM has a Security Risk Assessment system that is used to identify the strengths
and weaknesses that businesses have, as they operate on an online platform (Umberger &
Gheorghe, 2011). It has also aimed at maximizing efficiency in business transactions and

RISK AND VULNERABILITY IDENTIFICATION AT IBM

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optimizing organizational value through better-computerized business operations. The
company's risk analysis, threat and vulnerability identification is one of the best in the world
(IBM Corporation Software Group, 2014).
Organizational Profile
The Global Technology services segment
The profile of the company is made up of five segments. The first one is the Global
Technology Services (GTS) which offers such services as cloud and technology support,
computer maintenance services, services for integrated technology, and strategic outsourcing.
These are IT-based services that help the IT infrastructures of various businesses. Clients are
also assisted in building their own clouds to help link private and public workloads (Derr,
2016). GTS has a support and maintenance system that ensures that a line of IT support
services are provided optimally to the customer while ensuring that solution support is ready
for the clients all the time (Rasmussen & Iverson, 2005).
Software management
The second profile for the company is the software segment which is comprised of
operating systems software and middleware. It is through middleware that the software
platform is created and linked to the operating systems of the IT devices that are used in
business. In both hybrid cloud and on-premises, the integration of processes, applications,
and unrelated systems is enabled via the use of middleware portfolio (Umberger & Gheorghe,
2011). The software segment has a number of subdivisions that enable the whole software
linkage and maintenance and development become a reality. These include the Watson
Internet of Things (IoT), Rational, Tivoli, WebSphere, Watson, Watson Health and
workforce solutions (IBM Corporation Software Group, 2014).
The Global Financing Segment
This is an empowering segment for both IBM and her clients. It is a section that has made
the company one of the greatest in terms of the client, remarketing, manufacturing and
commercial financing. Clients are offered leases and loans whereby they repay on installment
terms. The manufacturers and distributors of IBM's products are financed through IBM's
Commercial financing whereby short-term inventory and financing in terms of accounts
receivables is made. As a result, IBM has been one of the company's that support business
growth for clients by availing financial support and development strategies (Rasmussen &
Iverson, 2005).
Global Business services segment
Reverting to the Global Business Services (GBS), it is a segment in IBM's portfolio that is
tasked with the provision of application, process, system integration and management
services that ensures the efficiency in businesses. An integration of business services is
availed and they include the maintenance and support services for custom applications,
legacy applications and the software that are packaged. GBS is a segment that has enabled
IBM avail processing platforms and outsourcing for existing and new market venturing
businesses. This is a seg...


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