Security Frameworks

Guidelines used for building plans to help mitigate risks and threats to data and privacy

Eg: Technically enhancing security life cycle

Purpose of Security Frameworks

Protecting PII(Personal Identifiable Information )
Securing financial information
Identifying security weakness
Managing organizational risks
Aligning security with business goals

Components of Security Frameworks

Identifying and documenting security goals
Setting guidelines to achieve security goals
Implementing strong security processes
Monitoring and communicating results

Security Controls

Are safeguards designed to reduce specific security risks

CIA Triad

Foundational model that helps inform how organizations consider risk when setting up systems and security policies

Confidentiality
only authorised users can access specific assets or data
Integrity
data is correct, authentic, and reliable
Availability
data is accessible to those who are authorised to access it

Asset

An item perceived to have value to an organization

NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)

A voluntary framework that consists of standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage cybersecurity risk

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a U.S.-based agency that develops multiple voluntary compliance frameworks that organizations worldwide can use to help manage risk. The more aligned an organization is with compliance, the lower the risk.

Examples of frameworks include the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF).

Note: Specifications and guidelines can change depending on the type of organization you work for.

In addition to the NIST CSF and NIST RMF, there are several other controls, frameworks, and compliance standards that are important for security professionals to be familiar with to help keep organizations and the people they serve safe.

**The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (FERC-NERC)**

FERC-NERC is a regulation that applies to organizations that work with electricity or that are involved with the U.S. and North American power grid. These types of organizations have an obligation to prepare for, mitigate, and report any potential security incident that can negatively affect the power grid. They are also legally required to adhere to the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards defined by the FERC.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP®)

FedRAMP is a U.S. federal government program that standardizes security assessment, authorization, monitoring, and handling of cloud services and product offerings. Its purpose is to provide consistency across the government sector and third-party cloud providers.

Center for Internet Security (CIS®)

CIS is a nonprofit with multiple areas of emphasis. It provides a set of controls that can be used to safeguard systems and networks against attacks. Its purpose is to help organizations establish a better plan of defense. CIS also provides actionable controls that security professionals may follow if a security incident occurs.

GDPR is a European Union (E.U.) general data regulation that protects the processing of E.U. residents’ data and their right to privacy in and out of E.U. territory. For example, if an organization is not being transparent about the data they are holding about an E.U. citizen and why they are holding that data, this is an infringement that can result in a fine to the organization. Additionally, if a breach occurs and an E.U. citizen’s data is compromised, they must be informed. The affected organization has 72 hours to notify the E.U. citizen about the breach.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

PCI DSS is an international security standard meant to ensure that organizations storing, accepting, processing, and transmitting credit card information do so in a secure environment. The objective of this compliance standard is to reduce credit card fraud.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA is a U.S. federal law established in 1996 to protect patients’ health information. This law prohibits patient information from being shared without their consent. It is governed by three rules:

Privacy
Security
Breach notification

Organizations that store patient data have a legal obligation to inform patients of a breach because if patients’ Protected Health Information (PHI) is exposed, it can lead to identity theft and insurance fraud. PHI relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual, whether it’s a plan of care or payments for care. Along with understanding HIPAA as a law, security professionals also need to be familiar with the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST®), which is a security framework and assurance program that helps institutions meet HIPAA compliance.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO was created to establish international standards related to technology, manufacturing, and management across borders. It helps organizations improve their processes and procedures for staff retention, planning, waste, and services.

System and Organizations Controls (SOC type 1, SOC type 2)

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants® (AICPA) auditing standards board developed this standard. The SOC1 and SOC2 are a series of reports that focus on an organization’s user access policies at different organizational levels such as:

Associate
Supervisor
Manager
Executive
Vendor
Others

They are used to assess an organization’s financial compliance and levels of risk. They also cover confidentiality, privacy, integrity, availability, security, and overall data safety. Control failures in these areas can lead to fraud.

Pro tip: There are a number of regulations that are frequently revised. You are encouraged to keep up-to-date with changes and explore more frameworks, controls, and compliance. Two suggestions to research: the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

United States Presidential Executive Order 14028

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden released an executive order related to improving the nation’s cybersecurity to remediate the increase in threat actor activity. Remediation efforts are directed toward federal agencies and third parties with ties to U.S. critical infrastructure. For additional information, review the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.

Ethical concepts that guide cybersecurity decisions

Previously, you were introduced to the concept of security ethics. Security ethics are guidelines for making appropriate decisions as a security professional. Being ethical requires that security professionals remain unbiased and maintain the security and confidentiality of private data. Having a strong sense of ethics can help you navigate your decisions as a cybersecurity professional so you’re able to mitigate threats posed by threat actors’ constantly evolving tactics and techniques. In this reading, you’ll learn about more ethical concepts that are essential to know so you can make appropriate decisions about how to legally and ethically respond to attacks in a way that protects organizations and people alike.

