If an organization has three information assets to evaluate for risk management purposes as shown in the accompanying data, which vulnerability should be evaluated for additional controls first? Which vulnerability should be evaluated last?
Data Exercise 1
• Switch L47 connects a network to the Internet. It has two vulnerabilities: (1) susceptibility to hardware failure, with a likelihood of 0.2, and (2) susceptibility to an SNMP buffer overflow attack, with a likelihood of 0.1. This switch has an impact rating of 90 and has no current controls in place. There is a 75 percent certainty of the assumption and data.
• Server Websrv6 hosts a company Web site and performs e-commerce transactions. It has a Web server software that is vulnerable to attack via invalid Unicode values. The likelihood of such an attack is estimated at 0.1. The server has been assigned an impact value of 100, and a control has been implemented that reduces the impact of the vulnerability by 75 percent. There is a 80 percent certainty of the assumption and data.
• Operators use the MGMT45 control console to monitor operations in the server room. It has no passwords and is susceptible to unlogged misuse by the operators. Estimates show the likelihood of misuse is 0.1. There are no controls in place on this asset, which has an impact rating of 5. There is a 90 percent certainty of the assumption and data.
Exercise 4
Using the data classification scheme presented in this chapter, identify and classify the information contained in your personal computer or personal digital assistant. Based on the potential for misuse or embarrassment, what information is confidential, sensitive but unclassified, or suitable for public release?
Exercise 5
Using the asset valuation method presented in this chapter, conducted a preliminary risk assessment on the information contained in your home. Answer each of the questions covered in the chapter. What should it cost if you lost all your data?