A Complete Guide to the NIST Risk Management Framework

Information security is more important than ever in the business world. Most businesses implement a risk management strategy to help secure everything from their front door to their supply chain management process. However, information security concerns can be harder to address. This has highlighted the need for comprehensive risk management and incident response plans. However, building these plans from the ground up can take time and produce mixed results.

Many organizations want to turn to an established methodology for guidance. The NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) has emerged as a popular way to manage risk and strengthen incident response plans. Since organizations of all types and sizes use it—from government organizations to large enterprises and small businesses—the NIST RMF is an excellent choice for any business that needs to solidify its cybersecurity incident response plans.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, initially developed the NIST RMF for federal agencies, but the private sector has widely adopted its excellent approach to risk and incident response. If you’ve never looked into the NIST Risk Management Framework or any incident response plans, keep reading. Below is a complete guide to everything you need to know about the NIST Risk Management Framework.

What is the NIST Risk Management Framework?

In 2002, the U.S. Congress passed a law known as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Part of the law tasked the National Institute of Standards and Technology with creating risk management and incident guidelines for all federal agencies. The result was the NIST Risk Management Framework covering cybersecurity, privacy, and incident response practices. Its primary purpose is to provide a standardized yet flexible and customizable approach to risk management. The first version appeared in 2014, and  NIST Incident Response 2 was released on August 8, 2023. Smaller and more specific NIST risk management guides have also been developed, like the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, which was also released in 2023 (NIST).

What are the Key Components of the NIST Risk Management Framework?

The five key components of the NIST Risk Management Framework are:

• Identification: The NIST RMF starts with identifying risks to an organization, whether they be security, legal, or strategic risks.
• Measurement and assessment: This component describes how to measure or assess the identified risks.
• Mitigation: For risks that require action, the NIST RMF recommends developing mitigation plans.
• Reporting and monitoring: The NIST RMF includes processes for reporting risks and monitoring mitigation progress.
• Governance: This component ensures that risk management policies and procedures are implemented.

These components ensure organizations develop and properly document and implement information security policies and procedures. Although designed for federal agencies, it’s easy to see from these seven general steps that it can benefit any organization’s information security response plans. That’s because the NIST RMF follows a risk-based approach that helps manage information security incidents at any organization.

How Does the NIST Risk Management Framework Help Organizations Manage Risk Effectively?

Since it is a comprehensive framework, the NIST RMF helps organizations manage and mitigate risks effectively. The NIST framework is a well-structured and tested process that builds a strong risk management foundation. The categorization and mitigation techniques described in the NIST RMF are easily adapted and customized to organizations of all types and sizes, ensuring that they are effective regardless of where they are used.

Following the NIST RMF allows businesses and their leadership teams to gain a deeper understanding of the risks they face. This, in turn, helps them to make more informed decisions. The NIST framework also encourages communication between an organization’s employees and stakeholders, providing a platform for effective collaboration.

Exploring the Steps of the NIST Risk Management Framework

To implement the NIST Risk Management Framework in your organization, you must follow its six core steps. Below is a guide to each of the six steps of the RMF. s. Each step can be customized to your organization’s specific needs so that your policies match the needs of your business, employees, and customers. Here are the NIST RMF steps:

Step 1: Categorize System

In the categorization step, you classify the system to be evaluated for risk. Categorize the system’s associated information assets based on their sensitivity and the potential impact on your organization. This involves analyzing data sensitivity, assessing the potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and ultimately assigning security categories.

Step 2: Select Controls

Once you’ve categorized your system, the next step is to select and tailor security controls based on its categorization and specific needs. You’ll need to reference NIST SP 800-37 to choose the appropriate security controls and then customize them to align with your system’s unique characteristics and operational environment.

Step 3: Implement Controls

In the implementation step, you put the selected security controls into practice within your system. This involves creating a security plan that details how each control will be implemented, monitored, and managed. Subsequently, you integrate these controls into the system’s design and operations.

Step 4: Assess Controls

To ensure the effectiveness of the implemented controls, you must conduct security assessments. This begins with developing a Security Assessment Plan (SAP) that outlines the assessment objectives, methods, and scope. The SAP serves as a guide as you perform security assessments to evaluate the controls’ effectiveness and compliance with security requirements.

Step 5: Authorize System

Following the assessment phase, review your findings and decide whether to adopt the policies. You can fine-tune any aspects that don’t suit your business.

