INFORMATION SECURITY MANAGEMENT

LECTURE 11: LAW AND ETHICS

You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there. – Yogi Berra

Introduction

• All information security professionals must understand the scope of an organization’s legal and ethical responsibilities

• Educate employees and management about their legal and ethical obligations concerning proper use of information technology

Law and Ethics

• Laws vs. Ethics

• Types of Law• Civil law• Criminal law • Tort law • Private law • Public law

Information Security and the Law

• InfoSec professionals and managers must understand the legal framework within which their organizations operate

Relevant U.S. Laws

• The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFA Act)

• The Computer Security Act of 1987• Health Insurance Portability & Accountability

Act Of 1996 (HIPAA)• Financial Services Modernization Act• Freedom of Information Act of 1966• Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Relevant U.S. Laws (cont’d.)

• Privacy Laws • Privacy of Customer Information Section • The Federal Privacy Act of 1974

• regulates the government’s use of private information

• Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986

These statutes work in cooperation with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

Relevant U.S. Laws (cont’d.)

• Export and Espionage Laws– Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996– The Security and Freedom through Encryption

Act of 1997

International Laws and Legal Bodies

• There are currently few international laws relating to privacy and information security

• European Council Cyber-Crime Convention

• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

• European Union Directive 95/46/EC• Database Right

State and Local Regulations

• Information security professionals must understand state laws and regulations

Example:

Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act

Policy Versus Law

• Difference between policy and law

• Policies must be:–Distributed to all individuals who are expected to comply with them–Readily available for employee reference–Easily understood, with multilingual, visually impaired and low-literacy translations–Acknowledged by employee with consent form–Uniformly enforced for all employees

Ethics and Education

• Key studies reveal that the overriding factor in leveling the ethical perceptions within a small population is education

• Employees must be trained on the expected behaviors of an ethical employee

Deterring Unethical and Illegal Behavior• InfoSec personnel should do everything in

their power to deter unethical and illegal acts

• Categories of unethical behavior– Ignorance– Accident– Intent

Best Approach: Deterrence

Professional Organizations and their Codes of Ethics• Some professional organizations have

established codes of conduct and/or codes of ethics

• Other Sources of Ethics Codes:• ACM• SANS• ISC2

• ISACA• ISSA

Ethics

• Rules, not laws that are minimum standards for professional behavior

• ISC2 Code of Ethics • Protect society, the commonwealth and the

infrastructure• Act honorably, honestly, justly, responsibly, and

legally• Provide dilligent and competent service to

principals• Advance and protect the profession

Key Law Enforcement Agencies

• Federal Bureau of Investigation • InfraGard Program

• National Security Agency • Information Assurance Directorate (IAD)

• U.S. Secret Service

• Department of Homeland Security

Managing Investigations in the Organization

It’s not a matter of “if” but “when”

•Investigation Steps• Documentation is key• Digital Forensics

Managing Investigations:Digital Forensics

The investigation of what happened and how– Involves the preservation, identification,

extraction, documentation, and interpretation of computer media for evidentiary and/or root cause analysis

•Evidentiary material (EM)– Any information that could potentially support

the organizations legal- or policy-based case against a suspect

Two key purposes: Investigate allegations of digital malfeasance Perform root cause analysis

Approaches: Protect and forget (patch and proceed) Apprehend and prosecute (pursue and prosecute)

Managing Investigations:Digital Forensics

Affidavits and Search Warrants

• Investigations begin with an allegation or an indication of an incident

• Forensics team requests permission to examine digital media for potential EM • Affidavit• Search warrant

Digital Forensics Methodology

Steps in the digital forensics methodology1. Identify relevant items of evidentiary value

2. Acquire (seize) the evidence without alteration or damage

3. Take steps to assure that the evidence is at every step verifiably authentic and is unchanged from the time it was seized

4. Analyze the data without risking modification or unauthorized access

5. Report the findings to the proper authority

Digital Forensics Methodology

Figure 12-2: Digital forensics process

Source: Course Technology/Cengage Learning

Evidentiary Procedures

• Organizations should develop specific procedures and guidance for their use