Forwarded from: Elizabeth Lennon <elizabeth.lennon (at) nist.gov>
ITL BULLETIN FOR MARCH 2008
HANDLING COMPUTER SECURITY INCIDENTS: NIST ISSUES
UPDATED GUIDELINES
Shirley Radack, Editor
Computer Security Division
Information Technology Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. Department of Commerce
Today, organizations that operate and manage information technology (IT)
systems are spending more time than ever before in responding to
security incidents. New incidents and threats that arise daily have the
potential to seriously damage and disrupt the security of the
organizationÂs information and IT systems.
Security incidents are violations or threats of violation of the
organizationÂs computer security policies, acceptable use policies, or
standard computer security practices. Organizations should consider
carefully their ability to handle these security incidents and threats
effectively when they plan, develop, and implement their IT security
programs.
Applying risk management procedures, organizations should identify and
assess the risks of security incidents and identify effective ways to
deal with them. The first approach is to prevent security incidents
whenever possible. But since not all incidents can be prevented,
organizations should take steps to establish an incident response
capability for rapidly detecting incidents, minimizing loss and
destruction, identifying any weaknesses in their systems that may have
been exploited, and restoring IT services. This is a complex
undertaking, requiring considerable planning and the commitment of
resources to carry out the plans.
Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPSs) and other mechanisms
can be used to monitor threats. Clear procedures are needed to assess
the current and potential impact of incidents and to implement effective
methods for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data. Specific
communication channels should be established with internal groups, such
as human resources and legal staffs, and with external groups, such as
law enforcement, the media, and other incident response teams.
Security Threats to IT Systems
The many security-related threats that organizations must address
include:
- Denial of Service (DoS)Âan attack that prevents or impairs the
authorized use of networks, systems, or applications by exhausting
resources.
- Malicious CodeÂa virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other code-based
malicious entity that successfully infects a host.
- Unauthorized AccessÂa person gains logical or physical access without
permission to a network, system, application, data, or other IT
resource.
- Inappropriate UsageÂa person violates acceptable use of any network
or computer policies.
- Multiple ComponentÂa single incident that encompasses two or more
incidents; for example, a malicious code infection leads to
unauthorized access to a host, which is then used to gain unauthorized
access to additional hosts.
Updated Guide on Handling Security Incidents
NISTÂs Information Technology Laboratory recently issued NIST Special
Publication (SP) 800-61 Revision 1, Computer Security Incident Handling
Guide: Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. Written by Karen Scarfone and Tim Grance of NIST and by
Kelly Masone of Booz Allen Hamilton, NIST SP 800-61 Revision 1 provides
practical guidance to help organizations establish an effective incident
response program, analyze and respond to information security incidents,
and reduce the risks of future incidents. The recommendations in the
guide are useful for those organizations that are just setting up their
incident handling teams, as well as those that have already done so.
The updated guide, which replaces NIST SP 800-61, Computer Security
Incident Handling Guide, focuses primarily on the procedures and
solutions for detecting, analyzing, prioritizing, and handling
incidents. The guidelines and recommended solutions can be used on many
different hardware platforms, operating systems, protocols, or
applications and can be tailored to meet the specific security and
mission requirements of different organizations.
NIST SP 800-61 Revision 1 provides in-depth information on the need for
incident response capabilities. It covers the structures of incident
response teams and discusses the other groups within an organization
that might participate in incident handling activities. The basic steps
of handling incidents effectively, including incident detection,
analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery, are presented.
Separate sections in the guide provide specific recommendations for
handling the five types of incidents: denial of service (DoS), malicious
code, unauthorized access, inappropriate usage, and multiple component
incidents. All of these incidents are defined, and examples of each are
given. The preparation, detection, analysis, containment, eradication,
and recovery steps for each type of incident are detailed. Checklists
for handling each of the five types of incidents are included.
The appendices bring together useful information sources that assist
organizations in their incident handling programs. Included are a
consolidated list of the recommendations that are discussed in the
guide, incident response scenarios, and questions for use in incident
response exercises. Also provided are suggested items of information to
be collected about each incident, a glossary, an acronym list, lists of
in-print resources, online tools, and other resources that help
organizations in planning and performing incident response activities.
In addition, the appendices present frequently asked questions about
incident response activities and the steps to be followed in incident
handling. The final section of the appendices contains incident
reporting guidelines for federal agencies from the United States
Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) in the Department of
Homeland Security.
This ITL bulletin summarizes the updated guide, which is available at:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html.
