Managing Information Security Risks: The OCTAVE (SM) Approach (SEI Series in Software Engineering) - Hardcover

Alberts, Christopher; Peter Gordon; Dorofee, Audrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0321118863 ISBN 13: 9780321118868

Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 2002

Synopsis

From the CERT Coordination Center at the SEI, this book describes OCTAVE, a new method of evaluating information security risk.@BULLET = This book is from the CERT Coordination Center and Networked Systems Survivability (NSS) group at the SEI, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. @BULLET = There is growing interest in OCTAVE. The DOD Medical Health System is one early adopter and there is also keen interest from the financial sector. @BULLET = The authors are the lead developers of the OCTAVE method and are experts in helping organizations manage their own security risks.@SUMMARY = This is a descriptive and process-oriented book on a new security risk evaluation method, OCTAVE. OCTAVE stands for Operationally Critical Threat, Asset, and Vulnerability Evaluation (SM). An information security risk evaluation helps organizations evaluate organizational practice as well as the installed technology base and to make decisions based on potential impact.@AUTHBIO = Christopher Alberts is a senior member of the technical staff in the Networked Systems Survivability Program (NSS) at the SEI, CERT Coordination Center. He is team leader for security evaluations and OCTAVE. Christopher is responsible for developing information security risk management methods, tools, and techniques. Audrey Dorofee is a senior member of the technical staff in the Survivable Network Management Project in the NSS Program at SEI, CERT Coordination Center. CERT is the original computer security incident response center and is internationally recognized as a leading authoritative organization in this area.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Information security requires far more than the latest tool or technology. Organizations must understand exactly what they are trying to protect--and why--before selecting specific solutions. Security issues are complex and often are rooted in organizational and business concerns. A careful evaluation of security needs and risks in this broader context must precede any security implementation to insure that all the relevant, underlying problems are first uncovered.

The OCTAVE approach for self-directed security evaluations was developed at the influential CERT(R) Coordination Center. This approach is designed to help you:

• Identify and rank key information assets
• Weigh threats to those assets
• Analyze vulnerabilities involving both technology and practices

OCTAVE(SM) enables any organization to develop security priorities based on the organization's particular business concerns. The approach provides a coherent framework for aligning security actions with overall objectives.

Managing Information Security Risks, written by the developers of OCTAVE, is the complete and authoritative guide to its principles and implementations. The book:

• Provides a systematic way to evaluate and manage information security risks
• Illustrates the implementation of self-directed evaluations
• Shows how to tailor evaluation methods to different types of organizations

Special features of the book include:

• A running example to illustrate important concepts and techniques
• A convenient set of evaluation worksheets
• A catalog of best practices to which organizations can compare their own

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About the Author

Christopher Alberts is a senior member of the technical staff in the Networked Systems Survivability Program at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). He and Audrey Dorofee are the principal developers of OCTAVE. Before joining the SEI, Christopher was a scientist at Carnegie Mellon Research Institute, where he developed mobile robots for hazardous environments. He also worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he designed information systems to support AT&T's advanced manufacturing processes.

Audrey Dorofee is a senior member of the technical staff in the Networked Systems Survivability Program at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). She and Christopher Alberts are the principal developers of OCTAVE. Audrey previously was project lead for risk management in the Risk Program at the SEI. Prior to joining the SEI, she worked for the MITRE Corporation, supporting various projects for NASA, including Space Station software environments, user interfaces, and expert systems.

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Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0321118863
• ISBN 13: 9780321118868
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 520