Chapter 1 - Security Governance Flashcards
(52 cards)
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are typically viewed as the primary goals and objectives of a security infrastructure. Which of the following is not considered a violation of confidentiality?
- Stealing passwords using a keystroke logging tool
- Eavesdropping on wireless network communications
- Hardware destruction caused by arson
- Social engineering that tricks a user into providing personal information to a false website
C. Hardware destruction
Hardware destruction is a violation of availability and possibly integrity. Violations of confidentiality include stealing passwords, eavesdropping, and social engineering
Security governance requires a clear understanding of the objectives of the organization as the core concepts of security. Which of the following contains the primary goals and objectives of security?
- A network’s border perimeter
- The CIA Triad
- AAA services
- Ensuring that subject activities are recorded
The CIA Triad
The other options are incorrect. A security infrastructure needs to establish a network’s border perimeter security, but that is not a primary goal or objective of security. AAA services are a common component of secured systems, which can provide support for accounting, but the primary goals of security remain the elements of the CIA Triad. Ensuring that subject activities are recorded is the purpose of auditing, but that is not a primary goal or objective of security.
Jamie recently discovered an attack taking place against his organization that prevented employees from accessing critical records. What element of the CIA Triad was violated?
- Identification
- Availability
- Encryption
- Layering
Availability
Availability means that authorized subjects are granted timely and uninterrupted access to objects. Identification is claiming an identity, the first step of AAA services. Encryption is protecting the confidentiality of data by converting plaintext into ciphertext. Layering is the use of multiple security mechanisms in series.
Optimally, security governance is performed by a board of directors, but smaller organizations may simply have the CEO or CISO perform the activities of security governance. Which of the following is true about security governance?
- Security governance ensures that the requested activity or access to an object is possible, given the rights and privileges assigned to the authenticated identity.
- Security governance is used for efficiency. Similar elements are put into groups, classes, or roles that are assigned security controls, restrictions, or permissions as a collective.
- Security governance is a documented set of best IT security practices that prescribes goals and requirements for security controls and encourages the mapping of IT security ideals to business objectives.
- Security governance seeks to compare the security processes and infrastructure used within the organization with knowledge and insight obtained from external sources.
D. Security governance seeks to compare the security processes and infrastructure used within the organization with knowledge and insight obtained from external sources. The other statements are not related to security governance.
You have been tasked with crafting a long-term security plan that is fairly stable. It needs to define the organization’s security purpose. It also needs to define the security function and align it with the goals, mission, and objectives of the organization. What are you being asked to create?
- Tactical plan
- Operational plan
- Strategic plan
- Rollback plan
C. A strategic plan is a long-term plan that is fairly stable. It defines the organization’s security purpose. It defines the security function and aligns it with the goals, mission, and objectives of the organization.
A midterm plan developed to provide more details on accomplishing the goals set forth in the strategic plan or can be crafted ad hoc based on unpredicted events.
- Tactical plan
- Operational plan
- Strategic plan
- Rollback plan
A. Tactical plan
A short-term, highly detailed plan based on strategic and tactical plans. Valid or useful only for a short time.
- Tactical plan
- Operational plan
- Strategic plan
- Rollback plan
B. Operational plan
Annaliese’s organization is undergoing a period of increased business activity where they are conducting a large number of mergers and acquisitions. She is concerned about the risks associated with those activities. Which of the following are examples of those risks? (Choose all that apply.)
- Inappropriate information disclosure
- Increased worker compliance
- Data loss
- Downtime
- Additional insight into the motivations of inside attackers
- Failure to achieve a sufficient return on investment (ROI)
A, C, D, F. Acquisitions and mergers place an organization at an increased level of risk. Such risks include inappropriate information disclosure, data loss, downtime, and failure to achieve a sufficient return on investment (ROI). Increased worker compliance is not a risk, but a desired security precaution against the risks of acquisitions. Additional insight into the motivations of inside attackers is not a risk, but a potential result of investigating breaches or incidents related to acquisitions.
Which security control framework is a set of security standards and requirements designed to ensure the protection of sensitive credit card and debit card information?
- ITIL
- ISO 27000
- PCI DSS
- CSF
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards and requirements designed to ensure the protection of sensitive credit card and debit card information. The other options are incorrect. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) was initially crafted by the British government for domestic use but is now an international standard, which is a set of recommended best practices for core IT security and operational processes, and is often used as a starting point for the crafting of a customized IT security solution. ISO 27000 is a family group of international security standards that can be the basis for implementing organizational security and related management practices. NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is designed for critical infrastructure and commercial organizations and consists of five functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. It is a prescription of operational activities that are to be performed on an ongoing basis for the support and improvement of security over time.
