Scenario 6: Productscape is a market research company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It helps organizations understand the needs and expectations of their customers and identify new business opportunities. Productscape's teams have extensive experience in marketing and business strategy and work with some of the best-known organizations in Europe. The industry in which Productscape operates requires effective risk management. Considering that Productscape has access to clients' confidential information, it is responsible for ensuring its security. As such, the company conducts regular risk assessments. The top management appointed Alex as the risk manager, who is responsible for monitoring the risk management process and treating information security risks.
The last risk assessment conducted was focused on information assets. The purpose of this risk assessment was to identify information security risks, understand their level, and take appropriate action to treat them in order to ensure the security of their systems. Alex established a team of three members to perform the risk assessment activities. Each team member was responsible for specific departments included in the risk assessment scope. The risk assessment provided valuable information to identify, understand, and mitigate the risks that Productscape faces.
Initially, the team identified potential risks based on the risk identification results. Prior to analyzing the identified risks, the risk acceptance criteria were established. The criteria for accepting the risks were determined based on Productscape's objectives, operations, and technology. The team created various risk scenarios and determined the likelihood of occurrence as ''low,'' ''medium,'' or ''high.'' They decided that if the likelihood of occurrence for a risk scenario is determined as ''low,'' no further action would be taken. On the other hand, if the likelihood of occurrence for a risk scenario is determined as ''high'' or ''medium,'' additional controls will be implemented. Some information security risk scenarios defined by Productscape's team were as follows:
1. A cyber attacker exploits a security misconfiguration vulnerability of Productscape's website to launch an attack, which, in turn, could make the website unavailable to users.
2. A cyber attacker gains access to confidential information of clients and may threaten to make the information publicly available unless a ransom is paid.
3. An internal employee clicks on a link embedded in an email that redirects them to an unsecured website, installing a malware on the device.
The likelihood of occurrence for the first risk scenario was determined as ''medium.'' One of the main reasons that such a risk could occur was the usage of default accounts and password. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability and launch a brute-force attack. Therefore, Productscape decided to start using an automated ''build and deploy'' process which would test the software on deploy and minimize the likelihood of such an incident from happening. However, the team made it clear that the implementation of this process would not eliminate the risk completely and that there was still a low possibility for this risk to occur. Productscape documented the remaining risk and decided to monitor it for changes.
The likelihood of occurrence for the second risk scenario was determined as ''medium.'' Productscape decided to contract an IT company that would provide technical assistance and monitor the company's systems and networks in order to prevent such incidents from happening.
The likelihood of occurrence for the third risk scenario was determined as ''high.'' Thus, Productscape decided to include phishing as a topic on their information security training sessions. In addition, Alex reviewed the controls of Annex A of ISO/IEC 27001 in order to determine the necessary controls for treating this risk. Alex decided to implement control A.8.23 Web filtering which would help the company to reduce the risk of accessing unsecure websites. Although security controls were implemented to treat the risk, the level of the residual risk still did not meet the risk acceptance criteria defined in the beginning of the risk assessment process. Since the cost of implementing additional controls was too high for the company, Productscape decided to accept the residual risk. Therefore, risk owners were assigned the responsibility of managing the residual risk.
Based on scenario 6, Productscape decided to monitor the remaining risk after risk treatment. Is this necessary?
ISO/IEC 27005 advises that even after risks have been treated, any residual risks should be continuously monitored and reviewed. This is necessary to ensure that they remain within acceptable levels and that any changes in the internal or external environment do not escalate the risk beyond acceptable thresholds. Monitoring also ensures that the effectiveness of the controls remains adequate over time. Option A is incorrect because all risks, including those meeting the risk acceptance criteria, should be monitored. Option B is incorrect because monitoring is necessary regardless of the perceived severity if it occurs, to detect changes early.
Scenario 2: Travivve is a travel agency that operates in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in San Francisco, the US, the agency is known for its personalized vacation packages and travel services. Travivve aims to deliver reliable services that meet its clients' needs. Considering the impact of information security in its reputation, Travivve decided to implement an information security management system (ISMS) based on ISO/IEC 27001. In addition, they decided to establish and implement an information security risk management program. Based on the priority of specific departments in Travivve, the top management decided to initially apply the risk management process only in the Sales Management Department. The process would be applicable for other departments only when introducing new technology.
Travivve's top management wanted to make sure that the risk management program is established based on the industry best practices. Therefore, they created a team of three members that would be responsible for establishing and implementing it. One of the team members was Travivve's risk manager who was responsible for supervising the team and planning all risk management activities. In addition, the risk manager was responsible for monitoring the program and reporting the monitoring results to the top management.
