Risk Management for Computer Security: Protecting Your Network and Information Assets

The information systems security (InfoSec) profession remains one of the fastest growing professions in the world today. With the advent of the Internet and its use as a method of conducting business, even more emphasis is being placed on InfoSec. However, there is an expanded field of threats that must be addressed by today's InfoSec and information assurance (IA) professionals. Operating within a global business environment with elements of a virtual workforce can create problems not experienced in the past. How do you assess the risk to the organization when information can be accessed, remotely, by employees in the field or while they are traveling internationally? How do you assess the risk to employees who are not working on company premises and are often thousands of miles from the office? How do you assess the risk to your organization and its assets when you have offices or facilities in a nation whose government may be supporting the theft of the corporate crown jewels in order to assist their own nationally owned or supported corporations? If your risk assessment and management program is to be effective, then these issues must be assessed. Personnel involved in the risk assessment and management process face a much more complex environment today than they have ever encountered before. This book covers more than just the fundamental elements that make up a good risk program. It provides an integrated how to approach to implementing a corporate program, complete with tested methods and processes; flowcharts; and checklists that can be used by the reader and immediately implemented into a computer and overall corporate security program. The challenges are many and this book will help professionals in meeting their challenges as we progress through the 21st Century.

Table of Contents:
Section I: An Introduction to Risk Management: Introduction to the Theories of Risk Management; The Changing Environment; The Art of Managing Risks; Section II: The Threat Assessment Process: Threat Assessment and its Input to Risk Assessment; Threat Assessment Method; Example Threat Assessment; Section III: Vulnerability Issues: Operating System Vulnerabilities; Application Vulnerabilities; Public Domain or COTS?; Connectivity and Dependence; Section IV: The Risk Process: What is Risk Assessment?; Risk Analysis; Who is Responsible?; Section V:/Tools and Types of Risk Assessment: Qualitative versus Quantitative; The Policies, Procedures, Plans and Processes of Risk Management; Tools and Techniques; Integrated Risk Management; The Future of the Risk Management

About the Author :
Andy Jones is an experienced Military Intelligence Analyst and Information Technology Security specialist. He has had considerable experience in the analysis of Intelligence material in Strategic, Tactical and Counter-Insurgency operations and a wide range of Information systems management experience. In addition, he has considerable experience in the security of Information Technology systems, having been responsible for the implementation of Information Technology security within all areas of the British Army and in some joint service organizations. He has directed both Intelligence and Security operations and briefed the results at the highest level. He was awarded the MBE for his work during his service in Northern Ireland and has gained an Open University Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and technology and a Masters degree in Information Security and Computer Crime from the University of Glamorgan. After completing 25 years service with the British Army’s Intelligence Corps, he moved into the area of defense research and was employed as the manager of a group of 80 research scientists and as a researcher and analyst in the area of Information Security. He has also had experience as a project manager within defense research for the security aspects of a number of large projects and has gained considerable expertise on the criminal and terrorist aspects of Information Security. He has undertaken a range of research into a number of aspects of Information warfare and the threats to information systems. 1n 2002 he co-authored a book on information warfare and is currently researching to write a book on the risks to information systems. In addition to his main work as a senior lecturer on Information Security and Computer Crime at the University of Glamorgan, he is currently also an associate lecturer for the Open University on Internet communications. His primary area of research for the last two years has been into methods for the measurement of t Debi has a well-developed set of "soft" consultancy skills and experience developed by her formal education in the Arts and subsequent experience as a lecturer and advisor to students in colleges of further education. She has built on this so as to develop a set of IT skills through additional training with Birmingham University. Moreover she has deployed these skills to good effect in both civil and military consulting assignments. In this latter phase Debi's M.Sc. work was directed at investigating issues of system lifecycle security under DERA (now QinetiQ) sponsorship. Debi has also led the development and application of security risk analysis techniques within the Trusted Information Management Department at QinetiQ. She was previously the Head of Professional Services in the Trusted Information Management department at QinetiQ, the privatised element of what was previously the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and is currently a Senior Research Fellow in Information Assurance at the Royal Military College of Science, Cranfield University.