Domain 9
Computer Operations Security

Domain 9 examines “Operator, Hardware, and Media Controls” used to protect these resources from their environment and intruders as well as from operators with access privileges to them. The information security professional should know what resources must be protected, the operator privileges that must be restricted, the control mechanisms that are available, and the potential for abuse of access.

Resource protection, privileged-entity control, and hardware control are critical aspects of operations controls that must be thoroughly understood by information security professionals. Chapter 9-1-1, “Operations Security and Controls,” provides a detailed description of these concepts.

Section 9-1
Operator, Hardware, and Media Controls

Chapter 9-1-1
Operations Security and Controls

Patricia A.P. Fisher

Operations security and controls safeguard information assets while the data is resident in the computer or otherwise directly associated with the computing environment. The controls address both software and hardware as well as such processes as change control and problem management. Physical controls are not included and may be required in addition to operations controls.

Operations security and controls can be considered the heart of information security because they control the way data is accessed and processed. No information security program is complete without a thoroughly considered set of controls designed to promote both adequate and reasonable levels of security. The operations controls should provide consistency across all applications and processes; however, the resulting program should be neither too excessive nor too repressive.

Resource protection, privileged-entity control, and hardware control are critical aspects of the operations controls. To understand this important security area, managers must first understand these three concepts. The following sections give a detailed description of them.

RESOURCE PROTECTION

Resource protection safeguards all of the organization’s computing resources from loss or compromise, including main storage, storage media (e.g., tape, disk, and optical devices), communications software and hardware, processing equipment, standalone computers, and printers. The method of protection used should not make working within the organization’s computing environment an onerous task, nor should it be so flexible that it cannot adequately control excesses. Ideally, it should obtain a balance between these extremes, as dictated by the organization’s specific needs.

This balance depends on two items. One is the value of the data, which may be stated in terms of intrinsic value or monetary value. Intrinsic value is determined by the data’s sensitivity — for example, health- and defense-related information have a high intrinsic value. The monetary value is the potential financial or physical losses that would occur should the data be violated.

The second item is the ongoing business need for the data, which is particularly relevant when continuous availability (i.e., round-the-clock processing) is required.

When a choice must be made between structuring communications to produce a user-friendly environment, in which it may be more difficult for the equipment to operate reliably, and ensuring that the equipment is better controlled but not as user friendly (emphasizing availability), control must take precedence. Ease of use serves no purpose if the more basic need for equipment availability is not considered.

Resource protection is designed to help reduce the possibility of damage that might result from unauthorized disclosure and alteration of data by limiting opportunities for misuse. Therefore, both the general user and the technician must meet the same basic standards against which all access to resources is applied.

A more recent aspect of the need for resource protection involves legal requirements to protect data. Laws surrounding the privacy and protection of data are rapidly becoming more restrictive. Increasingly, organizations that do not exercise due care in the handling and maintenance of data are likely to find themselves at risk of litigation. A consistent, well-understood user methodology for the protection of information resources is becoming more important to not only reduce information damage and limit opportunities for misuse but to reduce litigation risks.

Accountability

Access and use must be specific to an individual user at a particular moment in time; it must be possible to track access and use to that individual. Throughout the entire protection process, user access must be appropriately controlled and limited to prevent excess privileges and the opportunity for serious errors. Tracking must always be an important dimension of this control. At the conclusion of the entire cycle, violations occurring during access and data manipulation phases must be reported on a regular basis so that these security problems can be solved.

Activity must be tracked to specific individuals to determine accountability. Responsibility for all actions is an integral part of accountability; holding someone accountable without assigning responsibility is meaningless. Conversely, to assign responsibility without accountability makes it impossible to enforce responsibility. Therefore, any method for protecting resources requires both responsibility and accountability for all of the parties involved in developing, maintaining, and using processing resources.

An example of providing accountability and responsibility can be found in the way some organizations handle passwords. Users are taught that their passwords are to be stored in a secure location and not disclosed to anyone. In some organizations, first-time violators are reprimanded; if they continue to expose organizational information, however, penalties may be imposed, including dismissal.