This article may be confusing or unclear to readers.(January 2012) |
Security controls are safeguards or countermeasures to avoid, detect, counteract, or minimize security risks to physical property, information, computer systems, or other assets. [1] In the field of information security, such controls protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
Systems of controls can be referred to as frameworks or standards. Frameworks can enable an organization to manage security controls across different types of assets with consistency.
Security controls can be classified by various criteria. For example, controls are occasionally classified by when they act relative to a security breach:
Security controls can also be classified according to their characteristics, for example:
For more information on security controls in computing, see Defense in depth (computing) and Information security
Numerous information security standards promote good security practices and define frameworks or systems to structure the analysis and design for managing information security controls. Some of the most well known standards are outlined below.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 was released in October 2022. All organizations certified to ISO 27001:2013 are obliged to transition to the new version of the Standard within 3 years (by October 2025).
The 2022 version of the Standard specifies 93 controls in 4 groups:
It groups these controls into operational capabilities as follows:
The previous version of the Standard, ISO/IEC 27001, specified 114 controls in 14 groups:
The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) apply to all US government agencies. However, certain national security systems, under the purview of the Committee on National Security Systems, are managed outside these standards.
Federal information Processing Standard 200 (FIPS 200), "Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems," specifies the minimum security controls for federal information systems and the processes by which risk-based selection of security controls occurs. The catalog of minimum security controls is found in NIST Special Publication SP 800-53.
FIPS 200 identifies 17 broad control families:
National Institute of Standards and Technology
A maturity based framework divided into five functional areas and approximately 100 individual controls in its "core."
A database of nearly one thousand technical controls grouped into families and cross references.
A proprietary control set published by ISACA. [2]
Formerly known as the SANS Critical Security Controls now officially called the CIS Critical Security Controls (COS Controls). [3] The CIS Controls are divided into 18 controls.
The Controls are divided further into Implementation Groups (IGs) which are a recommended guidance to prioritize implementation of the CIS controls. [4]
In telecommunications, security controls are defined as security services as part of the OSI Reference model
These are technically aligned. [5] [6] This model is widely recognized. [7] [8]
The intersection of security risk and laws that set standards of care is where data liability are defined. A handful of databases are emerging to help risk managers research laws that define liability at the country, province/state, and local levels. In these control sets, compliance with relevant laws are the actual risk mitigators.
There are a wide range of frameworks and standards looking at internal business, and inter-business controls, including:
Information security, sometimes shortened to infosec, is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data or the unlawful use, disclosure, disruption, deletion, corruption, modification, inspection, recording, or devaluation of information. It also involves actions intended to reduce the adverse impacts of such incidents. Protected information may take any form, e.g., electronic or physical, tangible, or intangible. Information security's primary focus is the balanced protection of data confidentiality, integrity, and availability while maintaining a focus on efficient policy implementation, all without hampering organization productivity. This is largely achieved through a structured risk management process that involves:
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.
COBIT is a framework created by ISACA for information technology (IT) management and IT governance.
ISACA is an international professional association focused on IT governance. On its IRS filings, it is known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, although ISACA now goes by its acronym only. ISACA currently offers 8 certification programs, as well as other micro-certificates.
Information security standards or cyber security standards are techniques generally outlined in published materials that attempt to protect the cyber environment of a user or organization. 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.
A chief information security officer (CISO) is a senior-level executive within an organization responsible for establishing and maintaining the enterprise vision, strategy, and program to ensure information assets and technologies are adequately protected. The CISO directs staff in identifying, developing, implementing, and maintaining processes across the enterprise to reduce information and information technology (IT) risks. They respond to incidents, establish appropriate standards and controls, manage security technologies, and direct the establishment and implementation of policies and procedures. The CISO is also usually responsible for information-related compliance. The CISO is also responsible for protecting proprietary information and assets of the company, including the data of clients and consumers. CISO works with other executives to make sure the company is growing in a responsible and ethical manner.
Information security management (ISM) defines and manages controls that an organization needs to implement to ensure that it is sensibly protecting the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of assets from threats and vulnerabilities. The core of ISM includes information risk management, a process that involves the assessment of the risks an organization must deal with in the management and protection of assets, as well as the dissemination of the risks to all appropriate stakeholders. This requires proper asset identification and valuation steps, including evaluating the value of confidentiality, integrity, availability, and replacement of assets. As part of information security management, an organization may implement an information security management system and other best practices found in the ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, and ISO/IEC 27035 standards on information security.
ISO/IEC 27002 is an information security standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), titled Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Information security controls.
The ISO/IEC 27000-series comprises information security standards published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
MEHARI is a free, open-source information risk analysis assessment and risk management method, for the use of information security professionals.
ISO/IEC 27005 "Information technology — Security techniques — Information security risk management" is an international standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) providing good practice guidance on managing risks to information. It is a core part of the ISO/IEC 27000-series of standards, commonly known as ISO27k.
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.
NIST Special Publication 800-53 is an information security standard that provides a catalog of privacy and security controls for information systems. Originally indented 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.
Security information and event management (SIEM) is a field within the field of computer security, where software products and services combine security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM). SIEM is the core component of any typical Security Operations Center (SOC), which is the centralized response team addressing security issues within an organization.
The National Institute for Standards and Technology's (NIST) Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a United States federal government guideline, standard and process for risk management to help secure information systems developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Risk Management Framework (RMF), illustrated in the diagram to the right, provides a disciplined and structured process that integrates information security, privacy and risk management activities into the system development life cycle.
IT risk management is the application of risk management methods to information technology in order to manage IT risk, i.e.:
ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard to manage information security. The standard was originally published jointly by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 2005, revised in 2013, and again most recently in 2022. There are also numerous recognized national variants of the standard. It details requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS) – the aim of which is to help organizations make the information assets they hold more secure. Organizations that meet the standard's requirements can choose to be certified by an accredited certification body following successful completion of an audit. A SWOT analysis of the ISO/IEC 27001 certification process was conducted in 2020.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a set of guidelines for mitigating organizational cybersecurity risks, published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) based on existing standards, guidelines, and practices. The framework "provides a high level taxonomy of cybersecurity outcomes and a methodology to assess and manage those outcomes", in addition to guidance on the protection of privacy and civil liberties in a cybersecurity context. It has been translated to many languages, and is used by several governments and a wide range of businesses and organizations.
The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, formed in October 2000. Its mission statement professes that the function of CIS is to " help people, businesses, and governments protect themselves against pervasive cyber threats."
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.