Step 6: Monitor Controls

Develop a continuous monitoring plan encompassing regular security assessments, vulnerability scanning, and incident response procedures. Ensure prompt reporting of security incidents, vulnerabilities, and compliance deviations, and take corrective actions as needed to maintain ongoing security and compliance.

These six steps will allow your organization to effectively manage information security risks and ensure resilience to potential threats. If you have appropriately customized the NIST RMF to your organization’s needs, only regular maintenance of the policies should be necessary. However, keeping your implementation team active doesn’t hurt, so team members can review how well the RMF works at your organization.

Benefits and Advantages of the NIST Risk Management Framework

While there are other risk management frameworks that organizations can follow, the NIST RMF has several benefits and advantages. As a proven and time-tested framework, the NIST RMF offers a stable approach to managing risk that has proven successful at many different organizations.

Some of the benefits and advantages of the NIST RMF include:

• Customization: The NIST RMF allows businesses, government agencies, and other organizations to tailor security controls and risk management practices to their specific needs.
• Compliance: The framework aligns with cybersecurity standards, legal guidelines, customer requirements, and various regulations. Adopting the NIST RMF is an excellent way to validate compliance with an organization’s requirements.
• Scalability: Due to its flexibility, the NIST RMF can scale to organizations of all sizes and types. Other risk management frameworks tend to be industry-focused or meant for organizations of certain sizes.

In addition, the NIST RMF promotes a proactive approach to risk management thanks to its focus on risk identification and categorization. Organizations following the framework’s six steps gain an understanding of their most severe risks. They can then form incident response plans before disaster strikes. The emphasis on continuous monitoring in the RMF helps stop emerging threats in real-time.

The NIST RMF has several advantages over competing risk management frameworks. Its widespread adoption means there is a large community providing resources and expertise that other frameworks lack. Since the RMF is well-known and recognized, customers gain confidence when they see a company use it for risk management. A proper NIST RMF implementation provides documentation of all incident response plans and actions, promoting openness and transparency.

Challenges and Considerations of the NIST Risk Management Framework

Even though the NIST framework is well-suited for most scenarios, it is not without its challenges. Organizations should consider the change management component when adopting any risk management framework. Implementing the NIST RMF will likely require significant changes to a company’s workflows, business processes, and even technology stack.

Another consideration is the resources required for a successful NIST implementation. The framework is complex and comprehensive, which requires input from team members all across the organization. Time spent on a NIST RMF implementation will mean key personnel will be pulled from their regular jobs. Depending on the company and the industry involved, there may even be significant costs required to properly implement the NIST RMF.

Case Studies and Success Stories of the NIST Risk Management Framework

The NIST website features several case studies and success stories from organizations that implemented the RMF. Among them are:

The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) bolstered its cybersecurity procedures by adopting NIST. KUMC established an Office of Information Security (OIS) because of the sensitive nature of patient data. According to OIS staff, the entire KUMC organization now understands that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility (NIST, 2019).

The Multi-State-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) aids state and local governments with cybersecurity practices. By implementing the NIST cybersecurity framework across all member organizations, MS-ISAC now has a standard to measure the effectiveness of security and privacy programs (NIST, 2021).

Source: eccouncil.org

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DREAD Threat Modeling: An Introduction to Qualitative Risk Analysis

By 2025, the global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach an estimated $10.5 trillion (INTRUSION, Inc., 2020). With 30,000 websites hacked every day (Bulao, 2022), companies of all sizes need to prioritize cybersecurity. As the prevalence and costs of cybercrime skyrocket, organizations have developed a variety of methods to model cyberthreats and assess cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities. One of these risk analysis methodologies is DREAD, a threat modeling framework created by Microsoft (Meier et al., 2003). Although Microsoft has since abandoned the model, citing concerns about its subjectivity (Shostack, 2008), it’s still in use today by small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and the military.

What Is the DREAD Model?

The DREAD model quantitatively assesses the severity of a cyberthreat using a scaled rating system that assigns numerical values to risk categories. The DREAD model has five categories (Meier et al., 2003):

◉ Damage: Understand the potential damage a particular threat is capable of causing.

◉ Reproducibility: Identify how easy it is to replicate an attack.

◉ Exploitability: Analyze the system’s vulnerabilities to ascertain susceptibility to cyberattacks.

◉ Affected Users: Calculate how many users would be affected by a cyberattack.

◉ Discoverability: Determine how easy it is to discover vulnerable points in the system infrastructure.