Basics of Incident Handling
Organizations face major decisions and actions when they develop their
computer security incident response capabilities (CSIRC). One of the
first considerations should be to create an organization-specific
definition of the term Âincident so that the scope of the term is
clear. The organization should decide what services the incident
response team should provide, consider which team structures and models
can provide those services, and select and implement one or more
incident response teams. An incident response plan, and associated
policies and procedures, should be developed when a team is established
so that the incident response process is performed effectively,
efficiently, and consistently. The plan, policies, and procedures should
identify the teamÂs interactions with other teams within the
organization as well as with external parties.
The incident response process is composed of several phases. The initial
phase involves establishing and training an incident response team, and
acquiring the necessary tools and resources to enable the team to carry
out its responsibilities. During this preparation activity, the
organization also attempts to limit the number of incidents that will
occur by selecting and implementing a set of controls based on the
results of risk assessments. However, residual risk will inevitably
persist after controls are implemented, and no control is foolproof.
The next phase is detection and analysis of security breaches, which
alerts the organization whenever incidents occur. A
containment/eradication/recovery phase follows. Depending upon the
severity of the incident, the organization can act to mitigate the
impact of the incident by containing it and ultimately recovering from
it. After the incident is adequately handled, the organization issues a
report that details the cause and cost of the incident and the steps the
organization should take to prevent future incidents. This last phase is
post-incident activity.
The organizationÂs incident response team should be available for
contact by anyone who discovers or suspects that an incident involving
the organization has occurred. One or more team members, depending on
the magnitude of the incident and availability of personnel, should
handle the incident. The incident handlers analyze the incident data,
determine the impact of the incident, and act appropriately to limit the
damage to the organization and restore normal services. Although the
incident response team may have only a few members, the teamÂs success
depends on the participation and cooperation of individuals throughout
the organization.
NIST Recommendations for Handling Security Incidents
NIST advises that organizations implement the following recommendations
in planning and developing their incident response capabilities:
Establish and operate a formal incident response capability.
Federal agencies and departments are specifically directed to establish
incident response capabilities under the Federal Information Security
Management Act (FISMA) of 2002. Federal organizations are required to
develop and implement procedures for detecting, reporting, and
responding to security incidents. Federal civilian agencies are
responsible for designating a primary and secondary point of contact
(POC) to report all incidents to the United States Computer Emergency
Readiness Team (US-CERT) and for documenting corrective actions that
have been taken and their impact. Each agency is responsible for
determining specific ways in which these requirements are to be met.
Also, policy guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) requires that agencies have a capability to provide help to users
when security incidents occur in their systems and to share information
concerning common vulnerabilities and threats (OMB Circular No. A-130,
Appendix III). OMB Memorandum M-07-16, Safeguarding Against and
Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information,
provides guidance on reporting security incidents that involve
personally identifiable information.
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 200, Minimum Security
Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems, specifies
minimum security requirements for federal information and information
systems, including incident response. The specific requirements for the
implementation of security controls are defined in NIST SP 800-53,
Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems.
Organizations should take the following steps in establishing an
incident response capability:
- Create an incident response policy and plan;
- Develop procedures for performing incident handling and reporting,
based on the incident response policy;
- Set guidelines for communicating with outside parties regarding
incidents.
- Select a team structure and staffing model;
- Establish relationships between the incident response team and other
groups, both internal to and external to the organization;
- Determine the services that the incident response team should provide;
and
- Staff the incident response team and provide staff members with
appropriate training.
Reduce the frequency of incidents by effectively securing networks,
systems, and applications.
It is less costly and more effective to prevent incidents than to try to
fix the problems that occur when security controls are inadequate. Many
security incidents can overwhelm the resources and capacity of the
organization to respond, and can result in delayed or incomplete
recovery. Extensive damage may occur, and systems and information may
not be available for long periods. When the security of networks,
systems, and applications is effectively protected and maintained, the
incident response team can focus on handling serious problems.
Document the organizationÂs guidelines for interactions with other
organizations regarding incidents.
Clear procedures should be established to guide incident handling team
members who may need to communicate with outside parties, including
other incident response teams, law enforcement, the media, vendors, and
external victims. These communications often must occur quickly, and
guidelines are needed so that only the appropriate information is shared
with the right parties. The inappropriate release of sensitive
information can lead to greater disruption and financial loss than the
incident itself. Creating and maintaining a list of internal and
external POCs, along with backups for each contact, can help
organizations to make the communications among the involved parties
easier and faster.