A security role is the part an individual plays in the overall scheme of security implementation and administration within an organization. What is the security role that has the functional responsibility for security, including writing the security policy and implementing it?
- Senior management
- Security professional
- Custodian
- Auditor
The security professional has the functional responsibility for security, including writing the security policy and implementing it. Senior management is ultimately responsible for the security maintained by an organization and should be most concerned about the protection of its assets. The custodian role is assigned to the person who is responsible for the tasks of implementing the prescribed protection defined by the security policy and senior management. An auditor is responsible for reviewing and verifying that the security policy is properly implemented and that the derived security solutions are adequate.
Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) is a documented set of best IT security practices crafted by ISACA. It prescribes goals and requirements for security controls and encourages the mapping of IT security ideals to business objectives. COBIT is based on six key principles for the governance and management of enterprise IT. Which of the following are among these key principles? (Choose all that apply.)
- Holistic Approach
- End-to-End Governance System
- Provide Stakeholder Value
- Maintaining Authenticity and Accountability
- Dynamic Governance System
A, B, C, E. The COBIT key principles are: Provide Stakeholder Value (C), Holistic Approach (A), Dynamic Governance System (E), Governance Distinct from Management (not listed), Tailored to Enterprise Needs (not listed), and End-to-End Governance System (B). The concept of maintaining authenticity and accountability are good security ideas, but not a COBIT key principle.
In today’s business environment, prudence is mandatory. Showing due diligence and due care is the only way to disprove negligence in an occurrence of loss. Which of the following are true statements? (Choose all that apply.)
- Due diligence is establishing a plan, policy, and process to protect the interests of an organization.
- Due care is developing a formalized security structure containing a security policy, standards, baselines, guidelines, and procedures.
- Due diligence is the continued application of a security structure onto the IT infrastructure of an organization.
- Due care is practicing the individual activities that maintain the security effort.
- Due care is knowing what should be done and planning for it.
- Due diligence is doing the right action at the right time.
A, D. Due diligence is establishing a plan, policy, and process to protect the interests of an organization. Due care is practicing the individual activities that maintain the security effort. The other options are incorrect; they have the terms inverted. The corrected statements are as follows: Due diligence is developing a formalized security structure containing a security policy, standards, baselines, guidelines, and procedures. Due care is the continued application of a security structure onto the IT infrastructure of an organization. Due diligence is knowing what should be done and planning for it. Due care is doing the right action at the right time.
STRIDE is often used in relation to assessing threats against applications or operating systems. When confidential documents are exposed to unauthorized entities, which element of STRIDE is used to reference that violation?
S
T
R
I
D
E
I
When confidential documents are exposed to unauthorized entities, this is described by the I in STRIDE, which represents information disclosure. The elements of STRIDE are spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, and elevation of privilege.
Security documentation is an essential element of a successful security program. Understanding the components is an early step in crafting the security documentation. Match the following components to their respective definitions.
- Policy
- Standard
- Procedure
- Guideline
I. A detailed, step-by-step how-to document that describes the exact actions necessary to implement a specific security mechanism, control, or solution.
II. A document that defines the scope of security needed by the organization and discusses the assets that require protection and the extent to which security solutions should go to provide the necessary protection.
III. A minimum level of security that every system throughout the organization must meet.
Offers recommendations on how security requirements are implemented and serves as an operational guide for both security professionals and users.
IV. Defines compulsory requirements for the homogenous use of hardware, software, technology, and security controls.
- 1 – I; 2 – IV; 3 – II; 4 – V
- 1 – II; 2 – V; 3 – I; 4 – IV
- 1 – IV; 2 – II; 3 – V; 4 – I
- 1 – V; 2 – I; 3 – IV; 4 – III
B.
- A policy is a document that defines the scope of security needed by the organization and discusses the assets that require protection and the extent to which security solutions should go to provide the necessary protection.
- A standard defines compulsory requirements for the homogenous use of hardware, software, technology, and security controls.
- A procedure is a detailed, step-by-step how-to document that describes the exact actions necessary to implement a specific security mechanism, control, or solution.
- A guideline offers recommendations on how security requirements are implemented and serves as an operational guide for both security professionals and users. III is the definition of a baseline, which was not included as a component option.
A document that defines the scope of security needed by the organization and discusses the assets that require protection and the extent to which security solutions should go to provide the necessary protection.
- Policy
- Standard
- Procedure
- Guideline
Policy
Defines compulsory requirements for the homogenous use of hardware, software, technology, and security controls.
- Policy
- Standard
- Procedure
- Guideline
Standard
A detailed, step-by-step how-to document that describes the exact actions necessary to implement a specific security mechanism, control, or solution.
