Title: Agency C
1Agency CA ProcessStakeholder Quarterly Training
Presented by _______________ Date
2Logistics
- Participants will receive three (3) hours of
credit for this training. - Please email ____________ and indicate in the
subject line of the email CA Stakeholder
Training so you can receive credit.
3Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Table
of Contents
- What is CA and Why Bother with It?
- NIST-Compliant CA Process Risk Management
Framework - CA Approach in Seven Phases
- Agency Environment
- Background
- Key Stakeholders
- CA Team Roles and Responsibilities
- WinZip Procedures
- CA Process Timeline ELC Milestone Guidance
- Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
- Boundary/Scope Meeting
- Working Sessions
- NIST SP 800-53 Controls
- Validation Sessions
- Security Test Evaluation (STE)
- Test Training Exercise (TTE)
- Security Assessment Report (SAR)
- Risk Overview and Stakeholder Outbrief Sessions
- Critical Success Factors
4Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Certification Accreditation (CA)
- What is Certification and Accreditation?
- Certification is the comprehensive assessment of
the management, operational, and technical
security controls in an information system, made
in support of security accreditation, to
determine the extent to which the controls are
implemented correctly, operating as intended, and
producing the desired outcome with respect to
meeting the security requirements for the
system. (FIPS 200) - Accreditation is the official management
decision given by a senior agency official to
authorize operation of an information system and
to explicitly accept the risk to agency
operations (including mission, functions, image,
or reputation), agency assets, or individuals,
based on the implementation of an agreed-upon set
of security controls. (FIPS 200)
5Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Certification Accreditation (CA) (continued)
- Why bother with Certification and Accreditation?
- Its the LAW - Title III Public Law 107-347
commonly known as Federal Information Security
Management Act (FISMA) of 2002 mandates
assessing the risk and magnitude of the harm
that could result from the unauthorized access,
use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or
destruction of such information and information
systems - Federal Information Processing Standards
Publication (FIPS) 199 mandates Standards for
Security Categorization of Federal Information
and Information Systems - FIPS 200 mandates Minimum Security Requirements
for Federal Information and Information Systems - Systemic say to identify risks which should be
mitigated or resolved - To proactively protect the Agency from attacks
and threats!!!
6Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training The
Agency NIST- Compliant CA Process
- The Agency has established a standardized
Certification Accreditation Process - That process aligned with Guidance Provided by
the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and OMB - It has been fully vetted by the business units
through the business unit security PMOs - It is robust and comprehensive
- It is a risk-based approach
- The process is solid, defensible, and produces
documentation and includes comprehensive testing
and reporting
7Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training The
Agency CA Process follows the NIST Risk
Management Framework
8Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training The
Agency CA Approach Consists of 7 Phases
Phase 1 Preparation Phase 2 Draft SSP, PIA,
ITCP Documents Phase 3 Finalize SSP, PIA, ITCP
Documents Phase 4 Develop STE Plan Phase 5
Execute STE Plan Phase 6 Assess Risk and
Finalize CA Package Phase 7 Maintenance and
Monitoring
9Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Agency Environment
Definitions Associated with Agency Information
Systems
- General Support System (GSS) infrastructure the
application resides on - An interconnected set of information resources
under the same direct management control that
shares common functionality, which normally
includes hardware, software, information, data,
components, communications, and people - Application (General)
- A self-contained program that performs a
well-defined set of tasks under user control, as
opposed to a system program - An application program (sometimes shortened to
application) is any program designed to perform a
specific function directly for the user or, in
some cases, for another application program - Applications process data
- Application types
- Major Application
- An application that requires special attention to
security due to the risk and magnitude of harm
resulting from the loss, misuse, or unauthorized
access to or modification of the information in
the application - Note All federal applications require some
level of protection Certain applications,
because of the information in them, however,
require special management oversight and should
be treated as major applications Adequate
security for other applications should be
provided by security of the systems in which they
operate - Minor Application
- An application, other than a major application,
that requires attention to security due to the
risk and magnitude of harm resulting from the
loss, misuse, or unauthorized access to or
modification of the information in the application
10Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Agency Environment
- Security Categorization Definitions (potential
impact) - Low the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or
availability could be expected to have a LIMITED
adverse effect on organizational operations,
organizational assets, or individuals - Moderate - the loss of confidentiality,
integrity, or availability could be expected to
have a SERIOUS adverse effect on organizational
