Database Security Assessment

Modern healthcare systems incorporate databases for effective and efficient management of patient healthcare. Databases are vulnerable to cyberattacks and must be designed and built with security controls from the beginning of the life cycle. Although hardening the database early in the life cycle is better, security is often incorporated after deployment, forcing hospital and healthcare IT professionals to play catch-up. Database security requirements should be defined at the requirements stage of acquisition and procurement.

System security engineers and other acquisition personnel can effectively assist vendors in building better healthcare database systems by specifying security requirements up front within the request for proposal (RFP). In this project, you will be developing an RFP for a new medical healthcare database management system.

Parts of your deliverables will be developed through your learning lab. You will submit the following deliverables for this project:

Deliverables

• An RFP, about 10 to 12 pages, in the form of a double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations. There is no penalty for using additional pages. Include a minimum of six references. Include a reference list with the report.
• An MS-Excel spreadsheet with lab results.

There are 11 steps in this project. You will begin with the workplace scenario and continue with Step 1: “Provide an Overview for Vendors.”

When you submit your project, your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below. You can use the list below to self-check your work before submission.

• 1.1: Organize document or presentation in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.
• 1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points to be internally unified and function as part of the whole document or presentation.
• 1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.
• 1.8: Create clear oral messages.
• 2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, problem under consideration.
• 2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.
• 2.3: Evaluate the information in logical manner to determine value and relevance.
• 2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.
• 2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions, checking against relevant criteria.
• 4.2: Plan and execute a project, articulating clear objectives and goals for the team.
• 9.4: Manages and supports the acquisition life cycle and cybersecurity products used in the organization’s design, development, and maintenance of its infrastructure to minimize potential risks and vulnerabilities.

Steps to Completion

Step 1: Provide an Overview for Vendors

As the contracting officer’s technical representative (COTR), you are the liaison between your hospital and potential vendors. It is your duty to provide vendors with an overview of your organization. To do so, identify information about your hospital. Conduct independent research on hospital database management. Think about the hospital’s different organizational needs. What departments or individuals will use the Security Concerns Common to All RDBMS, and for what purposes?

Provide an overview including the types of data that may be stored in the system and the importance of keeping these data secure. Include this information in the RFP.

After the overview is complete, move to the next step to provide context for the vendors with an overview of needs.

Step 2: Provide Context for the Work

Now that you have provided vendors with an overview of your hospital’s needs, you will provide the vendors with a context for the work needed.

Since you are familiar with the application and implementation, give guidance to the vendors by explaining the attributes of the database and by describing the environment in which it will operate.

It is important to understand the vulnerability of a relational database management system (RDBMS). Read the following resources about RDBMSs.

• error handling and information leakage
• insecure handling
• cross-site scripting (XSS/CSRF) flaws
• SQL injections
• memory leakage
• insecure configuration management
• authentication (with a focus on broken authentication)
• access control (with a focus on broken access control)

Describe the security concepts and concerns for databases.

Identify at least three security assurance and security functional requirements for the database that contain information for medical personnel and emergency responders.

Include this information in the RFP.

In the next step, you will provide security standards for the vendors.

Step 3: Provide Vendor Security Standards

In the previous step, you added context for the needed work. Now, provide a set of internationally recognized standards that competing vendors will incorporate into the database. These standards will also serve as a checklist to measure security performance and security processes.

Read the following resources to prepare:

• Database Models
• Common Criteria (CC) for information technology security evaluation
• evaluated assurance levels (EALs)
• continuity of service

Address the concepts and issues with respect to disasters and disaster recovery, mission continuity, threats, and cyberattacks.

Include these security standards in the RFP.

In the next step, you will describe defense models for the RFP.

Step 4: Describe Defense Models

Now that you have established security standards for the RFP, you will define the use of defense models. This information is important since the networking environment will have numerous users with different levels of access.

Provide requirements in the RFP for the vendor to state its overall strategy for defensive principles. Explain the importance of understanding these principles. To further your understanding, click the link and read about defensive principles.

Read these resources on enclave computing environment:

• enclave/computing environment
• cyber operations in DoD policy and plans

Explain how enclave computing relates to defensive principles. The network domains should be at different security levels, have different levels of access, and different read and write permissions.

Define enclave computing boundary defense.

Include enclave firewalls to separate databases and networks.

Define the different environments you expect the databases to be working in and the security policies applicable.

Provide this information in the RFP.

In the next step, you will consider database defenses.

Step 5: Explore Database Defensive Methods

You have identified ways of protecting databases. Now, explore how these can be done on a MySQL database. Review any of the previous resources as you perform a Workspace lab. The lab will give you an opportunity to see some of the threats and risks to databases. Then, you will try some of the protective techniques and preventive measures discussed.