The DREAD model enables analysts to rate, compare, and prioritize the severity of threats by assigning a given issue a rating between 0 and 10 in each of the above categories. The final rating, calculated as the average of these category ratings, indicates the overall severity of the risk. 

Damage Potential: How Much Damage Could the Attack Cause?

◉ 0: No damage

◉ 5: Information disclosure

◉ 8: Non-sensitive user data related to individuals or employer compromised

◉ 9: Non-sensitive administrative data compromised

◉ 10: Destruction of an information system; data or application unavailability

Reproducibility: How Easily Can the Attack Be Reproduced?

◉ 0: Difficult or impossible 

◉ 5: Complex 

◉ 7.5: Easy 

◉ 10: Very easy 

Exploitability: What’s Required to Launch the Attack?

◉ 2.5: Advanced programming and networking skills

◉ 5: Available attack tools 

◉ 9: Web application proxies 

◉ 10: Web browser 

Affected Users: How Many People Would the Attack Affect?

◉ 0: No users 

◉ 2.5: Individual user 

◉ 6: Few users 

◉ 8: Administrative users 

◉ 10: All users 

Discoverability: How Easy Is the Vulnerability to Discover?

◉ 0: Hard to discover the vulnerability

◉ 5: HTTP requests can uncover the vulnerability

◉ 8: Vulnerability found in the public domain

◉ 10: Vulnerability found in  web address bar or form

Overall Threat Rating

The overall threat rating is calculated by summing the scores obtained across these five key areas. The risk severity categories for a threat are as follows:

◉ Critical (40–50): Critical vulnerability; address immediately.

◉ High (25–39): Severe vulnerability; consider for review and resolution soon.

◉ Medium (11–24): Moderate risk; review after addressing severe and critical risks.

◉ Low (1–10): Low risk to infrastructure and data.

Cyberthreat modeling using the DREAD framework is customizable based on your needs. However, to successfully apply a subjective risk analysis framework like the DREAD model, you need extensive cybersecurity expertise to ensure that your analysis of cyberthreats is accurate. Without up-to-date domain knowledge, you risk missing crucial information about system vulnerabilities and potential attack vectors. 

EC-Council’s Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (C|TIA) certification program can provide you with the knowledge base and practical skills you need to progress in your cybersecurity career. The program leverages insights from industry professionals to create one of the most robust and informative threat intelligence training courses in the cybersecurity industry.

Source: eccouncil.org

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6 Steps To Performing A Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

While cybersecurity regulations are standardised for use by all institutions, some organisations find it difficult to comply with all the requirements. The difficulties arise due to differences in size and operation strategies.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA v10)

For example, a multinational company will have more departments for assessment than a mid-sized company.

Nevertheless, it’s necessary to conduct a risk assessment and ensure that your business abides by all the requirements of regulatory bodies. One of the surest approaches that you can adopt is breaking down the regulations into small and manageable tasks. Below are some helpful tips:

Step 1: Constitute a Risk Management Team

You will not achieve your compliance needs if you work alone. Always ensure that you form crucial alliances that will give insights on every stage. The cross-sectional approach ensures that you incorporate individuals from all the departments which provides an all-inclusive risk analysis. Your team should at least have the following members:

●  A representative of senior management for oversight

● Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for review of the company’s network

● Marketing Representative to give details of all the information collected and stored during the marketing

● Privacy Officer to aid in identifying personally identifiable information (PII) available in the organisation

● Human Resources team to work together with privacy officer to protect the company’s PPI

● Product Management team to ensure that the product development process comply with regulatory standards

● Manager for Individual Business Lines

Step 2: Catalogue Information Assets

Cataloguing the information in an institution gives a clear image of all the information that your organisation collects, stores, and transfers. It analyses the data that passes through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

During the analysis, various departments assess the trustworthiness of all the vendors to ensure that they do not subject the data to risks. During the evaluation, you should ensure that you answer these questions:

● Which information do departments collect and where is it stored?

● Where are the vendors collecting the information from?

● Where it is stored and what is are the transmission channel?

● Which vendors are used by each department and which information does each vendor access?

● Do you have authentication methods before getting data?

● Where are the exact locations for data storage in your business?

● Is the physical location of data storage safe?

● Who accesses the data?

● Do you have remote workers accessing data?

● Which devices and networks are allowed to access/transmit the information?

● Which server collects, stores, and transmit information?