Initially, the team decided to analyze the internal and external context of Travivve. As part of the process of understanding the organization and its context, the team identified key processes and activities. Then, the team identified the interested parties and their basic requirements and determined the status of compliance with these requirements. In addition, the team identified all the reference documents that applied to the defined scope of the risk management process, which mainly included the Annex A of ISO/IEC 27001 and the internal security rules established by Travivve. Lastly, the team analyzed both reference documents and justified a few noncompliances with those requirements.
The risk manager selected the information security risk management method which was aligned with other approaches used by the company to manage other risks. The team also communicated the risk management process to all interested parties through previously established communication mechanisms. In addition, they made sure to inform all interested parties about their roles and responsibilities regarding risk management. Travivve also decided to involve interested parties in its risk management activities since, according to the top management, this process required their active participation.
Lastly, Travivve's risk management team decided to conduct the initial information security risk assessment process. As such, the team established the criteria for performing the information security risk assessment which included the consequence criteria and likelihood criteria.
Did Travivve's risk management team identify the basic requirements of interested parties in accordance with the guidelines of ISO/IEC 27005? Refer to scenario 2.
According to ISO/IEC 27005, understanding the organization and its context, including the identification of interested parties and their requirements, is a critical part of the risk management process. The team at Travivve identified the interested parties and their basic requirements and determined the status of compliance with these requirements, which aligns with the guidelines provided by ISO/IEC 27005. This standard recommends that organizations should understand their context and stakeholders' requirements to effectively manage risks. Additionally, it is appropriate to evaluate compliance with requirements as part of the context analysis, rather than after implementing risk treatment options. Therefore, the team's approach was in accordance with ISO/IEC 27005, making option C the correct answer.
ISO/IEC 27005:2018, Clause 7, 'Context Establishment,' which outlines the importance of identifying the context, including the interested parties and their requirements, as a basis for risk management.
Scenario 4: In 2017, seeing that millions of people turned to online shopping, Ed and James Cordon founded the online marketplace for footwear called Poshoe. In the past, purchasing pre-owned designer shoes online was not a pleasant experience because of unattractive pictures and an inability to ascertain the products' authenticity. However, after Poshoe's establishment, each product was well advertised and certified as authentic before being offered to clients. This increased the customers' confidence and trust in Poshoe's products and services. Poshoe has approximately four million users and its mission is to dominate the second-hand sneaker market and become a multi-billion dollar company.
Due to the significant increase of daily online buyers, Poshoe's top management decided to adopt a big data analytics tool that could help the company effectively handle, store, and analyze dat
a. Before initiating the implementation process, they decided to conduct a risk assessment. Initially, the company identified its assets, threats, and vulnerabilities associated with its information systems. In terms of assets, the company identified the information that was vital to the achievement of the organization's mission and objectives. During this phase, the company also detected a rootkit in their software, through which an attacker could remotely access Poshoe's systems and acquire sensitive data.
The company discovered that the rootkit had been installed by an attacker who had gained administrator access. As a result, the attacker was able to obtain the customers' personal data after they purchased a product from Poshoe. Luckily, the company was able to execute some scans from the target device and gain greater visibility into their software's settings in order to identify the vulnerability of the system.
The company initially used the qualitative risk analysis technique to assess the consequences and the likelihood and to determine the level of risk. The company defined the likelihood of risk as ''a few times in two years with the probability of 1 to 3 times per year.'' Later, it was decided that they would use a quantitative risk analysis methodology since it would provide additional information on this major risk. Lastly, the top management decided to treat the risk immediately as it could expose the company to other issues. In addition, it was communicated to their employees that they should update, secure, and back up Poshoe's software in order to protect customers' personal information and prevent unauthorized access from attackers.
According to scenario 4, which type of assets was identified during the risk identification process?
During the risk identification process, Poshoe identified the information that was vital to the achievement of the organization's mission and objectives. Such information is considered a primary asset because it directly supports the organization's core business objectives. Primary assets are those that are essential to the organization's functioning and achieving its strategic goals. Option A (Tangible assets) refers to physical assets like hardware or facilities, which is not relevant here. Option C (Supporting assets) refers to assets that support primary assets, like IT infrastructure or software, which also does not fit the context.
According to CRAMM methodology, how is risk assessment initiated?
According to the CRAMM (CCTA Risk Analysis and Management Method) methodology, risk assessment begins by collecting detailed information on the system and identifying all assets that fall within the defined scope. This foundational step ensures that the assessment is comprehensive and includes all relevant assets, which could be potential targets for risk. This makes option A the correct answer.
Which activity below is NOT included in the information security risk assessment process?
The information security risk assessment process, as outlined in ISO/IEC 27005, typically includes identifying risks, assessing their potential impact, and prioritizing them. However, selecting risk treatment options is not part of the risk assessment process itself; it is part of the subsequent risk treatment phase. Therefore, option C is the correct answer as it is not included in the risk assessment process.
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