PBD Privacy and Security by Design Oracle
PBD Privacy and Security by Design Oracle
September 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword.............................................................................. 1
1. Introduction....................................................................... 3
2. Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design....................... 5
3. Foundational Principles of Security by Design...................... 7
3.1 Proactive not Reactive; Preventative not Remedial........................10
3.2 Secure by Default......................................................................11
3.3 Embedded into Design..............................................................12
3.4 Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum.......................................................14
3.5 End-to-End Security...................................................................15
3.6 Visibility and Transparency.........................................................17
3.7 Respect for the User..................................................................18
4. The Enterprise Security Journey......................................... 19
4.1 Enterprise Architecture Approach to Security...............................19
4.2 Charting the Security Course.....................................................23
4.3 Guiding the Journey..................................................................26
Conclusion.......................................................................... 29
Appendix A: Oracle Software Security Assurance................... 30
Appendix B: End-to-End Security........................................... 32
B.1 Database Security......................................................................32
B.2 Identity and Access Management...............................................34
Foreword
As threat levels rise, security professionals are increasingly being called upon
to develop new ways to protect the data assets of their organizations. The old
way of simply building a defensive “perimeter” around a resource will no longer
be sufficient. Rather, security must go on the offensive and address information
security concerns as the default mode of operation of a business or organization,
through an enterprise architecture approach.
I have always said that strong security is essential to achieving strong privacy.
In fact, one of the 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design is “End-to-End
Security.” This is echoed in a recent statement by my colleague Leslie Harris,
President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, who has challenged
organizations to rethink the privacy-invasive practices of the proposed Cyber
Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) bill in the U.S. Rather than
sharing highly sensitive information with government agencies, she noted that
“It has to be the obligation of these tech companies to build in security from the
very beginning [...]. You want to see these very innovative companies step up and
become leaders in security solutions first.” 1
While security is an essential element of privacy, it is not enough – privacy
and data protection subsume a much broader set of protections. Privacy by
Design is meant to reflect a holistic approach to privacy, at an organizational
or enterprise level.
In an earlier paper with Oracle, we discussed the convergence of paradigms
between the approach to privacy I have long championed called Privacy by Design,
and a similar approach to security called “Security by Design.” The current and
future challenges to security and privacy oblige us to revisit this convergence
and delve deeper. As privacy and security professionals, we must come together
and develop a proactive approach to security – one that is indeed “by design.” To
this end, I am delighted to be partnering with Mark Dixon, Enterprise Architect,
Information Security, at Oracle Corporation, on this joint paper.
My hope is that our paper will mark a further step in the development of privacy
and security – by design!
1 Bilton, N. (2013, May 6). “Disruptions: New Motto for Silicon Valley: First Security, Then Innovation,” The
New York Times. Retrieved from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/
1
1. Introduction
The close alignment between the disciplines of privacy and security was introduced
in our January 2013 white paper, “Privacy and Security by Design: A Convergence
of Paradigms,” 2 published jointly by the Information and Privacy Commissioner
of Ontario, Canada, and Oracle Corporation. That paper laid the foundation for
a further discussion between the disciplines of privacy and security. On the one
hand, it noted:
Information security professionals have come to realize that privacy is an
integral part of security. By adopting such an approach early on, good
privacy and security may be embedded directly into information systems,
processes and architectures, thereby minimizing the likelihood of data
breaches recurring in the future. 3
On the other hand, the paper recognizes that the convergence between privacy and
security is only the tip of the iceberg. In addition to a “convergence of paradigms,”
it points to a situation in which:
[…] privacy and security – by design, will continue to evolve into an
essential component of information technologies and operational practices
of organizations, as well as becoming an integral part of entire systems of
data governance and privacy protection. 4
This follow-up paper seeks to build upon the work of our January 2013 paper
by examining more closely the synergy that exists between privacy and security,
and proposing steps to develop an Enterprise Security Architecture that supports
the privacy-security synergy.
This paper has two key objectives:
• Define a set of foundational “Security by Design” principles that are modelled
upon and support the 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design.
• Illustrate an enterprise-level process for defining and governing the strategic
journey of Security by Design through an enterprise architecture approach.
To achieve these objectives, this paper includes the following major sections,
among a number of others:
• Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design
• Foundational Principles of Security by Design
• The Enterprise Security Journey
• Conclusion
2 Cavoukian, A., Chanliau, M. (2013). “Privacy and Security by Design: A Convergence of Paradigms.”
Retrieved from http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/pbd-convergenceofparadigms.pdf
3 Ibid p. 1.
4 Ibid.
3
In this discussion, it is important to recognize that, although the disciplines of
privacy and security are closely related, they are not synonymous. Privacy seeks to
respect and protect personally identifiable information by empowering individuals
to maintain control over its collection, use and disclosure. Information security
seeks to enable and protect activities and assets of both people and enterprises.
4
2. Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design
Although privacy requires that personally identifiable information about individuals
be protected from unauthorized access, for which strong security measures are
essential, it is important to recognize that privacy involves much more than ensuring
secure access to data. In a word, privacy is all about control—enabling individuals
to maintain personal control over their personally identifiable information with
respect to its collection, use and disclosure. The meaning of this concept of
privacy is perhaps best expressed as “informational self-determination,” a term
first used in a German constitutional ruling concerning personal information
collected during Germany’s 1983 census.
In an age where the complexity and interconnectivity of both networked systems
and information and communications technologies (ICTs) are steadily increasing,
challenges to privacy are growing exponentially. Privacy laws are struggling to keep
up with the ever-shifting landscape brought about by such rapid technological
change. Even with their growth and complexity, however, these challenges to privacy
are far from insurmountable. Empowering individuals to maintain control over
their personally identifiable information has not become merely a well-intentioned
idea, with little hope of becoming a reality. Despite the increasing challenges
brought about by the convergence of social, mobile and cloud computing, privacy
is not only an achievable task but, as we will outline, a highly desirable one for
organizations in maintaining the trust and confidence of their customers.