operations, organizational assets, or individuals - High - the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or
availability could be expected to have a SEVERE
or CATASTROPHIC adverse effect on organizational
operations, organizational assets, or individuals
11Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Agency Environment
Security Controls provide
- Protection of Information Systems that support
operations and assets of the organization to
ensure the organization can - Accomplish its assigned mission
- Protect its assets and PII data
- Fulfill legal responsibilities
- Maintain day-to-day operations
- Protect individuals
- The provide safeguards for people, systems, and
applications throughout the organization - NIST SP 800-60 and FIPS 199 mandate agencies to
define the category of information systems
according to potential risk impact level
12NIST SP 800-53 Controls Agency Environment
Security Framework for Agency Applications,
Systems, Organization
- Security controls are an integral part of Agency
applications, components, systems, and
environment - Organizational and Physical/Environmental and
Media Protection controls support the foundation
provided by Agency policies and procedures - GSS/BU controls apply to applications and
systems - Application controls are specific to each
application
Application
- System Integrity
- Access Controls
- Database Controls
- Auditing or Application Users
- Transactions
GSS/BU
- Database Controls
- Backup and Recovery
- Auditing of GSS Users
- Access Controls to OS
- Remote Access
Organizational and PE/MP Controls
- Security Policies
- Personnel Security
- Physical and Environmental
- Security Training and Awareness (portions)
- Incident Response (portions)
- Media Protection
13Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Background
The CA Process is lead by the CA Team. The CA
Team is divided into two sub-teams a
documentation team and an STE team. The
documentation team performs the following
- MS Project is used to plan, monitor, and track
the performance of the CA process. A project
plan is built based on the CA timeline for each
application and system. The schedule and
timeline has recently been updated to reflect
lessons learned from the CA process conducted on
prior applications and systems - All applications/systems going through the CA
process will have its own MS project schedule - Standard process takes 126 business days for
applications (Draft-Proposal) - Process takes 140 business days for systems
(Draft-Proposal) - Schedules may vary slightly due to the following
- Categorization or complexity of the
application/GSS - Prior or partial CAs performed including
changes made to the application - Specific requests made by the Business Owner
- Comprehensive analysis of existing and
developmental security controls and
application/system components - Develop and conduct an exercise of the
Information Technology Contingency Plan (ITCP)
through team collaboration - Facilitation of testing, training, and exercises
of equipment, systems, and applications to ensure
Agency personnel understand the IT regulations
and procedures
14Key Application/System Stakeholders
Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Key
Stakeholders
Agency essential staff that represent
applications/systems
15Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training CA
Team Roles Responsibilities
16Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training CA
Team Roles Responsibilities
CA Team Roles and Responsibilities (continued)
17Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
WinZip Procedures
Transmission of Data WinZip 9.0
- Issue
- Due to the sensitivity of the data, information
such as IP addresses, network diagrams, etc.,
should not be sent directly between the Agency
network to the CA Documentation teams network.
- Solution
- WinZip 9.0 has been approved by the client as a
secure way to encrypt attachments. Ensure that
the BU POC has WinZip 9.0, since both sending and
receiving ends must use this version to encrypt
and decrypt attachments. - Sending Information
- All emailed information should go through the BU
POC. The BU POC will ensure that all information
is encrypted and sent securely to the client
inside the Agency network. (See next slides for
how-to instructions.) - Receiving Information
- All emailed information should go through the BU
POC. The BU POC will ensure that all information
is encrypted and sent securely to the team
outside of the Agency network. (See next slides
for how-to instructions.)
18Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
WinZip Procedures
Encrypting WinZip 9.0
- How to encrypt using WinZip 9.0
- Zip file(s)
- When the zip prompt appears, select Encrypt
added files - Use the 256-bit AES Encryption option when
encrypting - Input password (note use standard team password)
- Once files are successfully zipped and encrypted,
change the file extension from .zip to
.change. If the .zip extension remains, often
times the firewall will strip the attachment for
various reasons - Ensure when sending the email that recompress
file is unchecked option is located in the
lower left corner when attaching files in
Microsoft Outlook
19Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
WinZip Procedures
Decrypting WinZip 9.0
- How to decrypt using WinZip 9.0
- Instructions to open the attachment are as
follows - 1) Ensure the WinZip version is 9.0
- 2) Save file (e.g., to My Documents)
- 3) Change extension to '.zip'
- 4) Open zip file
- 5) Insert password
- 6) Open document contained in zip file
20Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Process Timeline
The CA Process performed on applications and
systems is divisible into phases and
deliverablesApplication and system deliverables
are broken down further into concrete activities
and tasks in the Microsoft Project schedule..
21Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training CA
ELC Milestone Requirements
- The CA Customer Liaison Team (CLT) (within the
Agencys Security Organization) provides formal
guidance and stakeholder education related to the
Certification Accreditation deliverables by
Enterprise Lifecycle (ELC) Milestones (MS) - Below is a list of Certification Accreditation
(CA) deliverables as required by the Agencys
Security Organization. These deliverables build
beginning in Milestone 1. A presentation
describing deliverables by Milestone is available
from the CLT.
- - Boundary/Scope Memo (BSM)
- System Security Plan (SSP)
- Privacy Impact Statement (PIA)
- Information Tech Contingency Plan (ITCP)
- Security Test Evaluation Plan (STE)
- Security Risk Assessment (SRA) (ITSecurity
Engineering will produce) - Interconnection Security Agreement (ISA)
- Security Assessment Report (SAR) produced
after the completion of the STE
22Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Boundary/Scope Meeting
Boundary/Scope Table of Contents
- Overview
- Conduct Boundary/Scope Meeting
23Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Boundary/Scope Overview
- Purpose
- The purpose of the Boundary/Scope Meeting is to
establish the scope of the application/systems
CA review, confirm execution logistics, discuss
the systems functionality and purpose, and
identify all Stakeholders and CA Team members. - Participants
- CA Team
- PM and/or Team Lead (Documentation, Tester,
Privacy Engineering) - SSP/ITCP/PIA Points of Contact (POCs)
- Stakeholders
- Business Unit Representatives
- Application POC
- Developers
- System Administrators
- DAA POC and/or BU POC
- Scheduling
- One hour is typically dedicated to the
Boundary/Scope Meeting
24Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Boundary/Scope Conduct Boundary/Scope Meeting
The following activities will occur at the
Boundary/Scope Meeting
- Identify Participants
- Discuss purpose of the meeting
- Walk through the BSM
- Validate Application name, Business Unit (BU),
and BU and DAA POCs - Determine production and development environments
and the location of the systems developers - Discuss the appropriate location to conduct the
working session - Review proposed CA milestones and deliverables,
determine black out dates, and establish if there
is a hard deadline for completing the CA - Verify and collect additional system information
(i.e. system description, modules, and
components) - Identify or confirm changes to the system
- Identify all supporting General Support Systems
(GSSs) - Discuss the systems scope and security
categorization - Review POCs to obtain additional information
- Identify any black out dates
- Identify production deployment date when the
system will be available for testing - Walk through the working/validation agenda to
identify folks to attend
25Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Boundary/Scope Conduct Boundary/Scope Meeting
The following activities will take place at the
Boundary/Scope Meeting (continued)
- Walk through the Working/Validation Agenda and
obtain updates to the POCs who should attend each
of the sessions - Discuss Document Request List
- Ensure stakeholders send the CA Team all
existing system documentation to prepare for the
working session - Examples of typical documents existing for the
system/application - System Security Plan (SSP)
- Information Technology Contingency Plan (ITCP)
- Technical Contingency Planning Document (TCPD)
- Risk Assessment
- Installation Guides
- User Manuals
- Design Documents
- Approved Deviation Requests
- Discuss Document Tracker
- The document tracker will be used to record all
documentation that has been received by the CA
Team - Discuss use of e-mail naming convention and the
use of WinZip for encrypting documents before
sending via email CA Initiative Business
Unit-Application Name
26Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Sessions
Working Sessions Table of Contents
- Overview
- Pre-Working Session Preparation
- Security Categorization
- Conduct SSP Working Sessions
- Day 1, Kickoff Meeting, Demo
- Remaining Days
- After Each Day
- ITCP Working Sessions
- PIA Working Sessions
- Post-Working Sessions
27Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session Overview
- Purpose
- Gather information to develop/update the System
Security Plan (SSP), IT Contingency Plan (ITCP),
and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) - Additional attention to AC-17 and MA-4 to ensure
that any access by vendors, contractors, etc
(such as call back, call home, etc) is documented
- Key Participants
- CA Team
- Documentation Team Lead (including leads for SSP,
ITCP, PIA, Engineering) - STE Team
- Stakeholders
- System POC(s)
- Developers
- System Administrators
- Business Unit POC
- Scheduling
- Dates determined by Boundary/Scope Meeting
- Typical duration of Working Session is 3 to 5
days depending on complexity for Applications 10
days for GSS
28Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Pre-Working Sessions Preparations
The following activities need to take place
before the Working Sessions
- Work with System POC(s) to finalize Working
