Assignment:
Project Information
The operating system (OS) of an information system contains the software that executes the critical functions of the information system. The OS manages the computer's memory, processes, and all of its software and hardware. It allows different programs to run simultaneously and access the computer's memory, central processing unit, and storage. The OS coordinates all these activities and ensures that sufficient resources are applied. These are the fundamental processes of the information system and if they are violated by a security breach or exploited vulnerability it has the potential to have the biggest impact on your organization.
Security for operating systems consists of protecting the OS components from attacks that could cause deletion, modification, or destruction of the operating system. Threats to an OS could consist of a breach of confidential information, unauthorized modification of data, or unauthorized destruction of data. It is the job of the cybersecurity engineer to understand the operations and vulnerabilities of the OS (whether it is a Microsoft, Linux, or another type of OS), and to provide mitigation, remediation, and defense against threats that would expose those vulnerabilities or attack the OS.
There are six steps that will help you create your final deliverables. The deliverables for this project are as follows:
Security Assessment Report (SAR): This report should be a 7 to 8 page double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations.
Nontechnical presentation: This is a set of 8 to 10 PowerPoint slides for upper management that summarizes your thoughts regarding the findings in your SAR.
Step 1:
The audience for your security assessment report (SAR) is the leadership of your organization, which is made up of technical and nontechnical staff. Some of your audience will be unfamiliar with operating systems (OS). As such, you will begin your report with a brief explanation of operating systems fundamentals and the types of information systems.
Click on and read the following resources that provide essential information you need to know before creating a thorough and accurate OS explanation:
- operating systems fundamentals
- the applications of the OS
- The Embedded OS
- information system architecture
- cloud computing
- web architecture
After reviewing the resources, begin drafting the OS overview to incorporate the following:
- Explain the user's role in an OS.
- Explain the differences between kernel applications of the OS and the applications installed by an organization or user.
- Describe the embedded OS.
- Describe how the systems fit in the overall information system architecture, of which cloud computing is an emerging, distributed computing network architecture..
- Include a brief definition of operating systems and information systems in your SAR.
Step 2:
You just summarized operating systems and information systems for leadership. In your mind, you can already hear leadership saying "So what?" The organization's leaders are not well versed in operating systems and the threats and vulnerabilities in operating systems, so in your SAR, you decide to include an explanation of advantages and disadvantages of the different operating systems and their known vulnerabilities.
Prepare by first reviewing the different types of vulnerabilities and intrusions explained in these resources:
- Windows vulnerabilities
- Linux vulnerabilities
- Mac OS vulnerabilities
- SQL PL/SQL, XML and other injections
Based on what you gathered from the resources, compose the OS vulnerability section of the SAR. Be sure to:
Explain Windows vulnerabilities and Linux vulnerabilities.
Explain the Mac OS vulnerabilities, and vulnerabilities of mobile devices.
Explain the motives and methods for intrusion of the MS and Linux operating systems;
Explain the types of security awareness technologies such as intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems.
Describe how and why different corporate and government systems are targets.
Describe different types of intrusions such as SQL PL/SQL, XML, and other injections
You will provide leadership with a brief overview of vulnerabilities in your SAR.
Step 3:
You have just finished defining the vulnerabilities an OS can have. Soon you will perform vulnerability scanning and vulnerability assessments on the security posture of the organization's operating systems. But first, consider your plan of action. Read these two resources to be sure you fully grasp the purpose, goals, objectives, and execution of vulnerability assessments and security updates:
Vulnerability assessments
Patches
Then provide the leadership with the following:
Include a description of the methodology you proposed to assess the vulnerabilities of the operating systems. Provide an explanation and reasoning of how the methodology you propose, will determine the existence of those vulnerabilities in the organization's OS.
Include a description of the applicable tools to be used, and the limitations of the tools and analyses, if any. Provide an explanation and reasoning of how the applicable tools to be used, you propose, will determine the existence of those vulnerabilities in the organization's OS.
Include the projected findings from using these vulnerability assessment tools.
In your report, discuss the strength of passwords, any Internet Information Services' administrative vulnerabilities, SQL server administrative vulnerabilities, and other security updates and management of patches, as they relate to OS vulnerabilities.
Step 4:
By utilizing security vulnerability assessment tools, such as MBSA and OpenVAS, you now have a better understanding of your system's security status. Based on the results provided by these tools, as well as your learning from the previous steps, you will create the Security Assessment Report (SAR).
In your report to the leadership, emphasize the benefits of using a free security tool such as MBSA. Then make a recommendation for using these types of tools (i.e., MBSA and OpenVAS), including the results you found for both.
Remember to include these analyses and conclusions in the SAR deliverable:
After you provide a description of the methodology you used to make your security assessment, you will provide the actual data from the tools, the status of security and patch updates, security recommendations, and offer specific remediation guidance, to your senior leadership.
You will include any risk assessments associated with the security recommendations, and propose ways to address the risk either by accepting the risk, transferring the risk, mitigating the risk, or eliminating the risk.
Include your SAR in your final deliverable to leadership.