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THE 2

0 CRIT

ICAL C

ONTROLS

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A SECURIT

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ATEGY

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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

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MOST COMMON SECURITY MISTAKES MADE BY INDIVIDUALS (2001)

Poor password management

Leaving your computer on, unattended

Opening e-mail 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

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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.

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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

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VA TECH IT SECURITY STRATEGY

Based on ISO 27002, NIST 800-53 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.

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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

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WHY 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS?Subset of the Priority 1 items in NIST 800-53

Mapping of 27002->800-53->20 Critical Controls

http://www.systemexperts.com/assets/tutors/SystemExperts-SANS20-1.pdf

Technical controls only, not operational controls

Have to start somewhere

Focus is ASSURANCE not compliance!

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 1-3

1. 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

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 4-5

4. 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

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 6-10

6. 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.

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 11-13

11. 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:

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 14-15

14. 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.

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THE 20 CRITICAL CONTROLS: 16-20

16. 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)

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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.

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YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY

1. Inventory of authorized and unauthorized deviceObtain from your network management group

2. Inventory of authorized and unauthorized softwareObtain from software purchasing group

3. Secure configurations for hardware and software on laptops, workstations, and servers

Policy

4. Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and RemediationIT Security Office runs weekly scans against critical servers

5. Malware DefenseIT Security Office

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YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY

6. Application Software SecuritySecurity Questionnaires

7. Wireless Device ControlNetwork 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

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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 PrivilegesPolicy, Standards, Individual Departmental guidelines

13. Boundary DefensePolicy, Standards, define the boundary!

14. Maintenance, Monitoring and Analysis of Audit LogsStandard Sysadmin practice, SIEM, Syslog server

15. Controlled Access Based On Need to Know Business process rules, Identity Mgt process

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YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS ALREADY

16. Account Monitoring and ControlHR Policies/process, Identity Mgt process

17. Data Loss PreventionSensitive 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)

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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!

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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

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QUESTIONS?

Contact Information

Randy Marchany

University IT Security Officer

VA Tech IT Security Office & Lab

1300 Torgersen Hall

Blacksburg, VA 24061

540-231-9523 (office) 540-231-1688(lab)

marchany@vt.edu

Twitter: @randymarchany

Blog: randymarchany.blogspot.com

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