Next steps in security automation

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Building on the government's Security Content Automation Protocol, a working group is developing a set of international standards for automating the job of assessing and monitoring the security of IT systems.

Building on the success of the U.S. government’s Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), an Internet Engineering Task Force working group is developing international standards for automating the job of assessing and monitoring the security of IT systems.

Automation is seen as essential to improving cybersecurity, and ensuring that tools from different vendors can work together in a global online environment requires industry standards. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, together with the Homeland Security Department and the National Security Agency, began the process with SCAP, a suite of interoperable specifications for conveying security information that vendors to government agencies must comply with. The working group is expanding that limited set of specs for international use.

“The end-game here is the logical next step to SCAP,” said Adam Montville, co-chair of the Security Automation and Continuous Monitoring Working Group.

Chartered in September 2012, the IETF Security Automation and Continuous Monitoring (SACM) Working Group initially is charged with developing standardized protocols to “collect, verify and update system security configurations.” This focuses on the “security automation” portion of SACM. Continuous monitoring is expected to be addressed in future phases of the project.

NIST was among the early advocates for the effort.

“That’s what NIST does,” said Dave Waltermire, security automation architect in NIST’s Computer Security Division. “We develop specifications and best practices, and once that work achieves a level of maturity we want to transfer it to industry with international standards.”

SCAP in its present form, version 1.2, deals primarily with endpoint compliance for configuration requirements. The specifications, contained in Special Publication 800-126, support automated configuration, vulnerability and patch checking, technical control compliance and security measurement.

The SCAP specifications are the building blocks used by vendors to provide standards-based tools that can interoperate with each other in automating these processes. They create a common format for developing and enforcing baselines and producing standardized results. This requires common methods of expressing information about hardware, software and vulnerabilities.

SCAP version 1.2 includes 11 component specifications in five categories:

  • Languages for expressing security policy, technical check mechanisms, and assessment results: 
    • Extensible Configuration Checklist Description Format
    • Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language
    • Open Checklist Interactive Language
  • Reporting formats to express collected information: 
    • Asset Reporting Format
    • Asset Identification (Although Asset Identification is not explicitly a reporting format, SCAP uses it in identifying the assets.)
  • Enumerations, standard nomenclatures and an official dictionary of items expressed using that nomenclature: 
    • Common Platform Enumeration
    • Common Configuration Enumeration
    • Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
  • Measurement and scoring systems for evaluating severity of a security weakness: 
    • Common Vulnerability Scoring System
    • Common Configuration Scoring System
  • Integrity of SCAP content and results: 
    • Trust Model for Security Automation Data.

SCAP has been successful, but creating an international standard is more complex than simply approving the protocols.

“With that success came a little bit of pushback,” said Montville, who also is technical product manager at the Center for Internet Security. Several other nations were developing their own automation schemes, and vendors did not want competing standards. 

And although SCAP worked, it is not complete. “SCAP has a lot of good descriptions,” said Montville. “What it doesn’t do today is shuttle that data from place to place.”

“SCAP today is really just a set of data formats,” said NIST’s Waltermire. “It doesn’t say how you move information from point A to point B.”

When a coalition of vendors several years ago talked with NIST, NSA and DHS about an international effort, IETF was settled on as the proper venue.

“We are at the very beginning of the process,” said Waltermire.  

Because of the complexity of the task, the working group’s first job is to address enterprise use cases for assessing the configuration and security state of network endpoints. The use cases will help develop common functional capabilities and requirements for vendor-neutral standards.

Deliverables under the existing charter include:

  • A description of the SACM architecture, including protocol requirements.
  • A specification for the informational model for endpoints data.
  • A specification for retrieving configuration and policy information for driving data collection and analysis.
  • A specification for a protocol and data format for collecting actual endpoint data.

The working group’s first milestone is submission of the SACM architecture draft this month, and the final deliverable is due September 2014. But IETF timetables are ambitious, Montville said. “Most working groups slip their deadlines.”

Whatever the final timeline, Waltermire said that future versions of SCAP and its specifications likely will reference the SACM standards.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.