Step 3: Assess Risk

Some information is critical for your business, and you should thus scrutinise the authenticity of every vendor that can access the information. You’ll achieve the risk assessment process by answering the following:

● What are the critical networks, software, and systems for running daily business operations?

● Have you classified the information whose integrity, confidentiality, and availability should be protected?

● Which personally identifiable information does your organisation collect, store, or transfer and should be anonymised to prevent a breach in case of encryption failure?

● What is the probability of data corruption and which devices expose your data to fraudulent activities?

● What are the key areas that cybercriminals may target in your business?

● What will be the reputation and financial risk of a data breach?

● Will a cybersecurity attack impair the operations of your organisation entirely?

● What are the mechanisms of rectifying a cybersecurity attack?

● What is your business continuity plans in case of a cyberattack?

The catalogue will classify the information based on the risks, the ease of risk management, and the methodology of mitigating the risks.

Step 4: Analyse the Risk

To conduct an elaborate risk analysis, you should consider the following:

● Probability of occurrence

● Impact on finances, reputation, and the overall operations of the organisation

Multiplying the probability by the impact will give you the organisation's tolerance level. This step is critical when making the decision on whether to accept, reject, transfer, or mitigate the risks. For example, collecting financial data from your clients may have adverse effects on reputation and finances in case of a breach. As such, you may consider transferring the risk to a vendor.

Step 5: Setting Security Controls

Some of the controls that you should have in your organisation include:

● Firewall configuration

● Network segregation

● Password protocols

● At-rest and in-transit encryption

● Workforce training

● Anti-malware and anti-ransomware techniques

● Multi-factor authentication

● Vendor risk management software

When you institute these controls, you’ll significantly reduce the chances of data breach, thus improving the compliance and performance of every department in your business.

Step 6: Monitor and Review the Effectiveness

The increased use of technology by cybercriminals calls for dynamic strategies to protect your organisation's data. You should ensure that you have a continuous risk management software that will guarantee easy detection of threats.

Also, ensure that you develop risk mitigation processes that will effectively address the problem before it causes irreversible damage to the business' image, finances, and operations.

Source: minutehack.com

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The Next Cybersecurity Risk Management Model Post the COVID-19 Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic developed additional challenges for businesses all over the world as they made adjustments to their typical operations with the “new normal.” IT and security teams are required to impose a higher level of security as millions of employees work from the safety of their homes. Cybersecurity is now a major concern because cyber criminals have been taking advantage of gaps and are performing exploitative actions amidst the crisis.

This article gives awareness about the cyber risks that emerge from the coronavirus environment, and how to optimize mitigation measures for your organization.

Cybersecurity Risk Management Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

The constraints imposed by governments around the world to lessen coronavirus cases have prompted businesses to take a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach, which allows employees to access corporate information while staying at home. While many organizations don’t have the tightest security when working in a remote environment, the pandemic exposed companies to an even greater risk when using personal computers or laptops.

Home Wi-Fi networks are uncomplicated to attack and can make your organization vulnerable against cybercrime. It is a must to update your cybersecurity management, an assessment , an assessment that aims to detect risks and mitigate threats by applying suitable actions and extensive solutions to ensure that your organization is well-protected, especially when your employees are granted access to private data in remote areas.

Business Needs That Demand Changes in the Risk Management Framework

Business risks should be prioritized according to the level of impact they may cause in the future. Here are some risks that need to be addressed as they are more dangerous than others.

Security Risk

Cases of hacking become more apparent as people are enthusiastic about sharing their information and personal data on online platforms such as social media sites. This type of risk could be critical for growing businesses; not only does this risk lead to identity theft and payment fraud, but a company can also be financially responsible for such actions, which could lead to a downfall in trust and reputation.

Financial Risk

The less debt load you have, the better. Every organization could have debts on hand, may it be from a loan to start the company or credit extended to customers. Make it a habit to keep debt at a minimum or lower your debt load to avoid cash flow interruption or unexpected loss. Interest rate fluctuations are also a threat, so it is also essential to market your services successfully. Income loss from a loyal client won’t be as catastrophic if you were able to diversify your services.

Economic Risk

In relation to financial risk, it is essential to save as much money as you can for a steady cash flow. Along with the fluctuation of markets, the economy changes and this can be either good or bad for the environment. Be watchful of updates and trends that can lead to purchasing surges or reduced sales. A business plan should function accordingly to all economic cycles and can prepare you well enough for an economic downturn in case an unforeseen event arrives.

