Gap Analysis - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 1.2

Summary

The video script outlines the concept and process of a gap analysis in IT security, emphasizing its complexity and the importance of establishing a baseline. It discusses using standards like NIST 800-171 and ISO/IEC 27001, evaluating personnel and policies, identifying system weaknesses, and creating a detailed plan to bridge the gap between current and desired security postures. The summary of findings and a roadmap for improvement are key components of the final gap analysis report.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Gap analysis is a study comparing the current state with the desired future state.
• 🛡️ In IT security, gap analyses help understand future security needs.
• ⚙️ Performing a gap analysis is complex, involving environment evaluation and future planning.
• 📅 The process often takes weeks, months, or even years, involving many people and extensive planning.
• 📊 Baselines are crucial for gap analysis, providing goals and a reference point.
• 📚 Common baselines include NIST's SP 800-171 and ISO/IEC 27001.
• 👥 Evaluating people involves assessing their IT security experience, training, and knowledge of policies.
• 🔄 Policies must be evaluated against existing IT systems to identify and address weaknesses.
• 🔍 Analysis includes detailed comparisons of current systems with security standards.
• 📑 The final gap analysis report summarizes current status, future goals, and the pathway to achieve them.

Q & A

What is a gap analysis in the context of IT security?

A gap analysis in IT security is a study comparing the current state of an organization's security measures against the desired or ideal state, to identify areas that need improvement or enhancement.

Why is the process of performing a gap analysis considered complex?

The process is complex because it involves a thorough analysis of the current IT security environment, understanding every aspect of IT security as it applies to the organization, and creating a comprehensive plan to bridge the gap between the current and desired states.

How long does it typically take to perform a gap analysis in an organization?

The time required for a gap analysis can vary widely, from several weeks to months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the organization's IT security infrastructure.

What is the purpose of having a baseline before starting a gap analysis?

A baseline provides a reference point or starting point for the analysis, giving the organization an idea of where they are currently and what their goals should be in terms of security.

What are some examples of established baselines that organizations might follow?

Examples of established baselines include the National Institute of Standards and Technologies' Special Publication 800-171, Revision 2, and the ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management systems.

How does evaluating people's roles in IT security as part of a gap analysis involve?

Evaluating people involves understanding their formal experience in IT security, the training they have received, and their knowledge of specific security policies and procedures that can be implemented within the organization.

What is the significance of comparing existing IT systems with formal security policies during a gap analysis?

This comparison helps identify any discrepancies or weaknesses in the current systems and ensures that the organization is adhering to its established security policies, which is crucial for maintaining robust IT security.

Can you explain the process of breaking down broad security categories into smaller segments during a gap analysis?

The process involves starting with a broad understanding of security areas, such as access control or account management, and then breaking these down into individual security tasks or controls to assess how well each process or procedure is being handled.

What does the final document of a gap analysis typically include?

The final document summarizes all the findings from the analysis, including a comparison between the current state and the desired objectives, and provides a detailed plan or pathway for closing the identified gaps.

How might a gap analysis report visually represent the security status of different locations within an organization?

The report might use a color-coding system, such as green for locations close to meeting the baseline, yellow for those in the middle, and red for locations that require significant improvements to meet standardized security baselines.

What is the importance of documenting recommendations in the gap analysis report?

Documenting recommendations ensures that there is a clear roadmap for addressing the identified gaps, which helps the organization understand what steps are needed to improve its security posture and meet established baselines.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 IT Security Gap Analysis Overview

This paragraph introduces the concept of gap analysis in IT security, emphasizing its importance for understanding the current state of security measures and the necessary steps to reach desired future states. It outlines the complexity involved in performing such an analysis, which includes evaluating the organization's environment, creating a plan, and potentially involving multiple stakeholders over an extended period. The paragraph also highlights the significance of having a baseline, such as those provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to serve as a reference point for security goals.

05:00

📊 Conducting a Comprehensive Gap Analysis

The second paragraph delves into the detailed process of conducting a gap analysis, starting with an evaluation of personnel experience, training, and knowledge of security policies. It discusses the assessment of existing IT systems against formal policies and the identification of system weaknesses. The analysis involves comparing these weaknesses with effective processes to compensate for them. The paragraph provides an example of breaking down broad security categories into smaller, manageable segments using NIST's Special Publication 800-171 Revision 2 as a reference. It concludes with the necessity of compiling all gathered information into a final document that compares current objectives with baseline objectives and outlines the path to achieving desired security levels.