Achieving the desired outcome of privacy, moreover, does not require that one
give up the many advantages and benefits of technology—for the majority of
us, an impossible proposition. Rather than trying to live “off the grid,” in order
to achieve privacy in the Information Age, what is first required is a change in
thinking within organizations and businesses that develop, implement and use
networked systems and ICTs.
Rather than using the lens of zero-sum trade-offs, we must look at privacy and
technology through the lens of positive-sum, mutually beneficial interactions.
Like security, privacy need not diminish the functionality of technology. Rather,
once properly understood and implemented, privacy works in conjunction with
technology and enhances its functionality insofar as it increases end-user
satisfaction, consumer confidence, trust and use. Technology is not hindered by
privacy, but rather, made far better by it.
The key to this mutually beneficial interaction between privacy and technology
is one of timing. In order to have a positive-sum, “win-win” interaction with
technology, privacy cannot be added on to an ICT system after-the-fact, e.g., by
adding a “compliance layer” on top of its core functionality to address relevant
privacy legislation. Rather, in order to work in conjunction with technology and
thus break the mold of zero-sum thinking, privacy must be proactively embedded
into the design and architecture of an ICT system. This approach is able to address
the growing challenges brought about by the increasing complexity of ICT systems,
in a positive-sum, “win-win” manner, by addressing them at their source, by
default—embedded in the architectural foundation of an ICT’s operation.
5
The approach to privacy described above is embodied in the 7 Foundational
Principles of Privacy by Design. In addressing the ever-increasing and systemic
challenges of ICTs and networked systems, Privacy by Design provides a holistic,
interdisciplinary framework. The application of Privacy by Design cuts across the
entire structure of a business or organization, end-to-end, including its information
technology, business practices and processes, physical design and networked
infrastructure. It is in this way that it achieves a positive-sum, mutually beneficial
interaction between privacy and technology.
The 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design are as follows:
1. Proactive not Reactive; Preventative not Remedial
2. Privacy as the Default Setting
3. Privacy Embedded into Design
4. Full Functionality — Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum
5. End-to-End Security — Full Lifecycle Protection
6. Visibility and Transparency — Keep it Open
7. Respect for User Privacy — Keep it User-Centric 5
5 See Cavoukian, A. (2011). “Privacy by Design”. The 7 Foundational Principles.” Retrieved from http://
www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/7foundationalprinciples.pdf
6
3. Foundational Principles of Security by Design
Information security seeks to enable and protect the activities and assets of both
people and enterprises.
The NIST Glossary of Key Information Security Terms defines “Information Security”
as: “Protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access,
use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to provide:
3) availability, which means ensuring timely and reliable access to and use
of information.” 6
While information security has primarily been thought of as a defensive mechanism
to protect enterprise activities and assets, we propose that properly implemented
information security processes and technology can also be enablers for achieving
business objectives.
For example, if a business has an objective to increase revenue by improving
consumer satisfaction, then providing a secure environment to receive and
manage consumer information as well as secure methods for granting access to
such information can enhance customer confidence in the enterprise, leading to
new revenue. The same is true when dealing with business partners or vendors.
A simple analogy poses the question: “Why do Formula 1 race cars have brakes?”
A traditional view would be: to make them stop (defensive posture). However,
Formula 1 race cars have very sophisticated braking systems that allow them to
go faster (enablement posture). NASCAR vehicles have a higher top speed than
Formula 1 cars, appropriate for oval NASCAR race tracks, but Formula 1 cars
will always beat NASCAR vehicles on the twists and turns of Formula 1 tracks
because Formula 1 cars have better brakes.
Similarly, while the information security concepts of integrity and confidentiality
can be thought of as defensive mechanisms (basic protection), the concept of
availability can be thought of in more offensive terms (enabling business). As we
seek to implement information security systems that both enable and protect
enterprise activities and assets, we propose the 7 Foundational Principles of
Privacy by Design be aligned with security in order to develop a Security by
Design approach.
6 National Institute of Standards and Technology (2011). Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, ed.
R. Kissel, p. 93. Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/ir7298-rev1/nistir-7298-revision1.pdf
7
By “Security by Design” we mean an approach to information security which, like
Privacy by Design, is at once holistic, creative, anticipatory, interdisciplinary,
robust, accountable and embedded into systems. It stands in direct contrast to
“security through obscurity,” which approaches security from the standpoints
of secrecy, complexity or overall unintelligibility. Within the field of engineering,
the approach of Security by Design has a lot in common with Ross Anderson’s
conception of “Security Engineering.” 7
Although in this paper we align work done in privacy (Privacy by Design) with
security in order to develop an approach to security (Security by Design), it
is important to note that the opposite has also taken place, i.e., work done in
security has been aligned with privacy in order to further develop privacy. For
example, the detailed approach taken by the NIST security risk assessment has
been used to develop a more robust privacy impact statement. 8 Indeed, security
risk assessments seek to address security issues early on in the development
of an IT product, not after the fact. Thus their alignment with privacy impact
statements can be said to be another example of the synergy between privacy
and security “by design.”
7 See Anderson, R (2008). Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems, 2 nd
ed. Retrieved from http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/book.html
8 See Spiekermann, S., Oetzel, M. C. (2012), “Privacy-by-Design Through Systematic Privacy Impact
Assessment – A Design Science Approach,” ECIS - Conference Proceedings, 2012. Retrieved from http://ssrn.
com/abstract=2050872
8
Privacy by Design and Security by Design
The following table illustrates, at a high level, how a set of Security by Design
principles can be modeled upon the 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by Design.
Privacy Security
Privacy by Design
Foundational Principles Respect and protect personal informa- Enable and protect activities and assets of both
tion. people and enterprises.
1. Proactive not Reactive; Anticipate and prevent privacy-inva- Begin with the end in mind. Leverage enter-
Preventative not Reme- sive events before they happen. Do not prise architecture methods to guide the proac-
dial wait for privacy risks to materialize. tive implementation of security.
2. Default Setting Build privacy measures directly into Implement “Secure by Default” policies,
any given ICT system or business including least privilege, need-to-know, least
practice, by default. trust, mandatory access control and separation
of duties.
