Will CDM finally be ‘the realization of IT security’?

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Tools and services are being chosen for Phase 2 of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, which security watchers say could be a revolutionary step in how the government protects its information.

For more than a decade, the federal government has been moving from a periodic, compliance-based approach to IT security to real-time awareness based on the continuous monitoring of IT systems and networks.

While progress  has been spotty so far, some security watchers say Phase 2 of the Homeland Security Department’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, expected to be implemented in 2015, could be a major step forward.

Jeff Wagner, director of security operations for the Office of Personnel Management, said Phase 2 could be “the realization of IT security.”

“I’m happy with the CDM program, Wagner said. “It’s moving us away from the old generation of defense in depth to a new generation of seeing attacks as they occur.”

The next phase of CDM, called Least Privilege and Infrastructure Integrity, focuses on managing identity and access to resources and puts a premium on being able to see and control what is going on in a system. This can enable effective real-time response.

“This phase could be transformative, rather than evolutionary,” said Ken Ammon, chief strategy officer of Xceedium, which provides access control technology.

Phase 1 of the CDM program, which focused on endpoint security, went into effect in 2013. The next phase reflects the new reality of IT security in which perimeter defenses have been recognized as inadequate and breaches as inevitable. This puts a premium on monitoring and controlling behavior inside systems and networks.

Phase 2 of CDM will not require forklift upgrades of systems, and the tools and services needed will available under a blanket purchase agreement with steep volume discounts for agencies. But it will require a standardized approach that will enable automated functions and improve communication among siloed systems.

The CDM program is a part of the implementation of the Federal Information Security Management Act, which has for years been mired in regulatory compliance.

CDM is enabling the government’s orderly but critical move to continuous monitoring and better real-time visibility. It provides  off-the-shelf technology to agencies in the .gov domain to conduct risk-based cybersecurity based on ongoing assessments of conditions and activity.

The program specifies 15 monitoring capabilities, which can be performed by agency sensors or provided as a service. Sensors will feed data into local agency dashboards, allowing managers to prioritize risks based on standardized and weighted scores and to document and track actions. Summary information is fed into enterprise-level dashboards and eventually to a DHS dashboard.

A blanket purchase agreement was awarded in August 2013 to 17 companies, each with multiple partners, to cover endpoint management in the first phase of CDM. Capabilities available in Phase 1 are hardware and software asset management, configuration management and vulnerability management.

The capabilities for Phase 2 are:

  • Access control management
  • Security-related behavior management
  • Credentials and authentication management
  • Privileges
  • Boundary protection, including network, physical and virtual components.

A request for information was sent in April to CDM suppliers to identify products for Phase 2, and products now are being evaluated for inclusion in the BPA, which is expected to be updated in 2015 to make approved products and services available.

Because products in the CDM program are off-the-shelf, Phase 2 will not involve any radical new capabilities. It is intended to deliver a standard set of tools and services to provide better understanding and control of who is accessing resources and what they are doing. Systems and administrators will learn what normal behavior entails on their networks, and this will in turn allow them to identify and respond to abnormal and malicious activity.

Although perimeter defenses are not being abandoned, years of successful breaches have made it clear that they are not adequate defenses. The new reality in IT security is that breaches are inevitable, and the ability to monitor and control behavior through improved identity management and access control will allow intrusions to be more quickly identified and more effectively addressed.

OPM’s Wagner calls CDM Phase 2 “a sign that the federal government finally is taking FISMA seriously.”

Attaining better security is not about developing new technology, he said. “The PIV card is a perfect example.” It has been around for 10 years to provide interoperable, strong multi-factor authentication, but is not being widely used. Requiring the use of a suite of proven, off-the-shelf tools available at affordable prices will ensure that the technology is put to use, not on a shelf.

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.