Keywords

💡Gap Analysis

Gap analysis is a process used to identify the difference between the current state of affairs and the desired state. In the context of IT security, it helps to understand the security measures needed for the future. The video script discusses the complexity of this process, which involves analyzing the current environment and creating a plan to bridge the gap between the current and ideal states. An example from the script is the need to perform a gap analysis to understand what security measures will be required in the future.

💡IT Security

IT security, or information technology security, refers to the protection of computer systems and networks from theft, damage, or unauthorized access. The script emphasizes the importance of IT security in performing gap analyses to safeguard an organization's data and systems. It is a central theme in the video, with the process of gap analysis being applied to understand and improve IT security measures.

💡Baseline

A baseline serves as a reference point or a standard against which performance or progress can be measured. In the video, baselines are used to establish goals for an organization's security measures. The script mentions different types of baselines, such as those from the National Institute of Standards and Technologies, which provide specific guidelines for security practices.

💡Special Publication 800-171

This is a document published by the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) that provides guidelines for protecting controlled unclassified information in nonfederal systems and organizations. The script uses this as an example of a baseline that organizations might follow for their IT security measures.

💡ISO/IEC 27001

ISO/IEC 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems. It is mentioned in the script as another example of a baseline that organizations can use to establish their security measures and to perform gap analysis for compliance and improvement.

💡Access Control

Access control refers to the process of granting or denying the right to access resources based on defined rules and policies. The script discusses access control in the context of limiting system access to unauthorized users and managing user access rights, which is a critical component of IT security.

💡Account Management

Account management involves overseeing user accounts, including the provisioning and deprovisioning of access rights. The script highlights the importance of account management in IT security, as part of the broader access control measures, and as a factor in the gap analysis process.

💡Security Policies and Procedures

Security policies and procedures are the formal rules and steps established within an organization to govern IT security practices. The script emphasizes the need to evaluate these policies and procedures as part of the gap analysis to ensure they are effectively addressing the organization's security needs.

💡Project Plan

A project plan outlines the tasks, resources, and timeline required to complete a project. In the context of the video, a project plan is essential for conducting a gap analysis, involving various stakeholders, data gathering, and other activities necessary to compile information about the organization's security status.

💡Gap Analysis Report

A gap analysis report is the final output of the gap analysis process, summarizing the findings and providing recommendations for improvement. The script describes how this report includes information about the current state of IT security and the steps needed to achieve the desired state, with examples of how to document system requirements and their alignment with baseline objectives.

💡Change Management

Change management is the process of controlling and managing changes within an organization, especially in IT environments. The script mentions change management as a part of the process to implement the changes identified in the gap analysis, ensuring that new security measures are adopted effectively.

Highlights

A gap analysis is a study comparing current state versus desired state, crucial in IT security for future needs understanding.

Performing a gap analysis in IT security is complex, involving environment analysis and a plan to bridge the current and future states.

IT security gap analysis can be time-consuming, taking weeks, months, or even years, involving extensive data gathering and collaboration.

Having a baseline is essential before starting a gap analysis, providing a goal and direction for organizational security goals.

Baselines such as NIST's Special Publication 800-171, Revision 2, offer specific guidelines for protecting unclassified information.

ISO/IEC 27001 is another standard that organizations can use as a baseline for information security management systems.

Custom baselines can be created based on an organization's specific security needs and requirements.

Evaluating people involves understanding their IT security experience, training, and knowledge of security policies and procedures.

Existing IT systems evaluation against central security policy documentation is a part of the gap analysis process.

Identifying system weaknesses and comparing them with effective processes is key to understanding how to compensate for vulnerabilities.

A detailed analysis breaks down broad security categories into smaller segments for a comprehensive understanding of security processes.

Document 800-171 Revision 2 provides a framework for mapping access control requirements to existing security controls.

Breaking down security tasks such as user registration and deregistration helps in evaluating individual process handling.

Creating a final document summarizes all findings, comparing detailed baseline objectives with current status.

The gap analysis report includes a pathway to move from current state to desired state, involving time, money, and equipment considerations.

Recommendations for meeting baselines are documented in the gap analysis report, providing a clear direction for improvement.

The report may include a table categorizing system requirements and locations by their readiness to meet the baseline, using color coding for visual representation.

Prioritizing improvements by focusing on locations and requirements marked in red, then yellow, and finally green, can maximize security enhancements.

The gap analysis report provides extensive details and a summary of implementing security controls to meet baseline goals.

Transcripts

As the name implies, a gap analysis

is a study of where we are versus

where we would like to be.

And in the world of IT security, we

are constantly performing gap analyses

to be able to understand exactly what security is going

to be needed in the future.