3. Embedded into Design Embed privacy into the design and Apply Software Security Assurance practices.
architecture of ICT systems and busi- Use hardware solutions such as Trusted Plat-
ness practices. Do not bolt it on after form Module.
the fact.
4. Positive-Sum Accommodate all legitimate interests Accommodate all stakeholders. Resolve con-
and objectives in a positive-sum “win- flicts to seek win-win.
win” manner, not through a zero-sum
approach involving unnecessary
trade-offs.
5. End-to-End Security Ensure cradle-to-grave, secure life- Ensure confidentiality, integrity and availabil-
cycle management of information, ity of all information for all stakeholders.
end-to-end.
6. Visibility and Trans- Keep component parts of IT systems Strengthen security through open standards,
parency and operations of business practices well-known processes and external validation.
visible and transparent, to users and
providers alike.
7. Respect for the User Respect and protect interests of the Respect and protect the interests of all infor-
individual, above all. Keep it user- mation owners. Security must accommodate
centric. both individual and enterprise interests.
9
3.1 Proactive not Reactive; Preventative not Remedial
Many enterprises have historically responded to security threats in very reactive
ways. But with security attacks increasing in frequency and sophistication,
enterprises must build a security-minded culture and way of doing business that
is much more proactive and preventative.
The following quotations emphasize the urgency of thinking in this way:
From the Verizon 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report:
Perhaps more so than any other year, the large scale and diverse nature of
data breaches and other network attacks took center stage. […] we witnessed
separate, ongoing movements that seemed to come together in full crescendo
throughout the year. And from pubs to public agencies, mom-and-pops
to multinationals, nobody was immune. As a result—perhaps agitated by
ancient Mayan doomsday predictions—a growing segment of the security
community adopted an “assume you’re breached” mentality. 9
From America the Vulnerable by Joel Brenner:
Companies must now reassess their risk postures and ask: What would
happen if our basic designs, our formulas, or our codes were compromised?
What would happen if our networks were taken down or corrupted? These are
strategic risks, and organizations must do what well-managed organizations
always do with risk: Buy it down. 10
Preparing before the fact often requires a change in enterprise “state of mind”
involving first, leadership and finally, the overall culture of the organization. This
involves taking a strategic view, rather than responding to threats as they arise
just with tactical actions. Borrowing advice from well-known business consultant
Stephen R. Covey, we must “Begin with the End in Mind.” 11 While Dr. Covey’s
recommendation applies to creating a personal mission statement, the advice
is equally compelling for enterprises. We need to take the strategic, proactive
viewpoint, rather than the reactive, tactical one, defining what our security posture
should be for an enterprise, and build upon that foundation.
We thus recommend that the discipline of enterprise architecture 12 (EA) be employed
to proactively define an enterprise’s security strategy. Gartner first applied this
concept to information security in a 2006 paper entitled “Incorporating Security
into the Enterprise Architecture Process.” 13
10
Dr. Jeanne W. Ross, Director, Center for Information Systems Research, MIT
Sloan School of Business, challenges enterprise leaders to build “a foundation
for execution … [with respect to] the IT infrastructure and digitized business
processes automating a company’s core capabilities.” 14
While enterprise architecture can span much more than information security, the
methods employed by this discipline can enable an enterprise to define a holistic
EA security strategy that becomes an integral part of an enterprise’s “foundation
for execution.” Section 4 of this paper, “The Enterprise Security Journey,” will
outline an EA process for defining this strategy.
14 Ross, J. W., Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution. (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2006).
15 National Institute of Standards and Technology (2011). Glossary of Key Information Security Terms, ed.
R. Kissel, p. 110. Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/ir7298-rev1/nistir-7298-revision1.pdf
16 Ibid p. 125.
17 Ibid p. 111.
11
• Mandatory Access Control. 18 A means of restricting access to objects based
on the sensitivity of the information contained in the objects and the formal
authorization (i.e., clearance, formal access approvals and need-to-know) of
subjects to access information of such sensitivity.
• Segregation of Duties. 19 Separating certain areas of responsibility and
duties in an effort to reduce fraud and unintentional mistakes. For example,
an employee who accepts cash payments should not also be responsible for
making bank deposits and reconciling bank statements.
This is an area where Privacy by Design and Security by Design show especially
strong synergy. For example, the privacy principle of “data minimization” – collecting,
using and exposing only the data elements needed to accomplish a specific task –
is very much in line with the least privilege and need-to-know policies described
above. Indeed, the application of data minimization may be enforced within an
organization through security policies such as least privilege and need-to-know.
It should be noted that in many cases, strict policies of Secure by Default may
conflict with Ease of Use objectives. Great care must be taken to build safeguards
into the User Interface to allow users to easily access the information and
functionality needed to complete their work, while preserving the fundamental
concepts of Secure by Default.
18 Ibid p. 116.
19 See “Separation of Duties.” Your Dictionary. Business. Retrieved from http://business.yourdictionary.
com/segregation-of-duties
20 “Software Security Assurance.” Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_security_
assurance
12
Software Security Assurance seeks to decrease the risk of introducing security
vulnerabilities at every step of the information system lifecycle, spanning definition,
development, deployment and maintenance processes. To accomplish these
objectives, privacy and security must be embedded into every standard, system,
protocol and process.
A number of approaches to Software Security Assurance exist in the industry.
Examples include the Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM) 21 and the
Comprehensive, Lightweight Application Security Process (CLASP) 22. An analysis
of these approaches reveals the following basic practices:
• Full Lifecycle Approach. Security must be addressed throughout the
full development of a software product: from requirements and design to
implementation, testing and deployment. Security cannot be treated at one
step only, as though it were simply a matter of building a defensive “perimeter”
around a product. Rather, security must be considered at, and engineered
into, every step of a product’s lifecycle.
• Comprehensive Threat Analysis. The sensitivity of the data used by a product,
the system processes that handle them and the potential repercussions
from the loss, misuse or unauthorized access of any data must be assessed
and prioritized. Misuse cases, data flows and data classification techniques
should be used to determine the threat level of potential system breaches.
