University of Guelph

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University of Guelph

• IT Security Policy
• Doug Blain
• Manager, IT Security
• ISC, April 27th

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IT Security policy

• What is it?
• The IT Security policy defines the minimum
  security posture needed to be maintained to
  protect IT resources from compromise (internal or
  external) or loss. It defines the scope of the
  data and resources to be protected. It also
  protects the members of the University community
  when they need to make decisions or take actions
  when handling IT resources.

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Why do we need it?

• Business risk management
• Protect assets
• Protect reputation
• Due diligence
• Risks increasing
• Virus, worms
• Phishing, email scams
• Social Engineering
• Spyware, Trojans

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Famous names in the news

• Tufts, Boston College, Columbia, Carnegie-Mellon
• ChoicePoint, Lexus Nexus, Polo Ralph Lauren,
  Ameritrade, HSBC Holdings, Bank of America, DSW
  Shoes, etc.
• All have had compromises that have made the
  evening news.this year

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Additional factors

• Establishment of CIO position
• IT needs to move from technological to business
  issues
• Security is not just a firewall (crunchy on the
  outside, soft and chewy on the inside)
• External Security Audits
• Government legislation

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Scope

• University Wide
• Departmental
• Regional Colleges
• Residences
• Wireless, PDA, Cellphone
• Home, Remote access

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Elements of an IT Security Policy

• Based on standards
• ISO 17790
• SANS
• CERT
• peers

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Mission statement

• Organizational roles
• Executive, HR, Board
• CIO
• Security officer
• Technical staff
• Campus Police
• Legal, Audit
• User community
• Definitions

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Data handling Policy

• Data sensitivity
• Electronics records retention
• Privacy

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User Account management

• Accounts Management
• Password Management
• Acceptable Use Policy

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Access Management

• Trust model
• Access Controls
• Data classification

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Virus Protection Policy

• Perimeter (email, firewall)
• Desktop
• Actions based on detection

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Networking

• Standards (protocols, ports)
• Authorized Access
• Remote Access

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Intrusion Detection / Logging Configurations /
Backups

• Monitoring
• Log consolidation
• Incident Handling
• Incident Response team
• Reporting requirements
• Configuration management
• Backups / Archiving
• Business resumption (not disaster recovery)

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Unique requirements of University Environment

• Needs to be realistic for a University
  environment
• Students, Faculty, Staff, 3rd parties
• Mix of research, educational, business and
  personal data
• Open environment of collaboration and learning
• Wide range of research and educational issues

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Development Process

• Develop Security Policy Team
• Security officer alone should not write the
  policy
• Broad cross-section of community, but not too big
• Involve major stakeholders
• HR, Audit, Legal, IT staff

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Risk Assessment (KISS)

• Asset inventory
• Asset values
• Threats
• Mitigations
• Provides guideline for priorities

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Review Existing policies

• Compare to standards
• Revise as needed
• Develop new policies to fill in gaps
• Use templates (SANS)
• Borrow from peers

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Obtain approval
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Establish audit review process

• Measurements
• Revisions based on results, problems
• Ensure standards and practices are established
• Document how policy will be followed
• Defines technical elements to implementation

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Communicate policy to community

• Promote better understanding
• Encourage feedback

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Time?

• ASAP
• Take small steps when possible
• Generally considered a long process in the
  industry
• Consultants, products may speed up process.