Cybercom is corporation that designs and manufactures proprietary communication devices. One of Cybercom’s most important contracts is with the United States Department of Defense (DoD), producing small communication devices that are small enough to fit in a soldier’s helmet, but powerful enough to reach communication satellites in orbit. The encryption and communication technologies used in the devices are highly classified and closely guarded. As part of Cybercom’s contract with the DoD, the company is required to conduct a formal security risk analysis of its internal network in order to identify security vulnerabilities and prevent network breaches.
Overview
Cybercom’s security risk assessment will be performed using the guidelines of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-30, Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments. The risk management process involves fours stages; framing risk, assessing risk, responding to risk, and monitoring risk (NIST, 2012, p.4). Framing risk concerns forming a strategy for the assessment, response, and monitoring of risk. During the assessment stage, determinations are made regarding what threats exist, what vulnerabilities could be exploited, what the potential for damage is, and what is the likelihood of each threat. In the response phase, multiple courses of action are evaluated for each threat, and a best practice is determined. The monitoring phase is the ongoing evaluation of practices over time for their effectiveness as threats change and practices are improved.
The risk assessment process also involves four stages, which are interdependent on the stages of the risk management process. The risk assessment process includes; preparing for the assessmen...
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...tware used was Encase, which according to Marie-Helen Maras, is widely used by law enforcement to locate hidden drive elements, calculate hash verification, and create a searchable index of emails and deleted files (p.192). Because of the nature of the investigation, there was no volatile data to be examined, which are the contents of RAM that are destroyed when the computer powers down. Among nonvolatile data, the hard drive, elements which were searched included user file metadata such as document author, dates for creation and alteration of documents, and the printing of documents. Timestamps were recorded as well as calendar entries, web browser bookmarks, password retrieval, encrypted files, deleted files, browser cookies, temporary files, spooler files, history files, and files that might have had their extension altered to hide the true contents of the file.
President Obama has realized the seriousness of the upcoming threats and turned the government focus more toward defending the information and communications infrastructure and In May 2009, he issued a request from top to bottom review of the current situation. The report titled the Cyberspace Policy Review includes strategy, policy, and standards regarding the security of and operations in cyberspace. According the white house’s cybersecurity foreign policy, the Cyberspace Policy Review highlighted two objectives and ten near-term actions to support the cybersecurity strategy.
Cyber security is the designing, creating, using, and repairing most technological and mechanical equipment. This includes programing and creating new technology before it is mass produced in order to insure safety and quality. It also cover the use of programs to protect and fix technological and mechanical equipment from malfunctions, viruses, and hackers. Lastly, cyber security includes the repairing and upkeep of most electronically designed systems. This job is important because most of today’s world is entirely made up of system that need to be protected, maintained, and constantly improved. This jobs needed in order to keep developed countries stable and able to keep developing,
This paper is being furnished to provide the CIO with a technology evaluation of vulnerability scanning. The information provided will ensure that the CIO has the required information to make the best decision in regards to this technology. This paper provides a brief understanding of vulnerability scanning, its many forms, the types of scanners available, the advantages and disadvantages, and the costs involved.
Some modern cybersecurity analysts disparage the Lockheed-Martin Cyber Attack Kill Chain model, claiming that it is intrusion-centric and does not account for many current and emerging threats including insider threats, social engineering, and remote access.2 Intrusions are now a much broader problem class than they were when the Lockheed-Martin paper was written. However, if hackers tend to use trend-focused approaches, then that functional gap closes considerably with an application of strategic-level counterterrorism techniques.
The threats to security from the United States Department of Defense, the national power grid and the Chamber of Commerce are very real and omnipresent. The Defense Department made an admission of the first major cyber attack upon its systems in August 2010. It was revealed that the attack actually took place in 2008 and was accomplished by placing a malicious code into the flash drive of a U.S. military laptop. “The code spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems, establishing what amounted to a digital breachhead.” (2) This quote, attributed to then Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, is just part of the shocking revelations that were disclosed in his speech made on July 14, 2011.