• Security Built In to the System Architecture. Security measures to address
any potential threats must be designed into the architecture of the system,
not bolted on after the fact. Security must be constructed as an essential
component of the core functionality of the system.
• Regular Code Review. Exploitable flaws in the source code must be discovered
through repeated code reviews and audits and fixed through recoding and/
or redesigning of the system. Secure coding standards should be enforced
and security modules should be designed for reuse.
• Rigorous Security Testing. The secure functionality of the system must be
assured through structured testing and methods-based evaluation of the
software features being delivered. Misuse cases should be tested against a
live system and system “hacks” should be attempted.
For a discussion of Oracle’s approach to Software Security Assurance, see
Appendix A.
13
Trusted Platform Module
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) was developed by the Trusted Computing
Group, an international industry standards group, as a technology used to shift
the baseline of trust within a system from the software to the hardware. According
to the EURIM Digital Policy Alliance white paper “Security by Design: Trusted
Computing,” 23
TPMs provide hardware support for key management. They are computer
chips (microcontrollers) with a finite storage capacity to store key material
and certificates in a secure manner on the motherboard of computing devices
and are based on open standards. 24
Embedding key material and certificates into the hardware of a system allows
data to be signed or hashed without the encryption key ever leaving the TPM.
This protects the key from being changed or stolen by malware or other software-
based threats, thus adding an additional layer of security to the cryptographic
and authentication services of a system.
23 EURIM Digital Policy Alliance (2012). “Security by Design: Trusted Computing.” Retrieved from http://
dpalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/1112_Security-by-Design_Trusted_Computing.pdf
24 Ibid p. 5.
14
What can be done to achieve a positive-sum “win-win” outcome rather than an
either-or situation? Here are some considerations from an enterprise perspective:
• Seek to understand the objectives of all constituents. Get all the issues
on the table. Acknowledge that conflicts may exist and knowing what they
are is the first step to resolution.
• Evaluate potential conflicts. Why do they exist? Are there ways to reframe
expectations to minimize conflicts?
• Understand current methods and technology. Do the conflicts exist because
of current limitations? Are there ways that existing technology or methods
can be tweaked to minimize conflict?
• Evaluate new methods and technology. Are there new ways of doing things
that would minimize or remove conflicts? What if we used new technology?
Are there emerging technologies that will help us in the near future?
• Seek effective compromise. Are there ways we can adjust our expectations
to accommodate conflicting objectives? Can we “meet in the middle” to resolve
the conflict?
• Implement trade-offs at the lowest level possible. When a compromise is
sought at a high level, it is usually one-dimensional, such as convenience
vs. security, so that one wins at the cost of the other (zero-sum). On the
other hand, trade-offs made at a low level create a multi-dimensional space
where each individual component may have little effect on the final result
but, taken together, they can bring the most optimal outcome (positive-sum).
• Seek creative solutions. Are there ways of (re)designing or (re)architecting
the technology so that the conflict is resolved by being removed altogether?
Sometimes a new perspective is all that is required.
• Be willing to invest in effectiveness. Sometimes, we will need to “bite the
bullet” and invest more to get the results we need. Proper investment in new
methods and technology may resolve conflicting objectives and deliver real
business value.
15
Two key areas of information security, Database Security (DBSec) and Identity and
Access Management (IAM), are vital to this discussion. While other information
security controls are also important (e.g. network security, virus/malware
protection), DBSec and IAM go right to the heart of privacy protection technology
– protecting the information itself and securing access to that information.
Note that the following discussion provides only an overview of the benefits and
functionality of DBSec and IAM. For a more detailed discussion of the benefits
and technical capabilities of DBSec and IAM, see Appendix B.
Database Security
Information security requires that the confidentiality, integrity and availability
of a database be protected. DBSec 25 has been defined as:
a system or process by which the “Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability,”
or CIA, of the database can be protected. Unauthorized entry or access to a
database server signifies a loss of confidentiality; unauthorized alteration to
the available data signifies loss of integrity; and lack of access to database
services signifies loss of availability. Loss of one or more of these basic
facets will have a significant impact on the security of the database.
This is best achieved through a two-pronged approach of:
• Preventative Security Controls, which proactively seek to prevent illegitimate
actions from happening to data in the database; and
• Detective Security Controls, which monitor and analyze cases of illegitimate
actions that do happen in the database.
Identity and Access Management
In addition to secure databases, information security requires that only appropriate
access to information, systems and applications be granted. Gartner 26 defines
IAM as:
the security discipline that enables the right individuals to access the right
resources at the right times for the right reasons.
IAM addresses the mission-critical need to ensure appropriate access to
resources across increasingly heterogeneous technology environments, and
to meet increasingly rigorous compliance requirements. This security practice
is a crucial undertaking for any enterprise. It is increasingly business-
aligned, and it requires business skills, not just technical expertise.
Enterprises that develop mature IAM capabilities can reduce their identity
management costs and, more importantly, become significantly more agile
in supporting new business initiatives.
16
To achieve IAM, a system requires:
• Identity Governance functions, which ensure that the right people DO get
access rights and the wrong people DON’T, provide knowledge of WHO has
access to WHAT, disable access rights when people leave and enforce audit
policies (ensure compliance);
• a Directory Services repository, which is the definitive, unified source for
WHO has access and WHAT access they have; and
• Access Management mechanisms, so you automatically know WHO the user
is (authentication), grant the RIGHT access (authorize) and enforce security
policies (Web, mobile, cloud).
27 See FIPS PUB 197 “Advanced Encryption Standard.” Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/
fips/fips197/fips-197.pdf
28 See FIPS PUB 140-2 “Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules.” Retrieved from http://csrc.nist.
gov/publications/fips/fips140-2/fips1402.pdf
29 See the Common Criteria project website at http://www.commoncriteriaportal.org/
17
3.7 Respect for the User
A basic principle of Privacy by Design is to focus on the individual and have
respect for individual privacy rights. Security, however, addresses a broader
constituency. It must respect and protect the interests of all information owners,
accommodating both individual and enterprise interests.