- Policy
- Standard
- Procedure
- Guideline
Procedure
Offers recommendations on how security requirements are implemented and serves as an operational guide for both security professionals and users. III is the definition of a baseline, which was not included as a component option.
- Policy
- Standard
- Procedure
- Guideline
Guideline
A development team is working on a new project. During the early stages of systems development, the team considers the vulnerabilities, threats, and risks of their solution and integrates protections against unwanted outcomes. What concept of threat modeling is this?
- Threat hunting
- Proactive approach
- Qualitative approach
- Adversarial approach
B. Proactive approach
This scenario describes a proactive approach to threat modeling, which is also known as the defensive approach. A reactive approach or adversarial approach to threat modeling takes place after a product has been created and deployed. There is no threat modeling concept known as the qualitative approach. Qualitative is typically associated with a form of risk assessment
Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is a means to ensure that all the vendors or links in the supply chain are reliable, trustworthy, reputable organizations. Which of the following are true statements? (Choose all that apply.)
Each link in the supply chain should be responsible and accountable to the next link in the chain.
Commodity vendors are unlikely to have mined their own metals, processed the oil for plastics, or etched the silicon of their chips.
If the final product derived from a supply chain meets expectations and functional requirements, it is assured to not have unauthorized elements.
Failing to properly secure a supply chain can result in flawed or less reliable products, or even embedded listening or remote control mechanisms.
A, B, D. These statements are true: (A) Each link in the supply chain should be responsible and accountable to the next link in the chain; (B) Commodity vendors are unlikely to have mined their own metals, processed the oil for plastics, or etched the silicon of their chips; and (D) Failing to properly secure a supply chain can result in flawed or less reliable products, or even embedded listing or remote control mechanisms. The remaining option is incorrect. Even if a final product seems reasonable and performs all necessary functions, that does not provide assurance that it is secure or that it was not tampered with somewhere in the supply chain.
SCRM
Supply chain risk management
Your organization has become concerned with risks associated with the supply chain of their retail products. Fortunately, all coding for their custom product is done in-house. However, a thorough audit of a recently completed product revealed that a listening mechanism was integrated into the solution somewhere along the supply chain. The identified risk is associated with what product component in this scenario?
- Software
- Services
- Data
- Hardware
D. Though not explicitly stating hardware, this scenario describes a typical and potential risk of a supply chain, that a hardware risk results in the presence of a listening mechanism in the final product. This scenario does not provide information that would indicate that the supply chain risk is focused on software, services, or data.
Cathy’s employer has asked her to perform a documentation review of the policies and procedures of a third-party supplier. This supplier is just the final link in a software supply chain. Their components are being used as a key element of an online service operated for high-end customers. Cathy discovers several serious issues with the vendor, such as failing to require encryption for all communications and not requiring multifactor authentication on management interfaces. What should Cathy do in response to this finding?
Write up a report and submit it to the CIO.
Void the ATO of the vendor.
Require that the vendor review their terms and conditions.
Have the vendor sign an NDA.
B. In this scenario, Cathy should void the authorization to operate (ATO) of this vendor. This situation describes the fact that the vendor is not meeting minimal security requirements, which are necessary for the protection of the service and its customers. Writing a report is not a sufficient response to this discovery. You may have assumed Cathy does or does not have the authority to perform any of the other options, but there is no indication of Cathy’s position in the organization. It is reasonable for a CEO to ask the CISO to perform such an evaluation. Regardless, the report should be submitted to the CISO, not the CIO, whose focus is primarily on ensuring that information is used effectively to accomplish business objectives, not that such use is secure. Reviewing terms and conditions will not make any difference in this scenario, as those typically apply to customers, not internal operations. Reviewing does not necessarily cause a change or improvement to insecure practices. A vendor-signed NDA has no bearing on this scenario.
Whenever your organization works with a third party, its supply chain risk management (SCRM) processes should be applied. One of the common requirements is the establishment of minimum security requirements for the third party. What should these requirements be based on?
Existing security policy
Third-party audit
On-site assessment
Vulnerability scan results
A. Minimum security requirements should be modeled on your existing security policy. This is based on the idea that when working with a third party, that third party should have at least the same security as your organization. A third-party audit is when a third-party auditor is brought in to perform an unbiased review of an entity’s security infrastructure. This audit may reveal where there are problems, but the audit should not be the basis of minimum security requirements for a third party. On-site assessment is when you visit the site of the organization to interview personnel and observe their operating habits. This is not the basis for establishing minimum security requirements for a third party. Vulnerability scan results, like third-party audits, may reveal concerns, but it is not the basis for establishing minimum security requirements for a third party.
