ISO-27001 and ISO-27002

ISO27001 and 27002 Removing the Smoke & Mirrors By : Ken Anderson

1. History of ISO and Timeline
2. Overview of ISO 27000
3. Threats and Impacts ISO addresses
4. Objectives and benefits for measuring security
5. Best Practices

HISTORY OF ISO - TIMELINE

·         1992
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which is part of the UK Government, publish a 'Code of Practice for Information Security Management'.

·         1995
This document is amended and re-published by the British Standards Institute (BSI) in 1995 as BS7799.

·         1996
Support and compliance tools begin to emerge, such as COBRA.
David Lilburn Watson becomes the first qualified certified BS7799 c:cure Auditor

·         1999
The first major revision of BS7799 was published. This included many major enhancements.
Accreditation and certification schemes are launched. LRQA and BSI are the first certification bodies.

·         History of ISO – The Timeline

·         2000
In December, BS7799 is again re-published, this time as a fast tracked ISO standard. It becomes ISO 17799 (or more formally, ISO/IEC 17799).

·         2001
The 'ISO 17799 Toolkit' is launched.

·         2002
A second part to the standard is published: BS7799-2. This is an Information Security Management Specification, rather than a code of practice. It begins the process of alignment with other management standards such as ISO 9000.

·         2005
A new version of ISO 17799 is published. This includes two new sections, and closer alignment with BS7799-2 processes..

·         2005
ISO 27001 is published, replacing BS7799-2, which is withdrawn. This is a specification for an ISMS (information security management system), which aligns with ISO 17799 and is compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001

Where did 17799 come from?

•          BS7799 was conceived, as a technology-neutral, vendor-neutral management system that, properly implemented, would enable an organization's management to assure itself that its information security measures and arrangements were effective.

•          From the outset, BS7799 focused on protecting the availability, confidentiality and integrity of organizational information and these remain, today, the driving objectives of the standard.

•          BS7799 was originally just a single standard, and had the status of a “Code of Practice”. In other words, it provided guidance for organizations, but hadn't been written as a specification that could form the basis of an external third party verification and certification scheme. 

OVERVIEW – ISO 27000 (BASE STANDARD)

Published standards

·         ISO/IEC 27001 - the certification standard against which organizations' ISMS may be certified (published in 2005)

·         ISO/IEC 27002 - the re-naming of existing standard ISO 17799 (last revised in 2005, and renumbered ISO/IEC 27002:2005 in July 2007)

·         ISO/IEC 27006 - a guide to the certification/registration process (published in 2007)

In preparation

·         ISO/IEC 27000 - a standard vocabulary for the ISMS standards

·         ISO/IEC 27003 - a new ISMS implementation guide

·         ISO/IEC 27004 - a new standard for information security management measurements

·         ISO/IEC 27005 - a proposed standard for risk management

·         ISO/IEC 27007 - a guideline for auditing information security management systems

·         ISO/IEC 27011 - a guideline for telecommunications in information security management system

·         ISO/IEC 27799 - guidance on implementing ISO/IEC 27002 in the healthcare industry

·         ISO/IEC 27001

·         ISO/IEC 27001 certification usually involves a three-stage audit process:

Stage 1 is a "table top" review of the existence and completeness of key documentation such as the organization's security policy, Statement of Applicability (SoA) and Risk Treatment Plan (RTP).

Stage 2 is a detailed, in-depth audit involving testing the existence and effectiveness of the information security controls stated in the SoA and RTP, as well as their supporting documentation.

Stage 3 is a follow-up reassessment audit to confirm that a previously-certified organization remains in compliance with the standard. Certification maintenance involves periodic reviews and re-assessments to confirm that the ISMS continues to operate as specified and intended.

ISO/IEC 27002

ISO/IEC 27002 provides best practice recommendations on IS security management systems (ISMS).

The standard contains the following twelve main sections:

1.             Risk Assessment – determining asset vulnerability

2.             Security Policy - management direction

3.             Organization of Information Security - governance of information security

4.             Asset Management - inventory and classification of information assets

5.             Human Resources Security - security aspects for employees joining, moving and leaving an organization

6.             Physical and Environmental Security - protection of the computer facilities

7.             Communications and Operations Management - management of technical security controls

8.             Access Control - restriction of access rights to networks, systems, applications, functions and data

9.             Information Systems Acquisition, development and maintenance - building security into applications

10.         Information Security Incident Management - anticipating and responding appropriately to security breaches

11.         Business Continuity Management - protecting, maintaining and recovering business-critical processes and systems

12.         Compliance - ensuring conformance with information security policies, standards, laws and regulations

ISO/IEC 27002

Within each section, information security controls and their objectives are specified and outlined. 

Specific controls are not mandated since:

•          Each organization is expected to undertake a structured information security risk assessment process to determine its specific requirements before selecting controls that are appropriate to its particular circumstances.

•          It is practically impossible to list all conceivable controls in a general purpose standard. Industry-specific implementation guidance for ISO/IEC 27001 and 27002 are anticipated to give advice tailored to organizations in the telecomms, financial services, healthcare, lotteries and other industries.

ISO 27002 Summary

Information security threats of 2008

CISSP / ISO27k implementers forum identifies the following threats: 

•          Imposition of legal and regulatory obligations.  

•          Cyber-criminals 

•          Malware, Trojans

•          Phishers

•          Spammers

•          Negligent staff

•          Storms, tornados, floods - Acts of God

•          Hackers

•          Unethical Employees who misuse/misconfigure system security functions

•          Unauthorized access, modification, disclosure of, information assets

•          Nations attacking critical information infrastructures to cause disruption.  