Although this is very simple to explain,

it's a relatively complex process

to perform the analysis of what's actually

going on in your environment and putting together

a plan of how to get from where you are to where you're going.

As you might imagine, trying to understand every aspect of IT

security and how it applies to your organization

can be a very involved process.

And this is something that commonly

takes a number of weeks, months, or even years to compile.

As you can imagine, this might involve

a number of different people in your organization.

And there is an extensive project plan

with emails and data gathering and anything else

that's needed to compile the information about what's

happening with security in your environment.

Before starting the gap analysis,

it's useful to have a baseline.

This gives you something to work towards

and an idea of where the goals should

be for your organization.

There are a number of different baselines to choose from,

and some of these baselines have been specifically created

for certain organizations.

For example, your organization may

be following a set of baselines from the National Institute

of Standards and Technologies.

They publish a document called the Special Publication 800-171

Revision 2.

And the title of that document is Protecting Controlled

Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems

and Organizations.

You might also use a baseline that

was created by the International Organization

for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical

Commission.

This is the ISO/IEC 27001, or the information security

management systems.

And of course, you can create your own baselines

based on your specific needs as an organization.

These baselines will commonly involve

an analysis of the people in your organization

and the processes you use for security.

When evaluating people, you might

want to get a better understanding

of their formal experience in information technology

security.

You might want to understand what kind of training

they've received.

And you might want to see if they

have a knowledge of specific security policies

and procedures that you can use in your organization.

Even with the right people in place,

you'll still want to be sure that you're

following the correct policies for IT security.

This might start with an evaluation of the existing IT

systems and how they relate to your formal policies that

have been created in your central security policy

documentation.

The analysis portion of the gap analysis

will begin with a comparison of the existing systems

that you have running in your environment

and to identify any weaknesses that those systems might have.

You can also compare these weaknesses

with the most effective processes

for understanding how to compensate

for those weaknesses.

Ultimately, you'll create a detailed analysis

where you'll look at very broad categories of security

and then break down those broad securities

into individual smaller segments.

Here's a good example of how you might

start with broad understanding of a process

and then breaking it down into individual pieces.

This is the document 800-171 Revision 2,

which is Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information.

And this is a table that maps the access control requirements

to the security controls that are in place.

For example, this page shows access control

where you would want to limit system

access to unauthorized users, processes

acting on behalf of authorized users, and devices.

This account management covers a number

of different individual security controls.

So when we start to break this down,

we can look at user registration and deregistration.

We need to understand how user access provisioning is handled,

understand the management of privileged access rights,

a review of the user access rights, and so on.

By looking at these broad areas, we

can now break down individual security tasks

to see how well we're handling the processes

and procedures for each of these individual steps.

Once we've gathered all of this information

for all of our processes, all of our devices

across all of our different locations,

we need to create a final document that

summarizes everything that we've discovered.

We can start with a comparison that

looks at the detailed baseline objectives

and gives a perspective of where we are today

versus where we would like to be with each

one of these objectives.

Perhaps the more difficult question to answer

is how you get from where you are to where you'd like to be.

This path to get from where we are

to where we'd like to be commonly

takes time, it takes money, there may be equipment

that we need to purchase, and, obviously,

there's change control so that you can implement these changes

in your environment.

Once we have all of this information compiled

and the plan of how we can get from where

we are to where we'd like to be, we

can create a final gap analysis report.

This report not only includes the information

about where we are today, but it also provides that pathway

so that we can understand what it's really

going to take to move forward into the future.

All of the recommendations you have

about meeting this baseline will be documented

in this gap analysis report.

Here's an example of one of the tables

that you might include in your gap analysis report.

On the left side, I have a series of system requirements.

And all of those system requirements

were broken into smaller pieces in the detailed part

of the report.

But we might want to get a much broader understanding

about all of our different remote sites

and how they are compared to the ultimate baseline

that we would like to reach.

For example, our organization might

have seven different locations, and we've

performed a gap analysis across all

of these system requirements for all seven of those locations.

The locations that are relatively

close to meeting the baseline we can mark with a green color.

Anything that might be in the midpoint we can mark as yellow.

And locations that need a lot of work

to be able to meet our standardized baselines we'll

mark with red.

So if we wanted to have the biggest impact on improving

our security, we may want to start with the locations

and security requirements marked in red,

and then move to the ones marked in yellow,

and then finally the green.

The report obviously will include extensive details

about why these colors were used and provide

a summary of how we can implement

security controls to better meet the goals of these baselines.