For example, economic espionage, where the primary target is intellectual property,
not personally identifiable information (PII), is rampant in today’s business
environment. In such cases, the need to protect enterprise data is paramount.
In his book America the Vulnerable, Joel Brenner states:
The level of Internet crime is staggering. Our companies and government are
under relentless cyber assault twenty-four hours a day, and they are bleeding
– we are bleeding – military secrets, commercial secrets, and technology
that drive our standard of living and create our power as a nation. The
astounding advances in the electronic processing and storage of information
that have given us so much wealth and pleasure have also left us nearly
defenseless against endemic crime and systematic espionage by foreign
intelligence services, criminal gangs, and unscrupulous competitors. Much
of the crime originates in Eastern Europe and Nigeria. The most persistent
espionage – particularly economic espionage – originates in China. 30
Although security addresses a broader constituency than privacy, privacy principles
are nonetheless essential in order to keep the interests of individuals separate
from those of enterprises. For example, a company whose employees may also be
its customers (e.g. financial services firm) may be tempted to use employee data
it obtained under one relationship (employer-employee) to enhance its ability to
sell goods or services in the other relationship (vendor-customer). Here, privacy
principles such as data minimization and purpose specification should be leveraged
to separate those conflicting interests. These privacy principles, in turn, should
be enforced within an enterprise through security policies such as segregation
of duties, least privilege and need-to-know.
30 Brenner, J. America the Vulnerable. Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime, and Warfare
(Penguin Press HC, 2011).
18
4. The Enterprise Security Journey
It is not simply by chance that, of the 7 Foundational Principles of Privacy by
Design and by extension Security by Design, the first is “Proactive not Reactive;
Preventative not Remedial.” In order to become a reality, these “by design”
principles require, above all, leadership and goal-setting. Leadership and goal-
setting are abilities which occur not at the level of technology or legislation,
but rather at the level of business practices. Thus in order to implement a “by
design” approach to privacy or security, what is first and foremost required is
a strategic, proactive viewpoint within an organization, rather than a reactive,
tactical one based on compliance.
Taking our lead from this first, all-important principle, in this section we will
build upon the Security by Design principles defined in the previous section and
develop an enterprise-level process for defining, governing and realizing a Security
by Design approach.
Enterprise security is a journey, not a single project or disjointed set of loosely
related projects. A successful enterprise security strategy provides an umbrella
vision of what a company wants to achieve, an orderly plan for how to enable and
protect that objective and an approach to governing the process.
This section addresses these three key areas:
• Enterprise Architecture Approach to Security
• Charting the Security Course
• Guiding the Journey
19
The Oracle Enterprise Architecture Framework31 is a hybrid EA framework influenced
by TOGAF, FEA and Gartner and has clear mappings to both TOGAF and FEA,
which allows its users to switch easily to other EA frameworks if they so choose.
This section briefly explains how this framework can be applied to develop a holistic
information security strategy. Figure 1 outlines the six primary components that
make up this framework.
Business Architecture
Any security architectural discussion should begin with business architecture.
This business architecture allows us to understand what must be enabled and
protected in order to achieve desired business results.
The business architecture aligns an organization’s operating model, strategies
and objectives with IT. It also provides a foundation for developing a business
case for IT transformations. If security is to enable and protect the business,
investments in security must align with business objectives and strategies.
The business architecture also provides a business-centric view of the enterprise
from a functional perspective. This business-centric view includes business
objectives (what we want to accomplish), strategy (how we intend to achieve those
objectives), functions (critical functions necessary to implement the strategy) and
organization (who the key leaders are and how they relate to each other).
This is the level at which leadership and goal-setting with respect to security
occurs. If security is not a priority at the highest level of a business or organization,
security objectives and a functional strategy to carry them out will not spread
throughout an enterprise’s operations.
20
The same holds true for the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the
enterprise level. Leadership and goal-setting at the highest levels of an organization
are required in order to prescribe and enforce high standards of privacy and
data protection, and go beyond compliance with legislation. A preventative
and systematic approach to engineering privacy and data protection requires
a clear commitment in terms of business objectives, strategy and functions
within an organization.
Application Architecture
The application architecture provides an application- and services-centric view of
an organization that ties business functions and services to application processes,
services and components in alignment with the application strategy. Identifying
key application functionality allows us to define what security measures are
essential to enable and protect an organization’s assets.
For example, identifying the essential corporate applications that must access and
use credit card information allows us to focus on which applications and related
data sets must be secured according the PCI DSS standards. 32 This would enable
us to embed a well-established security standard into the design of application
processes, services and components, thus achieving a combined application
of the principles of “Embedded into Design” (section 3.3) and “Visibility and
Transparency” (section 3.6).
In the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the enterprise level, the application
architecture is the organizational level where considerations about how privacy
can be embedded into the design and architecture of IT systems and business
practices should occur. A systematic, principled approach to embedding privacy
and data protections should be adopted, relying upon accepted standards and
process frameworks. Detailed privacy impact and risk assessments should be
carried out in order to mitigate privacy risks and consider alternatives. Similar to
the example discussed above, this is where the principles of “Privacy Embedded
into Design” and “Visibility and Transparency” should be realized.
Information Architecture
The information architecture describes all of the moving pieces and parts for
managing information across the enterprise, and the sharing of that information
with the right people at the right time to realize the business objectives stated in
the business architecture.
Identifying key data sets that must be protected to achieve privacy objectives and
other regulatory requirements is a critical part of the information architecture
(although an enterprise must also recognize that data protection includes other
privacy objectives such as use limitation and purpose specification). Understanding
the relative value of different types of information is critical. Being able to assess
the risk an organization faces if key data are compromised or lost is necessary
to prioritize investment in security infrastructure and processes.
21
For example, identifying key data sets that must be protected allows us to focus
on and determine the right security policies for that data. Applying the principle
of “Secure by Default” (section 3.2), these would include policies such as Least
Privilege, Need-To-Know, Least Trust, Mandatory Access Control and Segregation
of Duties.