Session agenda, distribute to CA Team and
Stakeholders, and send calendar invitations - Kickoff meeting
- Demo
- SSP data gathering
- ITCP information gathering
- Coordinate with CA Team members and system POCs
- If traveling to a site
- Coordinate visitor request, laptop information,
clearances, etc. - Work with System POC(s) to reserve a conference
room - Review existing documentation and pre-populate
the document templates - Distribute documents to CA Team and Stakeholders
- Pre-populated documents v0.1
- PDF of CA Schedule
29Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
800am Documentation Team Arrives 900am Meeting
Kick Off
- Introductions
- GSS/APPs Boundary Scopes
- Finalize agenda/schedules
- Conduct CA Process Sessions
30Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
(continued)
- Conduct CA process as scheduled below
- Business Unit BU
- System Developer SD
- System Administrator SA
- Database Administrator - DBA
31Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
(continued)
32Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
(continued)
- Conduct CA process as scheduled below
- Business Unit BU
- System Developer SD
- System Administrator SA
- Database Administrator - DBA
33Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholders CA Working/Validation Agenda
(continued)
34Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session Security Categorization
- Security Categorization is the foundational step
to determining the level of effort required for a
CA - Security Categorization is performed early in the
process (usually before the CA kicks off) - Security Categorization is based on the
information types processed, stored or
transmitted by the system/application according
to FIPS 199 and NIST SP 800-60
35Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
SP 800-53 Controls
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
36Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
37Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
38Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
39Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
40Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
PE security controls are assessed annually and
considered inherited unless the system is located
at a contractor site.
41Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
42Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
43Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
44Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
45Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training NIST
800-53 Controls (continued)
The following tables address the specific minimum
Security Controls and Control Baselines as
defined by NIST 800-53
46Working Session Conduct SSP Working Sessions
FAgencyt Day (Kickoff Meeting, Demo)
The following activities will take place during
the Working Sessions
- Introductions
- Explain CA Process from start to finish and walk
through the agenda and identify stakeholder roles
that will need to participate - Discuss NIST guidance, controls, etc.
- Explain common controls (GSS, Organizational, and
PE Controls) - Explain GSS-level controls
- Explain layout of SSP
- Section 2, System Identification
- Section 3, Management Controls
- Section 4, Operational Controls
- Section 5, Technical Controls
- System/Network Diagram
- Input/Output Diagram
- MOUs/ISAs (inquiry regarding connectivity to
Agency system from outside of the Agency
environment such as call back for maintenance or
remote management) - e-Authentication Questionnaire
47Working Session Conduct SSP Working Sessions
First Day (Kickoff Meeting, Demo)
The following activities will take place during
the Working Sessions
- Gather information for Section 2 of SSP
- System Name, Unique Identifier
- System POCs
- Operational Status
- General Description/Purpose
- System Environment
- System Interconnections
- Demo/walk through of System
- Schedule during the Boundary Scoping Session
48Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session Conduct SSP Working Sessions
The following activities will take place during
the Working Sessions (continued)
- Discuss remainder of SSP controls
- Management
- Operational
- Technical
- Discuss the impact of the following controls on
the enterprise infrastructure/applications - AC-17 (Remote Access) The organization
authorizes, monitors, and controls all methods of
remote access to the information system. - MA-4 (Remote Maintenance) The organization
authorizes, monitors, and controls any remotely
executed maintenance and diagnostic activities,
if employed.
49Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session ITCP
ITCP Working Sessions
- Introductions
- Explain the different documentation (BIA, ITCP,
TTE) - Explain the process for developing the ITCP
- BIA including Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)
- ITCP
- TTE
- Begin Data Gathering for BIA
- Use ITCP/BIA Interview Guide
- Begin Data Gathering for ITCP
- Continue with ITCP/BIA Interview Guide
- Post-ITCP Working Session
- Let the System POCs know that you will follow up
with an email listing any action items and
requesting any information that has not yet been
provided.
50Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session ITCP
The BIA is a fact finding process that provides
the foundation for the ITCP
- A BIA is used to identify and prioritize the
components of an application by linking them to
the Agency business processes that they support - A BIA is conducted during the initial phase of
building an ITCP, and it is included as an
appendix to the ITCP - Interviews are conducted with key stakeholders to
gather information about the application,
including - Determine what Agency-wide critical business
processes (CBP) and administrative/infrastructure
(A/I) processes the application supports - Determine the Recovery Time Objective (RTO), the
maximum amount of time that may elapse before
unavailability of the application causes an
unacceptable impact on the Business Unit
sub-processes, and Recovery Point Objective
(RPO), the point in time which sub-process data
must be recovered - Recovery priority and timeframe of recovery for
application components (i.e., servers, files,
etc.) - This information is used to develop procedures
and strategies for recovering the application, if
disrupted
51Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session ITCP
An ITCP establishes procedures to recover and
resume normal operations of an application
following a disruption.
- A full activation of the ITCP includes three
phases - Notification/Activation
- Notify proper personnel
- Detect and assess damage
- Activate the plan
- Recovery
- Identify and prioritize recovery activities
- Restore temporary IT operations
- Recover damage done to the original application
- Reconstitution
- Resume application processing capabilities to
normal operations - Deactivate the plan
52Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session ITCP
The ITCP data gathering process
- Interviews are conducted with key stakeholders to
gather information about the application,
including - Key personnel and their roles/responsibilities
- Threats to the application
- Damage assessment procedures
- Recovery procedures
- Concurrent processing procedures
- Off-site data storage details
- Backup procedures
- This information is used to develop procedures
and strategies for recovering and resuming normal
operations of the application, if disrupted - Data gathering for General Support Systems (GSS)
may require separate sections for components and
major systems
53Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session PIA
Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Purpose
- PIAs are completed on information systems
collecting personally identifiable information - Examples name, SSN, address, phone number,
e-mail address, financial data and account
numbers, biometric identifier, etc. - PIAs ensure that
- The public is made aware of the information
federal agencies collect about them - Any impact these systems have on personal privacy
is adequately addressed - Only the necessary personal information is
collected, nothing else - Conducting PIAs will allow the Agency to identify
which of its systems contain Information in
Identifiable Form (IIF). For those systems
containing IIF, the PIA will serve as a platform
to - Ensure that information handling conforms to
applicable legal, regulatory, and policy
requirements regarding privacy - Determine the risks and effects of collecting,
maintaining, and disseminating IIF in an
electronic information system - Examine and evaluate protections and alternative
processes for handling information to mitigate
potential privacy risks1 - 1 Taken from the definition of PIA in OMB
Memorandum M-03-22, OMB Guidance for
Implementing of the Privacy Provisions of the
E-Government Act of 2002, September 26, 2003.
54Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session PIA
Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Purpose
(continued)
- Additionally, conducting a PIA provides an
opportunity to identify privacy risks associated
with information systems. Formal PIAs provide a
number of advantages over ad hoc evaluations.
These advantages include - Providing inputs (e.g., privacy risks) for
required CA reporting documents, to include
POAM, SAR, SSP (Appendix) - Improving the understanding of a systems overall
potential privacy risks, exposures, and
liabilities - Providing a reliable basis for decision making of
policy and system design - Generating and improving public confidence, at
the organizational level, by anticipating and
addressing privacy concerns - Privacy Deliverables include
- Final Privacy Impact Assessment Questionnaire
- Privacy Memo (Officially signed by the Director
of the Agency Office of Privacy) States all
privacy risks where acceptable
55Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session Conduct Working Sessions
After Each Day
The following activities will take place after
each day of the Working Sessions
- Prepare and distribute recap
- Attendees
- Action Items
- Information gathered by section and/or control
- Documents received
- For follow-up at the next working sessions
- Distribute soft copies of documents to entire
team - Update document tracker
- Include CDs, hard copies, soft copies,
- screen captures, etc.
56Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Working Session Post-Working Sessions
The following activities will take place after
each day of the Working Sessions (continued)
- Inform team of next steps
- One week for drafting SSP and ITCP
- Validation Session following drafting of
documents (including PIA Working Session) - Confirm or change Validation Session
- PIA Working Session
- Send calendar invitation
57Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Validation Sessions
Validation Sessions Table of Contents
- Overview
- Conduct Validation Session(s)
- Post-Validation Session(s)
- ITCP Validation Session(s)
58Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Validation Session Overview
- Purpose
- To validate the information documented in the
System Security Plan (SSP), IT Contingency Plan
(ITCP), and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for
accuracy, completeness, and validity - Participants
- Stakeholders who were involved during the Working
Sessions - CA Team
- Duration
- Typically 2 to 4 hours to validate the SSP
- Typically 2 hours to validate the ITCP
- Typically 1 hour for PIA Working Session
- Note Refer to the GSS schedule template for
Validation Session duration specifics.
59Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Conduct Validation Session(s)
The following activities will take place during
the Validation Session(s)
- Review outstanding action items to ensure all
issues have been addressed - Walk-through SSP to verify information is correct
60Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training ITCP
Validation Session(s)
ITCP Validation Session(s)
- Address any questions, comments, and input the
attendees have regarding the draft ITCP - Discuss any of your previous questions that
followed the ITCP working session that are still
outstanding - Walk through the BIA and ITCP to validate
existing information within the plan - Recap any information that is still needed
follow up with an e-mail covering the same
information
61Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training ITCP
Validation Session(s)
The following activities will take place after
the Validation Session(s)
- Prepare and distribute recap
- Attendees
- Action Items
- Information gathered by section and/or control
- Documents received
- For follow-up at the next validation sessions
- Make updates as identified
- Obtain an email from DAA POC that all information
is complete and accurate before finalizing the
documents and sending to the CA Team and
Stakeholders - Distribute updated documents to CA Team and
Stakeholders
62Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
Purpose of conducting an STE
- The purpose of performing a Security Test and
Evaluation (STE) is to evaluate the management,
operational and technical controls of the
application/system, determine the effectiveness
of these controls in operation, and identify the
vulnerabilities. - An STE will provide important insight into the
effectiveness of the security controls that are a
part of each Agency application, system, or GSS.
63Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
Security Categorization Impacts the Type of STE
Conducted
- The Application/System business owner identifies
the information types processed, stored, or
transmitted by the application/GSS to determine
the impact levels for confidentiality, integrity,
and availability of the application/GSS and then
categorizes the application as Low, Moderate, or
High. - The type of STE that is conducted varies
depending on the application or GSSs security
categorization.
64Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
Developing an STE Test Plan
- The STE Test Plan is based on the information
collected from several key documents that are
created as a part of the Certification and
Accreditation (CA) process, such as - System Security Plan (SSP) An SSP is a
document that provides an - overview of the security requirements of the
system and describes the - current implementation status (in place,
planned, etc.) of the minimum - security controls and roles and
responsibilities. - Information Technology Contingency Plan (ITCP)
The ITCP is a - document that contains a strategy, procedures,
and technical - measures that enable the recovery of IT
systems, operations, and data - after a disruption.
- Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) The PIA is a
process used to evaluate the - impact that information systems have on an
individual. The PIA process is - designed to guide agency system developers and
operators in assessing - privacy through the early stages of
development.
65Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
Types of personnel that need to be involved in
developing an accurate SSP and ITCP and conduct a
thorough and complete STE
- Business primary Points of Contact (POC)
- Application developers
- Application administrators
- Operating system administrators
- Database administrators
- System operators
- Security administrators
- STE Team members
66Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
ITCP
- An ITCP test is conducted in conjunction with an
STE however, it is not part of the STE and is
facilitated by the CA Documentation Team. - Testing, Training, and Exercise (TTE), also
known as a Table Top - Exercise, usually includes the following
testing areas -
- - Preparations
- - Notification/Activation
- - Recovery
- - Reconstitution
- - Plan Deactivation
- Note The STE should always be conducted in the
production environment. When this is not
possible, this has to be raised by the BU
stakeholders and resolved during the initial CA
Working Sessions. When an STE is conducted in a
development or test environment, rather than the
production environment, those environments must
replicate the production environment, and all
technical tests will need to be retested once the
production environment is available. This
scenario requires additional funding to support
the additional STE activity and must be
identified early in the process.
67Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
General STE Process Comments
- Throughout the STE process, BU personnel have
numerous opportunities to review and provide
input to the final SSP and ITCP that is used to
develop the STE test plan for a particular
application or GSS. - BU personnel are given an opportunity to review
and discuss the STE plan that is developed for a
particular application or GSS. - It is critical to the success of a STE that a
stable and accurate SSP, ITCP, and Application or
GSS Inventory are completed prior to beginning
the STE testing of an application or GSS. - The Agency conducts many STEs during each FISMA
reporting cycle. This often means that several
STEs will be occurring during the same time
frame, which makes for a complex STE schedule.
To minimize impact on the STE master testing
schedule and to all the STE participants, it is
important that all parties associated with each
STE complete the work related to their STE in a
manner that helps ensure that STE occurs within
the projected master STE schedule timeframe.
68Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
General STE Process Comments (continued)
- Stakeholders - assigning the right people to
participate in the STE is critical to the
success of the STE, and will minimize
unnecessary findings. When the individual
participating in a STE test does not know an
answer to a STE question, or does not provide
the correct information to answer the question,
this will result in an STE finding.
Stakeholders can avoid these types of unnecessary
findings by assigning the right resources to
participate in the STE and ensuring those key
resources are present during the STE testing. - After a STE is completed for an application or
GSS, the results are provided to the CA
Documentation Team for analysis and inclusion in
the final CA package. BU stakeholders will
receive the results prior to the Stakeholder
Outbrief meeting conducted after that analysis
and before the CA package is submitted to the
Certification Agent and the Designated Approving
Authority for review and signature. - Issue Resolution Stakeholders will be given the
opportunity to correct findings and provide
additional evidence in a very short turnaround,
prior to the stakeholder out brief. Instructions
will be provided when the results are
distributed. - The STE Test Team members are not the personnel
who make the determination as to whether an
application or GSS is to receive an Authority to
Operate (ATO) or an Interim Authority to Operate
(IATO).
69Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Test Evaluation (STE) Process
- Types of Security Control Tests that are
performed during an STE of an application or
GSS -
- Management
- Operational
- Technical
- These three types of controls are defined in
NIST SP 800-53 and determined - during the SSP development
- Some test sases will be Organizational or GSS
Common Controls - Technical and Operational Controls can include
test cases related to many - application/system areas such as
-
- - Auditing
- - Databases
- - COTS Products
- - Media Protection
- - Operating System
- - Telecommunications
- - Contingency Planning
70Test, Training Exercise (TTE) Training
Pre-TTE
The following activities will take place before
the TTE
Invite TTE Attendees
- Application
- ITCP Director
- ITCP Coordinator
- Recovery Personnel including Database
Administrators, System Administrators,
Developers, and Production Support Staff - Business Unit Personnel
- Test Team and Agencys Security Organization will
be Observers - GSS
- ITCP Plan Director
- ITCP Incident Commander
- ITCP Recovery Coordinator
- ITCP Component Coordinator
- ITCP BU Coordinator
- ITCP Application Recovery Teams
- ITCP Component Recovery Teams
- Business Unit Personnel
- Test Team and Agencys Security Organization will
be Observers
71Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Test,
Training Exercise (TTE) Training
TTE Table of Contents
72Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
TTE Training Overview
TTE Overview
- Designed to train essential personnel on the
Information Technology Contingency Plan (ITCP)
and to provide a forum to talk through a
realistic emergency scenario whereby the ITCP
needs to be activated and exercised - Developed to prepare personnel for an emergency
situation and to ensure key personnel have a
forum to talk through their roles and
responsibilities, discuss what they would do
during the emergency situation, and communicate
how they would respond to the events - Created so lessons can be drawn and recorded from
the exercise, changes can be made to the plan to
represent the flow of information and
communication among essential personnel, and
staff will be prepared during the event of an
actual emergency situation - Implemented to enhance understanding of the key
communication, coordination, and information
necessary during the three key ITCP phases
Notification/Activation, Recovery, and
Reconstitution - Upholds the following
- Public Law 107-347, E-Government Act of 2002, the
Federal Information Security Management Act of
2002 (FISMA 2002) which requires security
awareness training, review of responsibilities
regarding policies and procedures, periodic
testing and training associated with upholding
information security policies and principles, and
requires a process for addressing policy and
procedures deficiencies - Federal Preparedness Circular FPC 65, Federal
Executive Branch Continuity of Operations, June
15, 2004 which requires regular testing,
training, and exercises of the agencys
equipment, personnel, systems, processes, and
procedures during a COOP event - National Institute Standards and Technology
Special Publication 800-34, Contingency Planning
Guide for Information Technology Systems, June
2002
73Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Security Assessment Report (SAR)
SAR Table of Contents
74Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training SAR
Overview
- Definition
- As defined within NIST SP 800-37, the SAR
provides the results of assessing the security
controls in the information system to determine
the extent to which the controls are implemented
correctly, operating as intended, and producing
the desired outcome with respect to meeting the
system security requirements. In addition, the
SAR can also contain a list of recommended
corrective actions. - Purpose
- The purpose of the Security Assessment Report
(SAR) is to provide the Certifier and the
Designated Approving Authority with a more
holistic view of risk regarding the
GSS/application. It documents the security
assessment activities that were performed on the
