Post No.1-
Enterprise-wide security
Enterprise Architecture programs allow enterprises to bridge
the gap between strategy and operation via the effective deployment of
technology. These technology components can be subject to threats that target
business and technology operating environments. Therefore it is absolutely
important to ensure that security & privacy controls are taken into
consideration in the design of all EA components in an integrated manner.
On the surface, many organizations seem to look security
conscious. An organization can be ISO 27k certified, with security policies and
procedures that are developed and published and an information security
management structure which directs, monitors and controls the implementation of
information security, but yet does not build security into their architectures.
Many organization have their security controls established only at the solution
deployment and technology level. Even
when regular risks assessments take place, most of the remediation actions are
not realized if it does not fall under the technology teams’ responsibilities.
Aligning Security Architecture and Enterprise Architecture,
or even better incorporating it within the different layers of the enterprise
information technology stack (Goals and objectives, Organizational structure
and Business processes, Data and Technology infrastructure and Systems and Applications)
provides a strategic insight into the security and privacy program. Thanks to the holistic approach of the Enterprise
Architecture, security and privacy solutions and processes will be well aligned
with business goals, architectural decisions and adopted technology standards
and capabilities; hence, making them more effective.
In order to develop the security architecture, all the
enterprise artifacts should be assessed for possible sources of threats and to
determine the proper level of protection needed. The architecture should
address the Information design and assurance issues which affects business
process. Authentication and access issues should as well be addressed. All
physical protection aspects should be considered in the architecture such as
server rooms, building security and telecommunications means. Moreover standard
operating procedures should be developed to describe the course of action
needed in the occurrence of any possible security incident. Another element of
the security architecture is Disaster recovery and continuity of operations.
The area of personnel security should be an integral part of the security
architecture: staff verification, awareness and procedure training should be
thoroughly covered.
For more information on the topic, visit: https://www.isss.ch/fileadmin/publ/agsa/Security_Architecture.pdf
You may also refer to chapter 11 of Scott A. Bernard book “An
Introduction to Enterprise Architecture: Third Edition”
Post No.2- Data
masking to protect sensitive data
Certain data require a
higher level of protection against unwarranted disclosure due to its
sensitivity. Access to sensitive data
should be safeguarded. Protection of sensitive data may be required for legal
or ethical reasons, for issues pertaining to personal privacy, or for
proprietary considerations.
The following data types
needs to be secured throughout all its forms whether structured or unstructured:
- Financial Data such as bank account information
- Medical Data
- Identity related data such as Driver’s License Numbers and Social Security Numbers that can be used to commit fraud and identity theft.
- Intellectual Property Data such as product development information
- Human Resources Data
- Communications Data such as email access data and telephone records
One of the risks of exposing
these sensitive data comes when production data is copied to development and
test environments to allow system administrators and developers to test upgrades,
patches and fixes which compromise critical and confidential information and
put it under the wrong hands.
Data masking is a method
that can be deployed to accommodate data privacy laws and control access to
sensitive information in a non-production environment. It involves creating a structurally similar but
inauthentic version of an organization's sensitive data before transporting it
to test or development environments. Data
masking is in general a trade-off between security and reproducibility.
Implementing Data Masking
requires enterprises to carry the following high level steps:
- Identifying and cataloging sensitive across the enterprise
- Identify the masking algorithms that represent the optimal techniques to replace the original sensitive data
- Conduct masking trials to verify the masking algorithm, this is usually carried by security architects and DBAs.
- Test that the application is performing successfully after the masking process has completed.
It is worth to note that
several Sophisticated Masking Techniques exist such as: Condition-based masking,
Compound masking and Deterministic masking.
Security architects and DBAs
are encouraged to use over-the-shelf masking packages that gives them the
flexibility to build their masking routines.
Here you can find an Oracle
White Paper on Data Masking best practices:
Post No.3- Forrester's
Zero Trust Model
As mentioned in a previous blog, data is now seen as a strategic asset that can be sold,
exchanged and even stolen by cybercriminals. Forrester has developed its Zero
Trust model to help security architects to promptly detect and respond to
security incidents related to data no matter where it resides in the digital
business ecosystem.
Enterprises are already
starting to embrace digital business practices in order to achieve the
differentiation factor. Internet-of-things (IoT) components, cloud computing
and mobile point of sale solutions are some the technologies exploited by
today’s business to satisfy and impress the customers. Security architects are
challenged to protect data in today's new Business Models using their
traditional security approaches, some of these challenges are:
- Cyber-criminals are no longer individuals who are targeting direct financial gains using traditional typical hacking techniques. They are now organization sponsored, well-funded, skilled and specialized resources who use sophisticated attacking techniques to sabotage enterprises, gain competitive advantage or steal data to monetize later
- Protection is no longer limited to the corporate network. Sensitive corporate data how travels to a wider ecosystem reaching partners and customers anywhere
- Breach detection technologies used by many of the enterprises, today lacks advanced intelligence and analytics to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate threats
Forrester's Zero Trust Model
of information security encourages security architects to eliminate the idea of
a trusted internal network and an untrusted external network and fully embrace
these concepts:
- Verify and secure all resources and data assets regardless of location
- Limit and strictly enforce access control across all user populations, devices/channels, and hosting models
- Log and inspect all traffic, both internal and external
- Never assumes trust; "trust" is continuously assessed though a risk-based analysis of all available information
- Marshal the functions of many security domains, such as network, identity, and application, in a unified approach to data protection
Applying Zero Trust concepts
will help enterprises to:
- Safeguard the enterprise intellectual property
- Turn data security and privacy into an opportunity to retain, reinforce customer trust
- Reduce the frequency of breaches and limit the erosion of customer confidence
- Shield the enterprise’s reputation
Adopting Forrester Zero
Trust model is a four steps process that summarized in the below figure.
For more information on this
model can be found here: https://www.forrester.com/report/Defend+Your+Digital+Business+From+Cyberattacks+Using+Forresters+Zero+Trust+Model/-/E-RES61555#