In the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the enterprise level, the information
architecture of an organization is where considerations regarding data minimization
and purpose specification should occur and the principle of “Privacy by Default”
be realized. Understanding how much personally identifiable information (PII) is
needed in order to carry out a business objective is key to collecting, using and
disclosing only that amount within an application. In addition, the length of time
PII is needed and used by an enterprise for a particular business objective should
be evaluated and determined. Once PII is no longer needed by an application or
process, it should be securely destroyed.
Technology Architecture
The technology architecture describes how the infrastructure underlying the
business, application and information architectures is organized. In this way, the
technology architecture becomes an enabler for the business, the “foundation for
execution” that will make it possible for the business to achieve its objectives.
Unfortunately, when technology solutions are implemented without strong
alignment with business objectives, investment of time and money is wasted, and
meaningful objectives may never be realized.
However, correct alignment of technology with business objectives can allow the
business to leverage technology as a competitive differentiator and accelerator
of business success.
For example, suppose a business has major objectives to improve supply chain
efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. If a good IAM architecture is
implemented internally within the enterprise, but IAM infrastructure to support
external users (e.g. customers, suppliers and partners) is not provided, the critical
corporate supply chain and sales objectives will suffer, even though internal
users are well-served and happy. Focusing the technology (in this case, IAM
functionality) where the business is focused (supply chain and customers) would
deliver stronger results, thus achieving the principle of “End-to-End Security”
(section 3.5) where it is most needed within a business.
Similarly in the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the enterprise level, the
EA component of technology architecture is where the principle of “End-to-End
Security” should be realized. Understanding what security measures are needed
in order to protect PII throughout its lifecycle is essential to choosing the right
technology and networked infrastructure within a business.
People, Process and Tools
This area of the framework identifies the people, processes and tools used to
define enterprise architectures and architecture solutions. It must be recognized
that technology alone seldom achieves desired results. It is how people work with
the technology that delivers results.
22
Consider a simple example. We know that encryption is a necessary technology
to implement strong privacy protection for the PII required by an enterprise.
However, if the wrong data elements are encrypted, neither privacy nor security
objectives will be achieved, leaving the enterprise open to potential data breaches
or regulatory violations. It is how the technology is used, not the technology itself,
that delivers the needed protection. In this example, proper use of the technology
requires that the interests of the end-user be kept uppermost. Thus the principle
of “Respect” (section 3.7) for all information owners must be applied.
In the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the enterprise level, the area of
people, process and tools is where considerations regarding user-centricity should
occur and the principle of “Respect for User Privacy” be realized. Awarding the
interests of the individual the highest priority is how the right enterprise decisions
regarding informed consent, accuracy of information and redress are made.
Governance
EA governance provides the structure and processes for making sure that technology
solutions continue to be aligned with enterprise objectives. It is not enough to
create an initial security strategy without implementing governance processes
that will help make it a reality. Successful governance processes include people,
processes, policies, technology and finance.
By its very nature, security impacts all facets of an organization. Consequently,
representative stakeholders from the different parts of the organization must be
involved in the governance process. This requires the culture of an organization
to be one in which representative stakeholders take a leading, proactive role with
respect to security, rather than viewing security as someone else’s responsibility.
Thinking of security in terms of “zero-sum” trade-offs of responsibility within an
organization will no longer work. Successful governance processes for security
require a “positive-sum” model of cross-departmental leadership.
In the case of implementing Privacy by Design at the enterprise level, understanding
all the interests and objectives throughout an enterprise is key to embedding privacy
and data protection into applications or processes such that their requirements
are optimized and all legitimate interests are accommodated. This requires EA
governance in a manner consistent with the principle of “Full Functionality –
Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum.”
23
to enable the business, not just on what technologies are available or nice
to have. Technology architectures can then have real meaning in business
terms, offering real value to the enterprise.
• Assess Current State – Where you Are Now. The Current State defines
both the structure and outcomes of the current security architecture. Are
we currently taking a piecemeal, reactive, tactical approach to security, or
do we have an orderly, structured, strategic plan for achieving our security
objectives? Are our current security initiatives aligned with business objectives?
What systems and processes do we have in place? How well are they working?
What are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? What risks do we face?
Do we have any current, observed or measurable evidence that indicates the
effectiveness of our current plans and infrastructure? How mature is our
approach to security, relative to other organizations in our market?
Ranking the current state according to a Security Capability Maturity Model, 33
such as the one briefly outlined below, can be helpful in determining how well
the enterprise is doing with its security posture.
• Define Future State – Where you Want to Be. Defining the desired Future State
is the same as mentally looking into the future and defining what you want to
achieve by a particular time. Using the Enterprise Architecture framework, we
can document answers to questions such as: What levels of security do I need
to enable and protect my business objectives? What applications and data need
to be protected? What technology and processes need to be in place? How will
I measure effectiveness? How will new security measures affect stakeholders?
33 See “What is the Capability Maturity Model? (CMM).” Select Business Solutions. Retrieved from http://
www.selectbs.com/process-maturity/what-is-the-capability-maturity-model
24
A Security Capability Maturity Model such as the one shown in Figure 2 can
also be helpful in determining the level of maturity an enterprise wants to
achieve in its Future State.
• Evaluate Gaps. Evaluating gaps is the process of comparing Current State with
Future State and determining what is necessary to get us from where we are to
where we want to be. What technology solutions are we missing altogether? What
existing systems need to be improved? Are our security processes and procedures
up to date with current threats? Are there things we are doing now that don’t
align with business objectives? Are our critical processes adequately supported
by technology? Since we probably can’t solve all challenges at once, what
issues are most important? How can we prioritize our needs and investment?
By defining which gaps exist between the Current State and Future State,
we can intelligently determine what steps need to be taken to achieve Future
State objectives.
• Define the Enabling Architecture. The technology architecture which
enables and protects business assets and actions must be firmly aligned
with the business, application and data architecture layers in the Enterprise
Architecture model. What specific technologies do we need? How must they
work together? What standards should be employed? What is available
from existing vendors? What unique requirements does our enterprise
have that might demand custom development? What can we learn from
other companies in the market? Will this technology infrastructure
accommodate anticipated growth and changes in our enterprise?