Complete This Lab

Here are some resources that will help you complete the lab:

• Accessing the Virtual Lab Environment: Navigating the Workspace and the Lab Setup.
• Review the Workspace and Lab Machine Environment Tutorial
• Lab Instructions: MySQL DBMS, and Wireshark PCAP Analysis
• Self-Help Guide: Workspace: Getting Started and Troubleshooting
• Getting Help: To obtain lab assistance, email GraduateCyber@umuc.edu using the following template in the body of your email.
  • Your full name:
  • Your user ID:
  • Preferred email:
  • Your course and section number:
  • Detailed description of the issue that you are experiencing:
  • Machine type (PC, tablet, mobile device):
  • OS type and version:
  • Browser type and version:

Provide any information related to the issue that you are experiencing and attach any screenshot that you may be able to produce related to the issue.

Additional Lab Support Information:
More lab-related self-help information is available if you register for CLAB 699, our free online graduate Cyber Computing Lab Assistance hub.

Registering for Cyber Computing Lab Assistance

Perform the lab activity.

Explore defensive methods that should be used in protecting databases.

Include information about threats, risks, and possible recommendation strategies to these threats.

Include this information in your RFP.

In the next step, you will provide a requirement statement for system structure.

Step 6: Provide a Requirement Statement for System Structure

In the previous step, you identified defense requirements for the vendor. In this step of the RFP, you will focus on the structure of the system.

Provide requirement statements for a web interface to:

1. Allow patients and other healthcare providers to view, modify, and update the database.
2. Allow integrated access across multiple systems.
3. Prevent data exfiltration through external media.

State these requirements in the context of the medical database. Include this information in the RFP.

In the next step, you will outline operating system security components.

Step 7: Provide Operating System Security Components

In the previous step, you composed requirement statements regarding the system setup. In this step, you will provide the operating system security components that will support the database and the security protection mechanisms.

Read these resources on operating system security. Then:

1. Provide requirements for segmentation by operating system rings to ensure processes do not affect each other.
2. Provide one example of a process that could violate the segmentation mechanism. Ensure your requirement statements prevent such a violation from occurring.

Specify requirement statements that include a trusted platform module (TPM), in which a cryptographic key is supplied at the chip level. In those specifications:

1. Describe the expected security gain from incorporating TPM.
2. Provide requirement statements that adhere to the trusted computing base (TCB) standard.
3. Provide examples of components to consider in the TCB.
4. Provide requirements of how to ensure protection of these components, such as authentication procedures and malware protection.

Read the following resources to familiarize yourself with these concepts:

• trusted computing
• trusted computing base

Include this information in the RFP.

In the following step, you will write requirements for levels of security.

Step 8: Write Requirements for Multiple Independent Levels of Security

The previous step required you to identify operating system security components to support the database. For this step, you will focus on identification, authentication, and access. Access to the data is accomplished using security concepts and security models that ensure confidentiality and integrity of the data. Refer to access control and authentication to refresh your knowledge.

The healthcare database should be able to incorporate multiple independent levels of security (MILS) because the organization plans to expand the number of users.

Write requirement statements for MILS for your database in the RFP.

1. Include the definitions and stipulations for cybersecurity models, including the Biba Integrity Model, Bell-LaPadula Model, and the Chinese Wall Model.
2. Indicate any limitations for the application of these models.

Read the following resources and note which cybersecurity models are most beneficial to your database:

• multiple independent levels of security (MILS)
• cybersecurity models
• insecure handling

Include requirement statements for addressing insecure handling of data.

Include this information in your RFP.

In the next step, you will consider access control.

Step 9: Include Access Control Concepts, Capabilities

In the previous step, you wrote requirements for multiple levels of security, including the topics of identification, authentication, and access. In this step, you will focus on access control. The vendor will need to demonstrate capabilities to enforce identification, authentication, access, and authorization to the database management systems.

Include requirement statements in the RFP that the vendor must identify, the types of access control capabilities, and how they execute access control.

Provide requirement statements for the vendor regarding access control concepts, authentication, and direct object access.

Include the requirement statements in the RFP.

In the next step, you will incorporate additional security requirements and request vendors to provide a test plan.

Step 10: Include Test Plan Requirements

In the previous step, you defined access control requirements. Here, you will define test plan requirements for vendors.

Incorporate a short paragraph requiring the vendor to propose a test plan after reviewing these guidelines for a test and remediation results (TPRR) report.

Provide requirements for the vendor to supply an approximate timeline for the delivery of technology.

Step 11: Compile the RFP Document

In this final step, you will compile the RFP for a secure healthcare database management system. Review the document to make sure nothing is missed before submission. Submit the following deliverables to your assignment folder.

Deliverables:

• An RFP, about 10 to 12 pages, in the form of a double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations. There is no penalty for using additional pages. Include a minimum of six references. Include a reference list with the report.
• An MS-Excel spreadsheet with lab results.

Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have incorporated all of them in your work.

• 1.1: Organize document or presentation in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.
• 1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points to be internally unified and function as part of the whole document or presentation.
• 1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.
• 1.8: Create clear oral messages.
• 2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, problem under consideration.
• 2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.
• 2.3: Evaluate the information in logical manner to determine value and relevance.
• 2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.
• 2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions, checking against relevant criteria.
• 4.2: Plan and execute a project, articulating clear objectives and goals for the team.
• 9.4: Manages and supports the acquisition life cycle and cybersecurity products used in the organization’s design, development, and maintenance of its infrastructure to minimize potential risks and vulnerabilities.