Page 10
www.us-
tech.com
TechWaTch
Streamlining RMF Accreditation to Speed Deployment of New Defense Technologies
By Jeff Elliott
process is a prime example. For de- fense contractors and integrators tasked with developing new tech- nologies for the Department of De- fense (DoD) and other government agencies, this step alone can take nine to twelve months or longer. The glacial pace of accreditation
G
is due to the manual nature of the re- view process tasks, as well as signifi- cant documentation and system hardening required to meet security policy mandates. Without this step, projects cannot move to Authoriza- tion to Operate (ATO). In short, any delays impact deployment of new de- fense technologies in the field. New automated software tools
are eliminating weeks and months from the RMF accreditation process by virtually eliminating the time of the initial hardening while also pro-
overnment agencies are not known for moving quickly, and the RMF accreditation
viding the required documentation. By doing so, technology integrators can significantly reduce the time to build, test, and deploy new technolo- gies in STIG-compliant environments.
RMF Accreditation The DoD introduced the Risk
Management Framework (RMF) in 2014 to assist federal agencies to bet- ter manage risks associated with op- erating information systems. As part of this process, systems must be hard- ened to standard Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) bench- marks. The STIGs provide configura- tion specifications for operating sys- tems, database management systems, web servers and network devices used by government agencies. The problem is STIGs are long
and detailed. Often containing hun- dreds of pages, adhering to or up- grading software or systems to a par- ticular STIG has been a highly spe-
cialized manual process that can take many weeks to accomplish. According to Brian Hajost, pres-
ident of SteelCloud and an expert in automated STIG compliance, there are many misconceptions and confu-
New automated software
tools are eliminating weeks and months from the RMF accreditation process...
sions surrounding system hardening. Only in rare instances do appli-
cations have specified STIGs. One example is Microsoft Word, which when used in secure environments must be hardened. Instead, most STIGs apply to the “application stack,” which includes the operating system (Windows, Linux) the appli- cation is built upon as well as web browsers, databases, and other com- ponents required for the application to function. So, when an application is im-
plemented in a STIG hardened envi- ronment it inevitably runs into con- flicts that can cause the application to “break.” When the application is an electronic document, that may be problematic, but for a military firing system, it can be a matter of life and death. It is for this reason that RMF accreditation requires hardening the system, as well as providing signifi- cant documentation of the hardening and the details of all CAT 1/2/3 con- trols — a categorization of the degree of security risk.
Automating the Process Given the manual nature and ex-
pertise involved in hardening and doc- umenting all changes, it would be easy to assume that multiple, competing software solutions already exist. This is not the case. Vulnerability scanning software is available that can compare generic STIG signatures to identify controls. This only serves to highlight the problem areas but does nothing to resolve issues. Scripting automation tools can
PC MOUNT 3 Ø AC FILTER
EMI FILTER MODULE FOR SPACE LAUNCH VEHICLE
3 Ø AC FILTER FOR RADAR SYSTEM
be used but are expensive and not pur- pose-built for STIG compliance or ac- creditation. Because they do not pro- duce documentation, these tools must often be used in conjunction with vul- nerability scanning software. ConfigOS from SteelCloud, for
CIRCULAR AND RECTANGULAR FILTER INSERTS
D-SUB AND MICRO-D FILTER CONNECTORS
CIRCULAR FILTER CONNECTORS
example, hardens all CAT levels (1/2/3) in about an hour, including pro- ducing a domain-independent XML signature and documentation of all re- quired waivers. In this step alone, weeks or months of manual work is eliminated. Once developed, the encrypted
XML signature can be securely used across the DoD in all networks and
domains, without changes to existing security or infrastructure. The signa- ture can also easily be included with applications as they are transferred to disparate infrastructures from one mission partner to another. Using the signature, scanning,
remediation, and compliance reports are accomplished in about a minute. Because STIGs are updated every 90 days, the software also simplifies up- dating systems in production as well. The product has already been li- censed by most of the largest defense contractors, as well as agencies with- in the DoD and DHS. “You basically have to mold
these controls, and there are hun- dreds of them, around your applica- tion stack,” says Hajost. “Essentially you have to figure out what will ‘break’ the application and correct the control — and software can auto- mate that process.” Hajost says the DoD will not
even authorize the issuance of an au- thority to operate (ATO), for exam- ple, of systems with an unmitigated CAT 1 vulnerability except under ex- treme and rare circumstances. This can mean sending a project back into development to address the issue. “Now a ‘fix’ that would have cost
$500 in the initial development can cost the government many thou- sands of dollars,” says Hajost, adding that is the primary reason to address STIG hardening as early in the De- vOps process as possible, even before accreditation. “We estimate CAT 1s cost the government and the DoD thousands of dollars, per application, per year to maintain.” As for CAT 2 and CAT 3 con-
trols, they must also be hardened, or — if there is a reason the risk might not apply — waiver requests must be submitted for review and acceptance by accrediting authorities. “We have seen examples where
developers have even said, ‘We’re just going to waiver all the CAT 3s because we don’t have the time or money to detect and remediate them,’” explains Hajost. However, with the speed of au-
tomated identification and remedia- tion, more time can be shaved off timelines by keeping waiver requests to a minimum. While many in gov- ernment accept long delays as a fact of life, shaving months from the RMF accreditation process ultimately speeds the implementation of weaponry, communication and other
systems. Contact: SteelCloud, LLC,
20110 Ashbrook Place, Suite 170, Ashburn, VA 20147 % 703-674-5500 fax: 703-674-5506 E-mail:
info@steelcloud.com Web:
www.steelcloud.com r
May, 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
