Risk Management Framework

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RMF 7 step process Risk Management Framework RMF Rev. 2.png
RMF 7 step process

The Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a United States federal government guideline, standard, and process for managing risk to help secure information systems (computers and networks). The RMF was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and provides a structured process that integrates information security, privacy, and risk management activities into the system development life cycle. [1] [2] The RMF is an important aspect of a systems attainment of its Authority to Operate (ATO).

Contents

Overview

The primary document outlining the RMF is NIST Special Publication 800-37. [1] [3] The RMF steps link to several other NIST standards and guidelines, including NIST Special Publication 800-53.

The RMF process includes the following steps:

History

The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA 2002) was enacted to safeguard U.S. economic and national security through improved information security. [11]

Congress later passed the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA 2014) to enhance the original legislation by granting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) greater authority over federal information security and defining the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) duties in managing federal agency information security practices. [12]

FISMA mandates the protection of information and information systems against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability. [13] Title III of FISMA 2002 tasked NIST with developing information security and risk management standards, guidelines, and requirements. [6] [7] [8] [9]

The RMF, outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-37 and first published in February 2010, is designed to help organizations manage cybersecurity risks and comply with various U.S. laws and regulations, including the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, the Privacy Act of 1974, and Federal Information Processing Standards, among others. [1] In December 2019, revision 2 of the NIST Special Publication 800-37 was published, introducing a Prepare step to the overall process.

Risks

Throughout its lifecycle, an information system will face various types of risk that can impact its security posture. The RMF process aids in the early identification and resolution of these risks. Broadly, risks can be classified as infrastructure, project, application, information asset, business continuity, outsourcing, external, and strategic risks. Infrastructure risks pertain to the reliability of computers and networks, while project risks involve budgeting, timelines, and system quality. Application risks relate to system performance and capacity. Information asset risks concern the potential loss or unauthorized disclosure of data. Business continuity risks focus on maintaining system reliability and uptime. Outsourcing risks involve the impact of third-party service providers on the system. [14]

External risks are factors beyond the information system's control that can impact the system's security. Strategic risks are associated with the need for information system functions to align with the business strategy that the system supports. [15]

Revision 2 updates

The key objectives for the update to RMF Revision 2 included the following: [16]

Revision 2 also introduced a new "Prepare" step (step 0) to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the security and privacy risk management processes. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002</span> United States federal law

The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 is a United States federal law enacted in 2002 as Title III of the E-Government Act of 2002. The act recognized the importance of information security to the economic and national security interests of the United States. The act requires each federal agency to develop, document, and implement an agency-wide program to provide information security for the information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency, including those provided or managed by another agency, contractor, or other source.

Information security standards are techniques generally outlined in published materials that attempt to protect a user's or organization's cyber environment. This environment includes users themselves, networks, devices, all software, processes, information in storage or transit, applications, services, and systems that can be connected directly or indirectly to networks.

The National Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (NIACAP) formerly was the minimum-standard process for the certification and accreditation of computer and telecommunications systems that handle U.S. national-security information. NIACAP was derived from the Department of Defense Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP), and it played a key role in the National Information Assurance Partnership.

The DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP) is a deprecated United States Department of Defense (DoD) process meant to ensure companies and organizations applied risk management to information systems (IS). DIACAP defined a DoD-wide formal and standard set of activities, general tasks and a management structure process for the certification and accreditation (C&A) of a DoD IS which maintained the information assurance (IA) posture throughout the system's life cycle.

Security controls or security measures are safeguards or countermeasures to avoid, detect, counteract, or minimize security risks to physical property, information, computer systems, or other assets. In the field of information security, such controls protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.

The Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) is a method for using specific standards to enable automated vulnerability management, measurement, and policy compliance evaluation of systems deployed in an organization, including e.g., FISMA compliance. The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) is the U.S. government content repository for SCAP. An example of an implementation of SCAP is OpenSCAP. SCAP is a suite of tools that have been compiled to be compatible with various protocols for things like configuration management, compliance requirements, software flaws, or vulnerabilities patching. Accumulation of these standards provides a means for data to be communicated between humans and machines efficiently. The objective of the framework is to promote a communal approach to the implementation of automated security mechanisms that are not monopolized.

Information technology risk, IT risk, IT-related risk, or cyber risk is any risk relating to information technology. While information has long been appreciated as a valuable and important asset, the rise of the knowledge economy and the Digital Revolution has led to organizations becoming increasingly dependent on information, information processing and especially IT. Various events or incidents that compromise IT in some way can therefore cause adverse impacts on the organization's business processes or mission, ranging from inconsequential to catastrophic in scale.

FIPS 199 is a United States Federal Government standard that establishes security categories of information systems used by the Federal Government, one component of risk assessment. FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 are mandatory security standards as required by FISMA.

NIST Special Publication 800-53 is an information security standard that provides a catalog of privacy and security controls for information systems. Originally intended for U.S. federal agencies except those related to national security, since the 5th revision it is a standard for general usage. It is published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. NIST develops and issues standards, guidelines, and other publications to assist federal agencies in implementing the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) and to help with managing cost effective programs to protect their information and information systems.

The Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) is a service-oriented computer application that supports Information Assurance (IA) program management and automates the Risk Management Framework (RMF) process.

Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS) was developed by the US General Services Administration (GSA) to allow US Federal agencies to physically and logically connect to the public Internet and other external connections in compliance with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) Initiative.

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NIST Special Publication 800-37, "Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems" was developed by the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative Working Group. The first revision aimed to transform the traditional Certification and Accreditation (C&A) process into the Risk Management Framework (RMF), and the second version addressed privacy controls in a more central manner, and added a preparatory step.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IT risk management</span>

IT risk management is the application of risk management methods to information technology in order to manage IT risk. Various methodologies exist to manage IT risks, each involving specific processes and steps.

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is a US government organization that builds and publicly shares solutions to cybersecurity problems faced by U.S. businesses. The center, located in Rockville, Maryland, was established in 2012 through a partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the state of Maryland, and Montgomery County. The center is partnered with nearly 20 market-leading IT companies, which contribute hardware, software and expertise.

NIST Special Publication 800-92, "Guide to Computer Security Log Management", establishes guidelines and recommendations for securing and managing sensitive log data. The publication was prepared by Karen Kent and Murugiah Souppaya of the National Institute of Science and Technology and published under the SP 800-Series; a repository of best practices for the InfoSec community. Log management is essential to ensuring that computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a set of voluntary guidelines designed to help organizations assess and improve their ability to prevent, detect, and respond to cybersecurity risks. Developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the framework was initially published in 2014 for critical infrastructure sectors but has since been widely adopted across various industries, including government and private enterprises globally. The framework integrates existing standards, guidelines, and best practices to provide a structured approach to cybersecurity risk management.

This is a list of cybersecurity information technology. Cybersecurity is security as it is applied to information technology. This includes all technology that stores, manipulates, or moves data, such as computers, data networks, and all devices connected to or included in networks, such as routers and switches. All information technology devices and facilities need to be secured against intrusion, unauthorized use, and vandalism. Additionally, the users of information technology should be protected from theft of assets, extortion, identity theft, loss of privacy and confidentiality of personal information, malicious mischief, damage to equipment, business process compromise, and the general activity of cybercriminals. The public should be protected against acts of cyberterrorism, such as the compromise or loss of the electric power grid.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is an assessment framework and assessor certification program designed to increase the trust in measures of compliance to a variety of standards published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Cybersecurity engineering is a tech discipline focused on the protection of systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, cyberattacks, and other malicious activities. It applies engineering principles to the design, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of secure systems, ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Joint Task Force (December 2018), SP 800-37 Rev. 2 - Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-37r2
  2. 1 2 3 4 Joint Task Force (September 2020), SP 800-53 Rev. 5 - Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-53r5
  3. ↑ Joint Task Force (February 2010), SP 800-37 Rev. 1 - Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-37r1
  4. ↑ Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative (September 2012), SP 800-30 Rev. 1 - Guide for Conducting Risk Assessments, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-30r1
  5. 1 2 Dempsey, Kelley; Chawla, Nirali; Johnson, L.; Johnston, Ronald; Jones, Alicia; Orebaugh, Angela; Scholl, Matthew; Stine, Kevin (September 2011), SP 800-137 - Information Security Continuous Monitoring (ISCM) for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-137
  6. 1 2 Stine, Kevin; Kissel, Richard; Barker, William; Fahlsing, Jim; Gulick, Jessica (August 2008), SP 800-60 Vol. 1 Rev. 1 - Guide for Mapping Types of Information and Information Systems to Security Categories, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-60v1r1
  7. 1 2 Stine, Kevin; Kissel, Richard; Barker, William; Lee, Annabelle; Fahlsing, Jim (August 2008), SP 800-60 Vol. 2 Rev. 1 - Guide for Mapping Types of Information and Information Systems to Security Categories: Appendices, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-60v2r1
  8. 1 2 NIST (February 2004), FIPS 199 - Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, doi:10.6028/NIST.FIPS.199
  9. 1 2 NIST (March 2006), FIPS 200 - Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems, doi:10.6028/NIST.FIPS.200
  10. ↑ Joint Task Force (January 2022), SP 800-53A Rev. 5 - Assessing Security and Privacy Controls in Information Systems and Organizations, NIST, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-53Ar5
  11. ↑ Pub. L.   107–347 (text) (PDF)
  12. ↑ "Federal Information Security Modernization Act". CISA . Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Pub. L.   113–283 (text) (PDF)
  14. ↑ Samejima, M.; Yajima, H. (2012). IT risk management framework for business continuity by change analysis of information system. IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC). pp. 1670–1674. doi:10.1109/ICSMC.2012.6377977.
  15. ↑ Ji, Zhigang (2009). An empirical study on the risk framework based on the enterprise information system. 2009 International Conference on Future BioMedical Information Engineering (FBIE). pp. 187–190. doi:10.1109/FBIE.2009.5405879.
  16. 1 2 Computer Security Division, Information Technology Laboratory (2018-12-18). "RMF Update: NIST Publishes SP 800-37 Rev. 2 | CSRC". CSRC | NIST. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  17. ↑ Ross, Ron; McEvilley, Michael; Winstead, Mark (November 2022), SP 800-160 Vol. 1 Rev. 1 - Engineering Trustworthy Secure Systems, doi:10.6028/NIST.SP.800-160v1r1
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