Up to this point, nearly all of our discussion has defined architecture in terms
of capabilities, rather than specific technology solutions. However, defining
the enabling architecture might require that technology choices be made.
For example, if the Current State shows a highly diverse set of directory
technologies, and the Future State architecture calls for a consolidated
infrastructure to improve performance, decrease cost and improve reliability,
the Enabling Architecture might get quite specific on what type of directory
meets this need for consolidation.
• Define the Strategic Roadmap. Rarely can all security challenges be
addressed immediately. We must make tough decisions and lay out a strategic
sequence for implementing a security strategy. What is most important
to our enterprise? What are our biggest risks that demand attention?
Where should we start? Can investment in foundation infrastructure now
make our life simpler in the future? How can we move from our current
technology environment to where we need to be? Should we make big
wholesale changes, or does a more incremental approach fit us best?
What deadlines must we meet to properly support business schedules?
The Strategic Roadmap is typically not a detailed project plan, but shows
major priorities and sequence of activities. It will highlight major dependencies
that may exist between system elements or scheduled business events.
25
• Define the Business Case. Defining a business case for security initiatives can
be challenging. Certainly, traditional return on investment (ROI) calculations
can show measureable benefits for some parts of the infrastructure, but
in other cases, benefits of security solutions are measured in terms of
risk mitigation or avoidance. However, evaluating several benefits areas,
including both risk mitigation/avoidance and ROI estimates, can produce a
comprehensive business case to justify investment. We should answer questions
such as: What security risks exist for our enterprise? What impact would
we feel from loss of data or misuse of data? What would be the direct cost
to compensate for a data breach? How would our brand be damaged? What
about loss of customer confidence in our company? Where can good security
influence revenue positively? What security solutions can be justified by ROI?
34 Securosis, L.L.C., The Sans Institute (2009). “The Business Justification for Data Security.” Retrieved
from https://securosis.com/assets/library/reports/TheBusinessJustificationForDataSecurityV10.pdf
26
Defining the governance process is an integral part of the enterprise security
architecture, as explained in the previous section. However, a successful governance
process should include more than the process definition. These five guidelines
can be useful in both defining and executing the governance process:
• Secure executive sponsorship and commitment. An enterprise security
strategy must not be an IT-only initiative. This strategy must be sponsored
by, and have the commitment of, the top ranking officers in the organization.
Full executive commitment to security is often difficult to secure, but is
essential for success. Without such commitment, appropriate funding may
not be available to do what is needed, consistent attention to critical security
issues may lapse and appropriate management and technical people may
be diverted to other issues. Unfortunately, it too often takes a major, public
data breach before executives give the proper strategic attention to security.
• Align all stakeholders to support enterprise objectives. Because of the
wide variety of stakeholders affected by an enterprise security strategy,
it is essential to align these stakeholders behind a set of well-understood
objectives. This includes vertical alignment within an organization, from
executives to project participants, but also horizontal alignment – across
departmental boundaries within an organization and extending outward to
include technology vendors and systems integrators, as needed. Identifying
all these stakeholders, defining roles and establishing alignment linkages
between them can be very helpful.
• Establish and conduct an effective communications plan among
constituents. Once stakeholders are properly aligned, an appropriate
schedule of communication should be established, both for routine project and
program communications as well as escalation procedures, both within the
organization and with external parties. In many cases, good communication
is the single largest contributor to project success.
• Establish and execute a follow-up cadence at all levels. Having a plan is
not enough. It must be consistently followed. Having a prescribed cadence for
different levels of stakeholders is important. For example, weekly meetings
for key project people, monthly governance council reviews and quarterly
executive reviews may be in order. These should include appropriate external
participants (e.g. software vendor, systems integrator) as required. Remember,
consistency is key.
• Develop performance metrics and evaluate effectiveness of enterprise
decisions. An enterprise security strategy should promote and produce effective
enterprise decisions on issues relating to the alignment of IT infrastructure
with business objectives. In order to ensure that effective enterprise decisions
are being made, metrics should be developed to measure the use of enterprise
security strategies in making decisions about IT investment, their effectiveness
within the overall decision-making process and the quality of the decisions
made using them.
27
This governance process is a basic approach that has been proven to be effective
many times. However, this process is too frequently ignored or taken too lightly.
Unfortunately, lapses in follow-through or improper attention to details at the right
time in the lifecycle of an initiative often cause misunderstandings, project delays and
cost overruns, making it tough to appropriately support business objectives. When
this process is taken seriously, however, it provides the flexible leadership required
for an enterprise to adjust to changes in markets, strategies and technologies. In the
case of implementing an EA security strategy with Security by Design, it guides an
enterprise towards taking proactive, rather than reactive, measures in addressing
security concerns. The same holds true for an EA privacy strategy with Privacy
by Design, albeit here the governance process guides an enterprise towards being
proactive rather than reactive with respect to addressing privacy concerns.
28
Conclusion
In this paper, we explored the strong synergy that exists between the related
disciplines of privacy and security. While on the one hand, strong security is
essential to meet the objectives of privacy, on the other hand, well-known privacy
principles are valuable in guiding the implementation of security systems. On the
basis of this synergy, we defined a set of foundational principles for Security by
Design that are modeled upon and support the foundational principles of Privacy
by Design. These new Security by Design principles show how the 7 Foundational
Principles of Privacy by Design should ideally be followed to also develop a Security
by Design approach, through measures such as:
• Proactive and Preventative, not Reactive and Remedial
• Secure by Default
• Security Embedded into Design
• Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum
• End-to-End Security
• Visibility and Transparency
• Respect for the User
On the basis of this new Security by Design approach, we then developed an
enterprise-level process for defining, governing and realizing a “by design” approach
to security. In order to become a reality for enterprises, Security by Design requires
strong leadership, continuous goal-setting and consistent follow-through. Enterprise
Architecture is an ongoing journey, not a single project or disjointed set of loosely
related projects. Our discussion found that if an EA framework is followed to define
an EA security strategy in harmony with the holistic, interdisciplinary principles
of Privacy by Design and Security by Design, and if a formal governance process
is implemented to guide and govern the journey, then an enterprise can indeed be
proactive, rather than reactive, in addressing any security concerns. This will lead to
stronger security, and better privacy, for all – a positive-sum, win-win proposition!
