Information System Security

Information system security processes and  invitees provide valuable input into managing IT systems and their development, enabling g risk identification, planning and mitigation. A risk management approach involves continually balancing the protection of agency information and assets with the cost of security controls and mitigation strategies throughout the complete information system development life cycle (see Figure 2-1). The most effective way to implement risk management is to identify critical assets and operations, as well as systemic vulnerabilities across the agency. Risks are shared and not bound by organization, revenue source, or topologies. Identification and verification of critical assets and operations and their interconnections can be achieved through the system security planning process, as well as through the compilation of information from the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) processes to establish insight into the agency’s vital business operations, their supporting assets, and existing interdependencies and relationships. With critical assets and operations identified, the organization can and should perform a business impact analysis (BIA). The purpose of the BIA is to relate systems and assets with the critical services they provide and assess the consequences of their disruption. By identifying these systems, an agency can manage security effectively by establishing priorities. This positions the security office to facilitate the IT program’s cost-effective performance as well as articulate its business impact and value to the agency.Executing a risk management-based approach for systems and projects means integrating security early and throughout the agency’s established system and CPIC life cycles. Integration enables security to be planned, acquired, built in, and deployed as an integral part of a project or system. It plays a significant role in measuring and enforcing security requirements throughout the phases of the life cycle.  Life cycle management helps document security-relevant decisions and provides assurance to management that security was fully considered in all phases. System managers can use this information as a self-check reminder of why decisions were made so that the impact of changes in the environment can be more readily assessed