Operational Risk

Natural disasters or human-induced events can trigger operational risks to be exploited. It involves a variety of factors that can either happen internally, externally, or both. When not addressed properly, this risk can cause you to lose business continuity and affect your time, reputation, and money. Risk management practices for this threat should include thorough trainings for employees, as they can make mistakes that may lead to financial loss and unproductive efforts.

Compliance Risk

Laws and regulations are necessary to be complied with and can impact your normal operations when left unattended. Fines and penalties are effects of non-compliance which can therefore raise a red flag for your business. Stay vigilant in monitoring your mandatory compliance and seek assistance from consultants who can help minimize compliance risks from state laws and local agencies.

Competition Risk

Businesses strive with the help of different marketing essentials, and it has always been evident that there are competitors within the industry. Making continuous improvements and offering new services that can appeal to customers can greatly put your business one step ahead among the rest. Be aware of the trends and never settle for less, as growing competition within the market can result in loss of customers. Reassessing company performance, optimizing social media marketing, refining strategies, and maintaining strong relationships can fight off competition risk.

Reputation Risk

A simple bad review or a negative tweet can instantly cause a plummet in your revenue. Managing your reputation and responding to bad or good comments in a professional manner can keep your business away from lawsuits and reputation damages. Social media reviews and comments can greatly affect a business’ brand reputation; therefore, it is essential to provide quality services in order to maintain strong relationships with your customers.

Impact of COVID-19 in the Cybersecurity World

Threats have intensified because of the opening opportunities for attackers that grew apparent during the COVID-19 outbreak. On the other hand, hacktivists or hackers battling against political issues increase cybersecurity threats in their will to pursue social or political data. Script kiddies, also called junior hackers, are also exploring on their own, testing out cyberattack packages and honing their skills. Meanwhile, cybercriminals are using elevated digital technologies and traffic to find vulnerabilities and bait victims into clicking links that are related to the pandemic.

Risk Management Best Practices Post COVID-19

Luckily, strategies and practical steps for businesses are available to lessen the impact of intensified cyber risks in an organization. To prevent costly repercussions, the following practices should be implemented:

Determine weak spots

Even when you think you have the strongest defense, there will always be weaknesses that pop out from time to time. Consider determining vulnerabilities upon running tests and impose solutions to strengthen your security.

Apply new technology and techniques

Encourage the dynamic use of cyber threat intelligence to recognize and address attack trends. Use recently developed tools such as host checking, an authoritative tool to check security status before accessing company data, to fortify the security of remote working in these pandemic times.

Install antivirus programs

Investing in antivirus and antimalware software license defends your employee’s personal devices from low-level attacks.

Implement cybersecurity awareness

Best practices and protocols should be known to all employees to prevent leaking private data on the organization’s cloud storage. They should also remain vigilant with acknowledging emails and double check their credibility, as phishing scams have risen during the crisis.

Indulge in frequent assessments

New methods of cyberattacks should always be considered and evaluated. Check whether existing supervision vectors are sturdy enough, and update management documents such as crisis plans and business continuity plans. Consider new cyberattack methods and provide solutions to known risks.

Execute risk management

Prepare for future attacks and execute risk management plans. They provide a comprehensive view of the company’s risk exposure, carry out periodic cyber crisis simulation activities to prepare their response to attacks, or prepare their retaliation to malicious attempts before a cybercrime is committed.

Use a VPN for protection

Employees that work at home should ensure that their Wi-Fi connection is secured with a strong password. Better yet, the use of a virtual private network (VPN) can add an extra layer of security to work from home operations. They are not exactly a prevention from cyberattacks, but they serve as a useful barrier against threats.

Optimizing Your Risk Management Model

As the pandemic made millions of businesses adjust according to the new normal protocols, the risk management function should also be modified to be more effective. Some ways on how to optimize your risk management model include: enhancement of monitoring practices, streamlining of market risk operations model, optimization of reports and plans, and the automation of performance management and governance. It can take years to implement a stronger risk management function, but these fundamental practices outline the security of your organization to be in good shape.

COVID-19 had every person wearing masks and face shields when going out to prevent themselves from catching the virus. Similarly, being prepared in the cyber world is better than shouldering the burdens from failed security. Being able to react to unforeseen events quickly can lessen the impact of cyberattacks. Organizations that are continuously wary of such illegal acts are well prepared to face the battle against the endless increase of cyber risks and cyber threats.

Source: ecouncil.org

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