29
Appendix A: Oracle Software Security Assurance
This appendix supplements the discussion of Software Security Assurance found
in section 3.3 “Embedded into Design.” It discusses the basic practices used
in Oracle’s approach to Software Security Assurance to illustrate a successful
approach to embedding security in a large, diverse product portfolio.
Oracle Corporation follows Software Security Assurance methods for building
security into the design, build, testing and maintenance of its products by adhering
to the following basic principles: 35
• A Lifecycle Approach to Security. Focused attention on security is included
throughout the various phases of the life of a product: from design and
development to release and maintenance. While the product development
phase is the one in which most of Software Security Assurance activities are
focused, Software Security Assurance activities also extend to the ongoing
maintenance of products after they have been released to customers.
• System Definition. Good security needs to be built in, not bolted on, to a
product. Secure development starts early in the product definition phase and
continues through the entire product lifecycle. Security requirements are
gathered and documented early in the design stage based on two principles:
1) Consistency—New features should have consistent security behavior when
compared to other product features and 2) Simplicity—A feature should not
introduce a new privilege model where there is an existing privilege model
unless there is an outstanding reason to do so.
• Common Security Modules. Some problems are best solved only once.
Development teams can benefit from common security modules that save
time because each team does not have to track down the kinds of subtle
errors that creep into certain core features. Critical security functionality is
consolidated into core modules and services are tested extensively for use
across many products.
• Independent Validation. Selected customers are engaged to validate and
gather additional feedback and guidance on matters relating to the security
of products. Such customer feedback helps assure that the technology is
not only secure, but that processes and procedures are in place to support
security in the products over their lifetime.
• System Development and Deployment. Following Secure Coding Standards 36
assures that lessons learned from past experience are followed in building
the products. Ongoing reviews by product teams continue to validate
compliance with Secure Coding Standards and previously documented
security specifications.
30
• Security Analysis and Testing. Extensive use of testing tools by both
Development and Quality Assurance teams provides ongoing feedback on
the quality of the code produced during the development phase before the
final product is shipped.
• Security Assessments. Security assessments, also called ethical hacking,
consist of security testing using a structured, methodical approach carried out
against an Oracle product. A security assessment looks at product architecture
from a security perspective, identifies security bugs, and documents them.
The goal is to identify vulnerabilities as well as to educate the development
group on secure coding techniques that can be applied going forward.
31
Appendix B: End-to-End Security
This appendix supplements the discussion of end-to-end security in section 3.5. It
is a more detailed discussion of the benefits and technical capabilities of Database
Security and Information and Access Management with respect to developing a
Security by Design approach.
32
• Enforce Segregation of Duties (SoD) policies.
• Prevent illegitimate SQL from reaching the database.
On the other hand, Detective Security Controls are used to monitor and analyze
the cases when illegitimate actions do happen in the database. Benefits include:
• Know when bad actions are happening.
• Analyze what happened.
• Learn from experience.
Figure 5 illustrates the functional capabilities of DBSec – the actual security
controls – that are necessary to deliver these benefits.
33
• SoD Enforcement. Increase the security of existing applications and address
regulatory mandates that call for segregation of duties, least privilege and
other preventive controls to ensure data integrity and data privacy.
• SQL Firewall. This firewall acts as a first line of defense - transparently
detecting and blocking SQL injection attacks, privilege escalation and other
threats against relational databases.
• Data Redaction. Limit data actually delivered from the database to a
requesting application, depending on user roles and access privileges. This
can be instrumental in achieving the Data Minimization objective required
by privacy, although by the same token the database should itself contain
only the information required to carry out the purpose of the technology
accessing it.
Detective Security Controls include the following functional capabilities:
• Monitor. Automatically detects unauthorized database activities that violate
security policies, and thwarts perpetrators from covering their tracks.
• Audit. Consolidates audit data and logs generated by databases, operating
systems, directories, file systems and custom sources into a secure centralized
repository.
• Report. Provides enterprise security intelligence and efficient compliance
reporting by combining monitoring and audit data.
• Analyze. Analyzes audit and event data and takes action in a timely manner.
38 “Identity and Access Management (IAM).” Gartner IT Glossary. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/
it-glossary/identity-and-access-management-iam/
34
Figure 6 - IAM Business Benefits
35
Figure 7 – IAM Technical Capabilities
36
• Virtual Directory. A unified identity service to provide a single LDAP access
point by aggregating data from several data repositories (e.g., directories,
databases) without physically consolidating such repositories.
• Authentication source. Providing a definitive, centrally managed source
for authenticating users of applications, databases and operating systems.
Access Management capabilities include:
• Web access management / Single sign-on (SSO). Mechanisms for providing
standardized authentication, session management and policy enforcement
methods to provide secure access to web applications.
• Risk-based authentication. The ability to consider multiple factors, including
device fingerprint, user behavior history, use location, etc., to determine the
risk of allowing access for that user.
• Fine-grained authorization. The ability to provide very granular, flexible
and externalized access control for applications.
• Mobile/social authentication and authorization. The ability to easily
leverage established authentication and authorization mechanism for native
mobile apps.
• Identity federation. The ability to extend authentication and single sign-on
services across domain boundaries.
• Enterprise SSO. The ability to provide single sign-on services for all enterprise
application types, including Web, thick client or legacy “green screen”
applications.
37
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner,
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Toronto, Ontario
Canada M4W 1A8
Telephone: 416-326-3333
Fax: 416-325-9195
E-mail: info@ipc.on.ca
Website: www.ipc.on.ca
Oracle
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Phone: +1.602.333.9000
Fax: +1.602.333.9001