Emphasize the importance of incident detection and analysis throughout
the organization.
Organizations might experience thousands or millions of possible
indications of security incidents each day. These incidents are recorded
mainly by logging and computer security software. Centralized logging
and event correlation software can be effective in automating the
initial analysis of the voluminous data that is collected and in
selecting the events of interest that require human review. To assure
the quality of the data collected, organizations should establish
logging standards and procedures that facilitate the collection of
adequate information by logs and security software. This data should be
reviewed regularly by the appropriate staff members.
Develop written guidelines for prioritizing incidents.
Prioritizing the handling of individual incidents is a critical decision
point in the incident response process. Incidents should be prioritized
based on the following:
- Criticality of the affected resources and data, such as whether a
public Web server or a user workstation is affected; and
- Current and potential technical effect of the incident, such as
root compromise or destruction of data.
Combining the criticality of the affected resources and the current and
potential technical effect of the incident determines the impact of the
incident to the organization. For example, data destruction on a user
workstation might result in a minor loss of productivity; however, root
compromise of a public Web server might result in a major loss of
revenue, productivity, access to services, and reputation, as well as
the release of sensitive data. The latter breach could result in the
release of credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other forms
of personally identifiable information. Since incident handlers may be
under great stress during incidents, it is important to make the
prioritization process clear. Organizations should decide how the
incident response team should react under various circumstances and then
create a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) that documents the appropriate
actions and maximum response times. This documentation is particularly
valuable for organizations that outsource components of their incident
response programs. Documenting the guidelines should facilitate faster
and more consistent decision making.
Review the lessons learned from security incidents to improve the
organizationÂs security incident handling processes.
After a major incident has been handled, the organization should hold a
meeting to review the lessons learned from the incident and the
effectiveness of the incident handling process. Then it is possible to
identify necessary improvements to existing security controls and
practices. Meetings to review lessons learned should also be held
periodically for lesser incidents. The information accumulated from all
of the meetings to review the lessons learned should be used to identify
systemic security weaknesses and deficiencies in policies and
procedures. Follow-up reports generated for each resolved incident can
be important not only for evidentiary purposes but also for reference in
handling future incidents and in training new members of the incident
response team. An incident database, with detailed information on each
incident that occurs, can be another valuable source of information for
incident handlers.
Seek to maintain situational awareness during large-scale incidents.
Organizations often are challenged to maintain situational awareness for
handling of large-scale incidents because these incidents are very
complex. Many people within the organization may play a role in the
incident response, and the organization may need to communicate rapidly
and efficiently with various external groups. Collecting, organizing,
and analyzing all the pieces of information, so that the right decisions
can be made and executed, are not easy tasks. The key to maintaining
situational awareness is to prepare to handle large-scale incidents by:
- Establishing, documenting, maintaining, and exercising on-hours
and off-hours contact and notification mechanisms for various
individuals and groups within the organization, such as the chief
information officer (CIO), head of information security, IT
support staff, and business continuity planning staff. Mechanisms
are also needed for contacts outside the organization, such as
US-CERT, incident response organizations, and counterparts at
other organizations;
- Planning and documenting guidelines for the prioritization of
incident response actions based on business impact;
- Preparing one or more individuals to act as security incident
leads with responsibility for gathering information from the
incident handlers and other parties, and distributing relevant
information to the parties that need it; and
- Practicing the handling of large-scale incidents through exercises
and simulations on a regular basis. Since these incidents happen
rarely, incident response teams often lack experience in handling
them effectively.
More Information
See Appendix J of SP 800-61 Revision 1 for information about federal
incident reporting guidelines, including definitions and reporting time
frames. The US-CERT Web page can be found at:
http://www.us-cert.gov/federal/reportingRequirements.html.
OMB directives and guidelines are available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/.
NIST publications assist organizations in planning and implementing a
comprehensive approach to information security. See NISTÂs Web page for
information about NIST standards and guidelines that are referenced in
the Computer Security Incident Handling Guide and other security-related
publications, covering related topics, such as security planning, risk
management procedures, security controls, intrusion detection systems,
and firewalls. http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/index.html
Disclaimer
Any mention of commercial products or reference to commercial
organizations is for information only; it does not imply recommendation
or endorsement by NIST nor does it imply that the products mentioned are
necessarily the best available for the purpose.
Elizabeth B. Lennon
Writer/Editor
Information Technology Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8900
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8900
Telephone (301) 975-2832
Fax (301) 975-2378
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