United States standpoint on counterattacks

In the U.S., deploying a counterattack on a threat actor is illegal because of laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, among others. You can only defend. The act of counterattacking in the U.S. is perceived as an act of vigilantism. A vigilante is a person who is not a member of law enforcement who decides to stop a crime on their own. And because threat actors are criminals, counterattacks can lead to further escalation of the attack, which can cause even more damage and harm. Lastly, if the threat actor in question is a state-sponsored hacktivist, a counterattack can lead to serious international implications. A hacktivist is a person who uses hacking to achieve a political goal. The political goal may be to promote social change or civil disobedience.

For these reasons, the only individuals in the U.S. who are allowed to counterattack are approved employees of the federal government or military personnel.

International standpoint on counterattacks

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), which updates its guidance regularly, states that a person or group can counterattack if:

The counterattack will only affect the party that attacked first.
The counterattack is a direct communication asking the initial attacker to stop.
The counterattack does not escalate the situation.
The counterattack effects can be reversed.

Organizations typically do not counterattack because the above scenarios and parameters are hard to measure. There is a lot of uncertainty dictating what is and is not lawful, and at times negative outcomes are very difficult to control. Counterattack actions generally lead to a worse outcome, especially when you are not an experienced professional in the field.

To learn more about specific scenarios and ethical concerns from an international perspective, review updates provided in the Tallinn Manual online.

Ethical principles and methodologies

Because counterattacks are generally disapproved of or illegal, the security realm has created frameworks and controls—such as the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) triad and others discussed earlier in the program—to address issues of confidentiality, privacy protections, and laws. To better understand the relationship between these issues and the ethical obligations of cybersecurity professionals, review the following key concepts as they relate to using ethics to protect organizations and the people they serve.

Confidentiality means that only authorized users can access specific assets or data. Confidentiality as it relates to professional ethics means that there needs to be a high level of respect for privacy to safeguard private assets and data.

Privacy protection means safeguarding personal information from unauthorized use. Personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII) are types of personal data that can cause people harm if they are stolen. PII data is any information used to infer an individual’s identity, like their name and phone number. SPII data is a specific type of PII that falls under stricter handling guidelines, including social security numbers and credit card numbers. To effectively safeguard PII and SPII data, security professionals hold an ethical obligation to secure private information, identify security vulnerabilities, manage organizational risks, and align security with business goals.

Laws are rules that are recognized by a community and enforced by a governing entity. As a security professional, you will have an ethical obligation to protect your organization, its internal infrastructure, and the people involved with the organization. To do this:

You must remain unbiased and conduct your work honestly, responsibly, and with the highest respect for the law.
Be transparent and just, and rely on evidence.
Ensure that you are consistently invested in the work you are doing, so you can appropriately and ethically address issues that arise.
Stay informed and strive to advance your skills, so you can contribute to the betterment of the cyber landscape.

As an example, consider the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is a U.S. federal law established to protect patients’ health information, also known as PHI, or protected health information. This law prohibits patient information from being shared without their consent. So, as a security professional, you might help ensure that the organization you work for adheres to both its legal and ethical obligation to inform patients of a breach if their health care data is exposed.

Glossary terms from module 3

Terms and definitions from Course 1, Module 3

Asset: An item perceived as having value to an organization

Availability: The idea that data is accessible to those who are authorized to access it

Compliance: The process of adhering to internal standards and external regulations

Confidentiality: The idea that only authorized users can access specific assets or data

Confidentiality, integrity, availability (CIA) triad: A model that helps inform how organizations consider risk when setting up systems and security policies

Hacktivist: A person who uses hacking to achieve a political goal

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): A U.S. federal law established to protect patients’ health information

Integrity: The idea that the data is correct, authentic, and reliable

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cyber Security Framework (CSF): A voluntary framework that consists of standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage cybersecurity risk

Privacy protection: The act of safeguarding personal information from unauthorized use

Protected health information (PHI): Information that relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual

Security architecture: A type of security design composed of multiple components, such as tools and processes, that are used to protect an organization from risks and external threats

Security controls: Safeguards designed to reduce specific security risks

Security ethics: Guidelines for making appropriate decisions as a security professional

Security frameworks: Guidelines used for building plans to help mitigate risk and threats to data and privacy

Security governance: Practices that help support, define, and direct security efforts of an organization

Sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII): A specific type of PII that falls under stricter handling guidelines