There are various reasons why risk assessments are put in place. Risk assessments can be used to assess the environments that we work in, the risks staff may be exposed to, the risks to the individual and the risks of the equipment that is in place. Once the risk assessment process has been completed it will help all concerned to thin about ant potential hazards there may be in the situation or activity and the ways risks to the individual others cane be minimized. Taking risks is part of being able to choose and be in control of your life. It is important that concerns about risks do not get in the way of people living their lives in the way they want to. We must ensure we make the individual aware of all risks for them to be able to make their
USCYBERCOM unifies the command of the cyberspace efforts and units of the United States military. The United States Department of Defense also has outlined the principles that form its cyber defense strategy, building and maintaining ready forces and capabilities to conduct cyberspace operations, defend the DoD information network, secure DoD data, and mitigate risks to DoD missions. Be prepared to defend the U.S. homeland and U.S. vital interests from disruptive or destructive cyberattacks of significant consequence. Build and maintain viable cyber options and plan to use those options to control conflict escalation and to shape the conflict environments at all stages. Build and maintain robust international alliances and partnerships to deter shared threats and increase international security and stability. The five pillars of cyber security, confidentiality, integrity, availability, non-repudiation, and authentication. Protecting information from disclosure to unauthorized individuals, systems or entities, Protect information, systems, and services from unauthorized modification or destruction, Timely, reliable access to data and information services by authorized users, the ability to correlate a recorded action with its originating individual or entity, and the ability to verify the identity of an individual or entity
National security in the United States is extremely important and requires extensive risk management measures including strategic, exercise, operational and capability-based planning, research, development, and making resource decisions in order to address real-world events, maintain safety, security and resilience (Department of Homeland Security [DHS], 2011). The national security and threat assessment process consists of identifying the risk and establishing an objective, analyzing the relative risks and environment, exploring alternatives and devising a plan of action for risk management, decision making and continued monitoring and surveillance (DHS, 2011). Identifying risks entails establishing a context to define the risk, considering related risks and varying scenarios, including the unlikely ones, which then leads to the analysis phase; gathering data and utilizing various methodologies and analysis data software systems to survey incidence rates, relative risks, prevalence rates, likelihood and probable outcomes (DHS, 2011). These two key phases lay the foundation to explore alternatives and devise action plans. Threats, vulnerabilities and consequences (TCV) are also a key component of many national security risk management assessments because it directly relates to safety and operation capabilities, but the text stress that it should not be included in the framework of every assessment because it is not always applicable (DHS, 2011).
Risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing, and either accepting or mitigating the uncertainties in decision making (Talbot & Jakeman, 2009). In matters of security, risk management involves risk identification, assessment and prioritization while allocating resources so as to monitor, minimize, and control occurrences of the unforeseen events. Avoidance of risk should not be confused with risk management as the two are different. Risk management is a responsibility of all the staff members as it forms day-to-day activities. It involves continuous monitoring on the changes of the environment and coming up with counter measures to protect the public from the impacts of any kind of events.
A major challenging impacting organizations, is having a comprehensive security plan that will safeguard the personal information of their clients and employees. While at the same time, it must be able to streamline the different administrative and technical functions. The result is that firms must develop and update their strategies to deal with the changing nature of the threats they are facing. This is because as technology improves, more are increasingly vulnerable to a host of ever changing tactics. The result is that the issue of cyber espionage is becoming a problem. It is utilized to: give competitors, criminal elements and governmental entities access to sensitive information. (Mackie, 2015)
The nation has become dependent on technology, furthermore, cyberspace. It’s encompassed in everything we deliver in our daily lives, our phones, internet, communication, purchases, entertainment, flying airplane, launching missiles, operating nuclear plants, and implicitly, our protection. The more ever-growing technology empower Americans, the more they become prey to cyber threats. The United States Executive Office of the President stated, “The President identified cybersecurity as one of the top priorities of his administration in doing so, directed a 60-day review to assess polices.” (United States Executive Office of the President, 2009, p.2). Furthermore, critical infrastructure, our network, and internet alike are identified as national assets upon which the administration will orchestrate integrated cybersecurity policies without infringing upon and protecting privacy. While protecting our infrastructure, personal privacy, and civil liberties, we have to keep in mind the private sector owns and operates the majority of our critical and digital infrastructure.
Olender, Michael. “Keeping Pace with Cyber Power, Defense, and Warfare.” Journal of International and Global Studies 6.2 (2015): 55+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
e risk management process typically includes five steps. These steps are 1) identifying all significant risks, 2) evaluating the potential frequency and severity of losses, 3)developing and selecting methods chosen, 5) monitoring the performance and suitability of the risk management methods and strategies on an ongoing basis.
Risk management is a process used in all industries to reduce the risk. The Risk management tool usage changes from sector to sector and hence each sector has developed their own risk management tools and methodologies to mitigate the risk. But the concept remains the same behind all the tools (Ropel, 2011). The main steps for risk management irrespective of the sector are:
The purpose of risk management is to protect an organization’s valuable assets information, hardware, and software. The purpose of risk management process is to identify and manage risks in such a way that a company is able to meet its strategic and financial targets. Risk management is a continuous process, by which the major risks are identified, listed and assessed, the key persons in charge of risk management are appointed and risks are prioritized according to an assessment scale in order to compare the effects and mutual significance of risks. It is very important that the organizations and business to be very well prepared to see what kind of risk we are facing, or the business can suffer in case of a major disaster.