•          Technical advances that can render encryption algorithms obsolete

Information security impacts

Resulting information security incidents can cause: 

•          Disruption to organizational routines and processes

•          Direct financial losses through information theft and fraud

•          Decrease in shareholder value

•          Loss of privacy

•          Reputational damage causing brand devaluation

•          Loss of confidence in IT

•          Expenditure on information security assest and data damaged, stolen, corrupted or lost in incidents  

•          Loss of competitive advantage

•          Reduced profitability

•          Impaired growth due to inflexible infrastructure/system/application environments  

•          Injury or loss of life if safety-critical systems fail

Objectives of measuring security

So what are the objectives of measuring security?

•          To show ongoing improvement; 

•          To show compliance (with Standards, contracts, SLAs, OLAs, etc); 

•          To justify any future expenditure (new security software, training, people, etc); 

•          ISO 27001 certification requires it. Other Management Systems also require it – ISO 9001, ISO 20000; 

•          To identify where implemented controls are not effective in meeting their objectives; 

•          To provide confidence to senior management and stakeholders that implemented controls are effective.

Benefits of measuring security

So what are the benefits of measuring security?

•          Actually eases process of monitoring the effectiveness of the ISMS (e.g. less labor intensive, for example, if using tools, and provides a means of self checking); 

•          Proactive tools to measure / prevent problems arising at a later date (e.g. network bottlenecks, disk clutter, development of poor human practices);  

•          Reduction of incidents, etc; 

•          Motivates staff when senior management set targets; 

•          Tangible evidence to auditors, and assurance to senior management that you are in control – i.e. Corporate Information Assurance (Corporate Governance), and top down approach to Information Assurance.

What should be measured

They have been broken down into the following categories:

1. Management Controls:  Security Policy, IT Policies, Security Procedures, Business Continuity Plans, Security Improvement Plans, Business Objectives, Management Reviews
2. Business Processes:  Risk Assessment & Risk Treatment Management Process, Human Resource Process, SOA selection process, Media Handling Process   
3. Operational Controls:  Operational Procedures, Change Control, Problem Management, Capacity Management, Release Management, Back up, Secure Disposal, Equipment off site
4. Technical Controls:  Patch Management, Anti-Virus Controls, IDS, Firewall, Content Filtering

What needs to be measured?

Measurement can be achieved against:

•          A particular security control or objective; 

•          A group of controls; 

•          Against main controls within a Standard; 

•          Specific controls within an IT component.

Process for deciding which controls should be used.

First, you need to: 

•          Confirm relevance of controls through risk assessment; 

•          Define objectives, ensuring they map back to the business; 

•          Use existing Indicators wherever possible, e.g. in ITIL terms, KPIs: 

–        A KPI helps a business define progress towards a particular goal; 

–        KPIs are measurements critical to the success of the business. 

•          Within the ISMS audit framework, identify controls which can be continuously monitored, using chosen technique; 

•          Before using any tools, confirm the objectives with senior managers as well as staff. Corroborate with third parties, or through SLAs/OLAs where internal third parties are concerned e.g. ISO15000 (ITIL); 

Process for deciding which controls should be used.

1. Establish a baseline, against which all future measurements can be contrasted/compared;
2. Provide periodic reports to appropriate management forum/ISMS owners (show graphs, pictures paint a thousand words); 
3. Identify Review Input – agreed recommendations, corrective actions, etc; 
4. Implement improvements within your Integrated Management Systems (IMS) e.g. merged ISO’s 9001, 14000, 27001, 20000; 
5. Establish/agree new baseline, review the output, apply the PDCA approach (Plan – Do – Check – Act).

Measuring the effectiveness of Security

Regulatory Concerns – why look at ISO

A lot to worry about:

•          FOIP

•          PIPEDA

•          Government concerns (e.g. Systrust, GCCR)

•          Payment Card Industry (PCI)

•          CSOX (Bill 198)

•          NERC (Electric Regulatory)

•          Cross border regulations (HIPPA, GLBA)

•          ISA SP 99 (Future Industrial Standard?)

•          There will be more to follow ……..

Why Best Practices are Important!

Today, the effective use of best practices can help avoid re-inventing wheels, optimize the use of scarce IT resources and reduce the occurrence of major IT risks, such as:

–        Project failures

–        Wasted investments

–        Security breaches

–        System crashes

–        Failures by service providers to understand and meet customer requirements

Why Best Practices are Important!

COBIT, ITIL and ISO 17799 are valuable to the ongoing growth and success of an organization because:

–        Companies are demanding better returns from IT investments

–        Best practices help meet regulatory requirements for IT controls

–        Organizations face increasingly complex IT-related risks

–        Organizations can optimize costs by standardizing controls

–        Best practices help organizations assess how IT is performing

–        Management of IT is critical to the success of enterprise strategy

–        They help enable effective governance of IT activities

–        A management framework helps staff understand what to do (policy, internal controls and defined practices)

–        They can provide efficiency gains, less reliance on experts, fewer errors, increased trust from business partners and respect from regulators

SUMMARY

•          ISO started as a management system

•          ISO 17799 (BS7799) has become a defacto IT standard

•          ISO 27000 takes standards to a new level

•          Most organizations are using or looking at the standard for help

•          Many more uses down the road

ISO 27000 Reference Links

·         http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm

·         http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/index.html

·         http://www.standardsglossary.com/

·         http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/livelink/fetch/2000/2122/327993/customview.html?func=ll&objId=327993

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_27000

·         http://www.27000-toolkit.com/

·         http://www.iso27001security.com/

·         http://www.praxiom.com/27001.htm

·         http://www.information-security-policies-and standards.com/standard/index.htm

·         http://www.informationshield.com/iso17799.html