IT Best Practices:
IT Security Assessments
Donald Hester
October 21, 2010
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IT Best Practices:
IT Security Assessments
Donald Hester
Donald E. Hester
CISSP, CISA, CAP, MCT, MCITP, MCTS, MCSE Security, Security+, CTT+
Director, Maze & Associates
University of San Francisco / San Diego City College / Los Positas College
www.LearnSecurity.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldehester
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=245570977486
Email:
DonaldH@MazeAssociates.com
Situation
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 Organizations are becoming increasingly
dependent on technology and the
Internet
 The loss of technology or the Internet
would bring operations to a halt
 The need for security increases as our
dependence on technology increases
 Management wants to have assurance
that technology has the attention it
deserves
Questions
 Does our current security posture
address what we are trying to protect?
 Do we know what we need to protect?
 Where can we improve?
 Where do we start?
 Are we compliant with laws, rules,
contracts and organizational policies?
 What are your risks?
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Reason
 Provide Assurance
 Demonstrate due diligence
 Make risk based decisions
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Terms
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Assessment
Audit
Review
ST&E = Security Test & Evaluation
Testing
Evaluation
Assessment Lifecycle
Planning
Risk
Analysis &
Reporting
Technology
Assessment
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Information
Gathering
Business
Process
Assessment
Common Types of Assessments
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Vulnerability Assessment
Penetration Test
Application Assessment
Code Review
Standard Audit/Review
Compliance Assessment/Audit
Configuration Audit
Wireless Assessment
Physical/Environmental Assessment
Policy Assessment
Determine your Scope
 What will be the scope of the
assessment?
• Network (Pen Test, Vul Scan, wireless)
• Application (Code or Vul scan)
• Process (business or automated)
 How critical is the system you are
assessing?
• High, medium – use independent assessor
• Low – self assessment
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Identify and Select Automated Tools
 Computer Assisted Audit Techniques or
Computer Aided Audit Tools (CAATS)
 Computer Assisted Audit Tools and
Techniques (CAATTs)
• SQL queries
• Scanners
• Excel programs
• Live CDs
• Checklists
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Checklists
 AuditNet
• www.auditnet.org
 ISACA & IIA
• Member Resources
 DoD Checklists
• iase.disa.mil/stigs/checklist/
 NIST Special Publications
• csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html
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Live CD Distributions for Security
Testing
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BackTrack
Knoppix Security Tool Distribution
F.I.R.E.
Helix
Review Techniques
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Documentation Review
Log Review
Ruleset Review
System Configuration Review
Network Sniffing
File Integrity Checking
Target Identification and Analysis
Techniques
 Network Discovery
 Network Port and Service Identification
• OS fingerprinting
 Vulnerability Scanning
 Wireless Scanning
• Passive Wireless Scanning
• Active Wireless Scanning
• Wireless Device Location Tracking (Site Survey)
• Bluetooth Scanning
• Infrared Scanning
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Target Vulnerability Validation
Techniques
 Password Cracking
• Transmission / Storage
 Penetration Testing
• Automated / Manual
 Social Engineering
• Phishing
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Checklists / MSAT
 Microsoft Security Assessment Tool
(MSAT)
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GRC Tools
Governance
Compliance
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Risk
Dashboards
Metrics
Checklists
Reporting
Trend Analysis
Remediation
Test Types
 Black Box Testing
• Assessor starts with no
knowledge
 White Box Testing
• Assessor starts with knowledge
of the system, i.e. the code
 Grey Box Testing
• Assessor has some knowledge,
not completely blind
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Verification Testing
Input
Verification
Match
• Data
Entry
Data
Collection
• Database
Storage
Output
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• Reports
Application testing
 Code Review
• Automated/Manual
 Vulnerability scanning
 Configuration review
 Verification testing
 Authentication
 Information leakage
 Input/output Manipulation
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Database Auditing
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Native Audit (Provided by DB)
SIEM & Log Management
Database Activity Monitoring
Database Audit Platforms
• Remote journaling & analytics
 Compliance testing
 Performance
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Intrusion Detection/Prevention
 Configuration
 Verification testing
 Log and Alert review
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EMR Testing
 Electromagnetic Radiation
 Emissions Security
(EMSEC)
 Van Eck phreaking
 Tempest
 Tempest surveillance
prevention
 Faraday Cage
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Green Computing
 Assessment on the use of resources
 Power Management
 Virtualization Assessment
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Business Continuity
 Plan Testing, Training, and Exercises
(TT&E)
 Tabletop Exercises
• Checklist Assessment
• Walk Through
 Functional Exercises
• Remote Recovery
• Full Interruption Test
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Vulnerability Scanning
 Vulnerability: Weakness in an
information system, or in system security
procedures, internal controls, or
implementation, that could be exploited
or triggered by a threat source.
 Vulnerability Scanning: A technique used
to identify hosts/host attributes and
associated vulnerabilities. (Technical)
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MBSA
 Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.2
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Vulnerability Reports
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Sample from Qualys
External and Internal
Where is the best place to scan from?
Internal scan
found 15 critical
vulnerabilities
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External scan
found 2 critical
vulnerabilities
Vulnerability Scanners
Source:
http://www.gartner.com/technology/media-products/reprints/rapid7/173772.html
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Red, White and Blue Teams
Mimic real-world attacks
Unannounced
Penetration
Testers
Incident Responders
Observers and
Referees
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Red and Blue Teams
Mimic real-world attacks
Announced
Penetration
Testers
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Incident Responders
Penetration Test Phases
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Penetration Assessment Reports
Sample from CoreImpact
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Vulnerability Information
 Open Source Vulnerability DB
• http://osvdb.org/
 National Vulnerability Database
• http://nvd.nist.gov/
 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
• http://cve.mitre.org/
 Exploit Database
• http://www.exploit-db.com/
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Physical Assessments
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Posture Review
Access Control Testing
Perimeter review
Monitoring review
Alarm Response review
Location review (Business Continuity)
Environmental review (AC / UPS)
KSAs
Knowledge
Ability
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Skill
Assessor Competence
 Priority Certifications
• Certified Information Systems Auditor
(CISA)*
GIAC Systems and Network Auditor (GSNA)
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 Secondary Certifications
• Vendor Neutral: CISSP, Security+, GIAC,
•
CISM, etc…
Vendor Specific: Microsoft, Cisco, etc…
*GAO 65% of audit staff to be CISA
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Legal Considerations
 At the discretion of the organization
 Legal Review
• Reviewing the assessment plan
• Providing indemnity or limitation of liability
•
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•
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clauses (Insurance)
Particularly for tests that are intrusive
Nondisclosure agreements
Privacy concerns
Post-Testing Activities
 Mitigation Recommendations
• Technical, Managerial or Operational
 Reporting
• Draft and Final Reports
 Remediation / Mitigation
• Not enough to finds problems need to have
a process to fix them
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Organizations that can help
 Information Systems Audit and Control
Association (ISACA)
 American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (AICPA)
 Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
 SANS
 National State Auditors Association (NSAA)
 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
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Resources
 Gartner Report on Vulnerability
Assessment Tools
 Twenty Critical Controls for Effective
Cyber Defense
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Donald E. Hester
CISSP, CISA, CAP, MCT, MCITP, MCTS, MCSE Security, Security+, CTT+
Director, Maze & Associates
University of San Francisco / San Diego City College / Los Positas College
www.LearnSecurity.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldehester
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=245570977486
Email:
DonaldH@MazeAssociates.com
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IT Best Practices:
IT Security Assessments
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