application and the results of those activities
including STE, PIA, e-Authentication Assessment,
audits, and any other risk assessment activities
(e.g. Risk Based Review). - Duration
- Typically 5 days
75Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Risk
Overview Activities
Risk Overview Table of Contents
- Risk Overview CA Package Preparation
- Risk Overview/Stakeholder Outbrief Activities
- Preparation of Final CA Package
- Stakeholder Outbrief Meeting
76Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Risk Overview CA Package Preparation
- CA Package Preparation
- Update all CA documentation to reflex the
current information - Put all files in the correct naming convention
- Ensure draft watermarks are removed
- Quality assurance
- Send documents to Agencys Security Organization
and the CA mailbox
77 Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholder Outbrief Meeting
The following activities will take place prior to
the Stakeholder Outbrief Meeting
- CA Documentation Team will update the documents
based on the Risk Overview session - CA Documentation Team will send the finalized
CA package to the participants of the scheduled
Stakeholder meeting - For Applications send documents out 3 days
prior to the stakeholders meeting - For GSSs send documents out 5 days prior to the
stakeholders meeting
78The CA Process comes to its conclusion
Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Stakeholder Conclusion
- After the Stakeholder Outbrief Meeting, the
entire CA package goes to the Certifier for
review, signature, and approval - After Certifier signs the Certification Memo, CPO
will then send the signed Certification memo and
CA package to the business unit security PMO
with a request to schedule the DAA Outbrief - A DAA outbrief will be held to walk the DAA
through the CA package and by the end of the
session the DAAs approval and signature on the
Accreditation memo will be requested - By signing, the DAA agrees to all risks of the
application or GSS during the CA process, and
will work to develop strategies for addressing
issues. A POAM will be created and updated,
monitored, and progress reported quarterly by the
business unit.
79Critical Success Factors
Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training A
Successful CA Process Depends on You
- Partnership between all stakeholders (Business
Units) is Crucial in successfully completing
Certification and Accreditation activities - Engagement by business units to efficiently and
effectively complete tasks - Security documentation is only as good as the
information provided - Ultimately, the contents of the security
documents are the responsibility of the business
owner who will be responsible for maintaining the
documents - Establishing a baseline of NIST-compliant CA
documents will have a positive impact on future
costs - Staying on schedule 1/3 of applications/GSSs
must be certified each FISMA cycle (annually)
80Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Your
role as a Key Stakeholder in CA
- Actively engage in the Boundary/Scope, Working,
and Validation sessions - Ensure you understand the questions and the
evidence required - Actively engage in the Security Test Evaluation
(STE) - Ensure you understand the test case questions
- Work closely with the STE Team to ensure your
responses completely answer the test case
question - Elevate concerns early through the CA Team Lead
or your business unit security PMO - Help CPO ensure all of the right stakeholders are
engaged throughout the process - If you cannot answer the test case question, help
the CA Test Team identify the right person to
respond to that question - The goal is to document the current
implementation status of the security controls
and then validate the current implementation
status of the required security controls through
independent testing - It is not CPOs intent to trick people into
providing the wrong response, it is to ensure the
correct people are asked the right questions - Understand the expectation for engagement and the
time commitment at the kick off of the CA
81Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training Who
are the right people and what will they do?
- The right people to participate in CA
activities? - Someone with a working knowledge of how the
controls have been implemented for the
application being assessed - Someone with knowledge of how the application is
managed and operated - What will they do?
- Participants will need to attend conference
calls/meetings as scheduled - Participants will need to engage and provide
input throughout the process - Participants will need to provide evidence and
documentation timely - Participants will need to carefully review and
provide feedback to the CA documentation as
scheduled for the Stakeholder Outbrief
82Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training
Success Indicators and Expected Outcomes
- An added layer in the Agency defense in depth
approach to security - Consistent identification of risks
- presenting an opportunity to proactively resolve
or mitigate weaknesses before they are exploited
resulting in better security for the application
and across the enterprise - Reusable NIST-compliant test cases for
- Verification of resolution
- Continuous monitoring
- Informed stakeholders and DAA
- Solid, defensible NIST-compliant CA package
- Improved FISMA reporting, improved audit reviews,
improved GAO reviews - Demonstrates security commitment and
accountability - Facilitates E300 Funding
83Questions?
Agency CA Process - Stakeholder Training