THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: A SECURITY STRATEGY RANDY MARCHANY VA TECH IT SECURITY OFFICE 1 (C) MARCHANY 2011

WHO AM I? Been working in IT Security since 1992, working in IT for 38 years CISO at VA Tech 40K node network. dual stack IPV4, IPV6 network since 2006 Multi-national – Main campus (Blacksburg, VA), Remote campuses (Arlington, Norfolk, VA), Swiss, Indian, Egyptian campuses My IT Security Philosophy All Security is Local Empower the local IT staff The Business Process trumps the Security Process Learn the business process before imposing security requirements Restrictive security practices cause worse problems overall 2 (C) MARCHANY 2011

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MOST COMMON SECURITY MISTAKES MADE BY INDIVIDUALS (2001) Poor password management Leaving your computer on, unattended Opening attachments from strangers Not installing anti-virus software Laptops on the loose Blabber mounts Plug and Play without protection Not reporting security violations Always behind the times (OS, application patches) Keeping an eye out inside the organization 4 (C) MARCHANY 2011

WHAT I SAID: 1990’S – 2000’S “Viruses, trojans and worms will never be eliminated. There is a multi-billion $ industry built to contain them.” - RCM 2002 There’s no economic incentive to eliminate the root causes of cybersecurity issues. We have created a cyber-security industrial complex Eisenhower was right. 5 (C) MARCHANY 2011

VT CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY University has 3 main business processes  Academic, Administrative, Research Academic  Open access needed – THE ISP MODEL Administrative  Traditional corporate security model Research  Hybrid  Open access  Restricted research, e.g. ITAR 6

VA TECH IT SECURITY STRATEGY Based on ISO 27002, NIST Standards BYOD  All students required to purchase their own computers, bring their own smartphones. We’ve been doing this since 1984 Protect sensitive data regardless of location Business process defines and trumps the security process if there is a conflict IT and Business processes must adapt to new situation Don’t care what comes in the net. Worry about what leaves the net. (C) MARCHANY

IMPLEMENTING THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS STRATEGY Quick wins Focus on the most common and damaging threats Consistent implementation Metrics to justify acquisitions Interfere with Attackers getting in Attackers staying in Attackers causing damage Focus on what leaves the net rather than what comes in (C) MARCHANY

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WHY 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS? Subset of the Priority 1 items in NIST Mapping of > >20 Critical Controls Technical controls only, not operational controls Have to start somewhere Focus is ASSURANCE not compliance! (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Inventory of authorized and unauthorized devices Reduce the ability of attackers to find and exploit unauthorized and unprotected systems: Use active monitoring and configuration management to maintain an up-to-date inventory 2. Inventory of authorized and unauthorized software Identify vulnerable or malicious software to mitigate or root out attacks: Devise a list of authorized software for each type of system, and deploy tools to track software installed (including type, version, and patches) 3. Secure configurations for hardware and software on laptops, workstations, and servers Prevent attackers from exploiting services and settings that allow easy access through networks and browsers: Build a secure image that is used for all new systems deployed to the enterprise (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation Proactively identify and repair software vulnerabilities reported by security researchers or vendors: Regularly run automated vulnerability scanning tools against all systems and quickly remediate any vulnerabilities 5. Malware Defenses Block malicious code from tampering with system settings or contents, capturing sensitive data, or spreading (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Application Software Security Neutralize vulnerabilities in web-based and other application software: Vendor Application Security Questionnaire 7. Wireless Device Control Protect the security perimeter against unauthorized wireless access: Allow wireless devices to connect to the network only if it matches an authorized configuration and security profile and has a documented owner and defined business need. 8. Data Recovery Capability (validated manually) 9. Security Skills Assessment and Appropriate Training To Fill Gaps (validated manually) 10. Secure configurations for network devices such as firewalls, routers, and switches Preclude electronic holes from forming at connection points with the Internet, other organizations, and internal network segments: Compare firewall, router, and switch configurations against standards for each type of network device. (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Limitation and Control of Network Ports, Protocols, and Services Allow remote access only to legitimate users and services: Apply host-based firewalls and port-filtering and scanning tools to block traffic that is not explicitly allowed 12. Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges Protect and validate administrative accounts on desktops, laptops, and servers to prevent two common types of attack: 13. Boundary Defense Control the flow of traffic through network borders, and police content by looking for attacks and evidence of compromised machines: (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of Audit Logs Use detailed logs to identify and uncover the details of an attack, including the location, malicious software deployed, and activity on victim machines:. Store logs on dedicated servers, and run biweekly reports to identify and document anomalies. 15. Controlled Access Based On Need to Know Prevent attackers from gaining access to highly sensitive data: Carefully identify and separate critical data from information that is readily available to internal network users. Establish a multilevel data classification scheme based on the impact of any data exposure, and ensure that only authenticated users have access to nonpublic data and files. (C) MARCHANY

THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: Account Monitoring and Control Keep attackers from impersonating legitimate users: Review all system accounts and disable any that are not associated with a business process and owner. 17. Data Loss Prevention Stop unauthorized transfer of sensitive data through network attacks and physical theft: Scrutinize the movement of data across network boundaries, both electronically and physically, to minimize the exposure to attackers. 18. Incident Response Capability (validated manually) 19. Secure Network Engineering (validated manually) Keep poor network design from enabling attackers: Use a robust, secure network engineering process to prevent security controls from being circumvented. Allow rapid deployment of new access controls to quickly deflect attacks. 20. Penetration Tests and Red Team Exercises (validated manually) (C) MARCHANY

IMPLEMENTATION TIPS Secure upper management backing Do a 20 Critical Controls Gap Analysis Find out who at your organization has the information needed by a particular control Get access to the info Pick 2-4 controls at a time, Rinse, lather and repeat This is a 3-5 year project. (C) MARCHANY

YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY 1. Inventory of authorized and unauthorized device Obtain from your network management group 2. Inventory of authorized and unauthorized software Obtain from software purchasing group 3. Secure configurations for hardware and software on laptops, workstations, and servers Policy 4. Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation IT Security Office runs weekly scans against critical servers 5. Malware Defense IT Security Office (C) MARCHANY

YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY 6. Application Software Security Security Questionnaires 7. Wireless Device Control Network management group 8. Data Recovery Capability (validated manually) Network Backup service, departmental backup process 9. Security Skills Assessment & Appropriate Training To Fill Gaps (validate manually) Secure the Human 10. Secure configurations for network devices such as firewalls, routers, and switches Network Management Group (C) MARCHANY

YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY 11. Limitation and Control of Network Ports, Protocols, and Services Policy, Standards, Individual Departmental guidelines 12. Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges Policy, Standards, Individual Departmental guidelines 13. Boundary Defense Policy, Standards, define the boundary! 14. Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of Audit Logs Standard Sysadmin practice, SIEM, Syslog server 15. Controlled Access Based On Need to Know Business process rules, Identity Mgt process (C) MARCHANY

YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY 16. Account Monitoring and Control HR Policies/process, Identity Mgt process 17. Data Loss Prevention Sensitive Data protection policy/standards, network forensics 18. Incident Response Capability (validated manually) IT Security Office, Upper Mgt approval 19. Secure Network Engineering (validated manually) Network mgt group configuration rules 20. Penetration Tests and Red Team Exercises (validated manually) (C) MARCHANY

CONTROL ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM (ERD) #1

CONTROL ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM (ERD) #14

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THE CHALLENGES Getting upper management (Board, President, CIO, VP) support Getting the data Internal IT groups may not have the info in a format you want Internal IT groups may not want to give you the data Departmental groups may not want to give you the info Performing the Gap analysis Building the 20 Critical Implementation plan Just doing it! (C) MARCHANY

JUST DO IT You probably rolled your eyes when you read the controls We can’t do that! It’s too complicated Just do it We have not made significant strides in overall organizational IT security in the past 20 years Same vectors in the 1990s are causing problems in the 2010s It’s time to change the paradigm Just do it – a few steps at a time (C) MARCHANY

QUESTIONS? Contact Information Randy Marchany University IT Security Officer VA Tech IT Security Office & Lab 1300 Torgersen Hall Blacksburg, VA (office) (lab) Blog: randymarchany.blogspot.com (C) MARCHANY