BYOD: Cyber Classification

Having an effective Cyber defence requires " identification " of the methodology proposed for each measures adopted in the Critical Security Controls (CSC) programme. The Critical Security Controls listed below has been developed from the combined knowledge of actual attacks and effective defences of experts from every part of the cyber security ecosystem.

CSC 1: Inventory of Authorized and Unauthorized Devices
CSC 2: Inventory of Authorized and Unauthorized Software
CSC 3: Secure Configurations for Hardware and Software on Mobile Devices, Laptops, Workstations, and Servers
CSC 4: Continuous Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation
CSC 5: Malware Defences
CSC 6: Application Software Security
CSC 7: Wireless Access Control
CSC 8: Data Recovery Capability
CSC 9: Security Skills Assessment and Appropriate Training to Fill Gaps
CSC 10: Secure Configurations for Network Devices such as Firewalls, Routers, and Switches
CSC 11: Limitation and Control of Network Ports, Protocols, and Services
CSC 12: Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges
CSC 13: Boundary Defence
CSC 14: Maintenance, Monitoring, and Analysis of Audit Logs
CSC 15: Controlled Access Based on the Need to Know
CSC 16: Account Monitoring and Control
CSC 17: Data Protection
CSC 18: Incident Response and Management
CSC 19: Secure Network Engineering
CSC 20: Penetration Tests and Red Team Exercises

It is not surprising that given the adoption of CSC classifications it would be in the interests of organisations to adopt the short form code associated with the Critical Security Control in place found to have been breached. For instance where a BYOD is found to be the cause of the breach it may be said a CSC-7 breach took place. The use of a short form code

(i) informs immediately those who are aware of the short form code of the style of breach taken place.
(ii) creates standardization across the organisation
(iii) enables an organisation's first responder to identify and locate BYODs
(iv) labels a breach in accordance with internationally recognised CSC classification
(v) removes the need for organisations to generate in-house difficult and complex classifications that later require translation e.g. technically, legally, commercially......

CSC 7: Wireless Access Control
The processes and tools used to track/control/prevent/correct the security use of wireless local area networks (LANs), access points, and wireless client systems.

Why Is This Control Critical?
Major thefts of data have been initiated by attackers who have gained wireless access to organizations from outside the physical building, bypassing organizations' security perimeters by connecting wirelessly to access points inside the organization. Wireless clients accompanying traveling officials are infected on a regular basis through remote exploitation during air travel or in cyber cafes. Such exploited systems are then used as back doors when they are reconnected to the network of a target organization. Still other organizations have reported the discovery of unauthorized wireless access points on their networks, planted and sometimes hidden for unrestricted access to an internal network. Because they do not require direct physical connections, wireless devices are a convenient vector for attackers to maintain long-term access into a target environment.

CSC 7 Procedures and Tools
Effective organizations run commercial wireless scanning, detection, and discovery tools as well as commercial wireless intrusion detection systems.

Additionally, the security team should periodically capture wireless traffic from within the borders of a facility and use free and commercial analysis tools to determine whether the wireless traffic was transmitted using weaker protocols or encryption than the organization mandates. When devices relying on weak wireless security settings are identified, they should be found within the organization's asset inventory and either reconfigured more securely or denied access to the
organization network.
Additionally, the security team should employ remote management tools on the wired network to pull information about the wireless capabilities and devices connected to managed systems.
CSC 7 Effectiveness Metrics
In order to test the effectiveness of the automated implementation of this control, organizations should measure the  following:

1)  Are systems capable of identifying unauthorized wireless devices or configurations when they are within range of the organization's systems or connected to their networks (yes or no)?
2)  How long does it take to generate alerts about unauthorized wireless devices that are detected (time in minutes)?
3)  How long does it take for unauthorized wireless devices to be blocked from connecting or isolated from the network (time in minutes)?
4)  Are additional alerts generated every 24 hours after the initial alert until the system is isolated or removed from the network (yes or no)?
5)  Is the system able to identify the location, department, and other details of where authorized and unauthorized wireless devices are plugged into the network (yes or no)?

CSC 7 Automation Metrics
In order to automate the collection of relevant data from these systems, organizations should gather the following information with automated technical sensors:
1)  How many rogue wireless access points have been discovered recently in the organization (by business unit)?  This should include non-persistent, temporary and transient access points.
2)  What is the average time that it takes to remove rogue access points from the organization's network (by business unit)?
3)  How many wireless access points or clients have been discovered using an unauthorized wireless configuration recently in the organization (by business unit)?

CSC 7 Effectiveness Test
To evaluate the implementation of Control 7 on a periodic basis, the evaluation team has to configure 10 unauthorized but hardened wireless clients and wireless access points to the organization's network and attempt to connect them to its wireless networks. In the case of wireless access points, these access points have to not be directly connected to the organization's trusted network. Instead, they have to simply be configured to act as a wireless gateway without physically connecting to a wired network interface. In the case of scanning for wireless access points from a wired interface, the connected access point has to have the wireless radio disabled for the duration of the test. These systems have to be configured to test each of the following scenarios:

•  A wireless client with an unauthorized service set identifier configured on it.
•  A wireless client with improper encryption configured.
•  A wireless client with improper authentication configured.
•  A wireless access point with improper encryption configured.
•  A wireless access point with improper authentication configured.
•  A completely rogue wireless access point using an unauthorized configuration.
When any of the above-noted systems attempt to connect to the wireless network, an alert has to be generated and enterprise staff has to respond to the alerts to isolate the detected device or remove the device from the network.
CSC 7 System Entity Relationship Diagram
Organizations will find that by diagramming the entities necessary to fully meet the goals defined in this control, it will be easier to identify how to implement them, test the controls, and identify where potential failures in the system might occur.

A control system is a device or set of devices used to manage, command, direct, or regulate the behaviour of other devices or systems. In this case, we are examining the configuration and management of wireless devices, wireless IDS/scanners, wireless device management systems, and vulnerability scanners. The list of the steps shows how the entities work together to meet the business goal defined in this control. The list also delineates each of the process steps in order to help identify potential failure points in the overall control.

•  Step 1: Hardened configurations applied to wireless devices.
•  Step 2: Hardened configurations managed by a configuration management system.
•  Step 3: Configuration management system manages the configurations on wireless devices.
•  Step 4: Wireless IDS monitor usage of wireless communications.
•  Step 5: Vulnerability scanners scan wireless devices for potential vulnerabilities.
•  Step 6: Wireless clients utilize wireless infrastructure systems in a secure manner.