Re: checklists/auditing within the IT department

[Brad Judy <win-hied () BRADJUDY COM>]

When I was working on a questionnaire for IT risk assessment, I created one
based largely on NIST 800 series docs (800-26 and 800-53).  I recommend
looking at the NIST 800 series special publications -
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsSPs.html

It looks like they pulled the self assessment questionnaire document I
referenced from their website, which is unfortunate because I found it to be
a good starting point (I have a copy if you'd like one).  I liked the
approach of asking not only if something was being done, but also if it was
documented and if someone was verifying that it was being done.  These
aspects are often weaknesses, particularly in an IT shop that is stretched
thin on human resources.  In the end, we changed a lot of the questions and
cut down the length quite a bit, so the end product is a bit different.

Naturally, there's CERT OCTAVE stuff too, but it's a LOT to sift through if
you're just looking for a simple questionnaire.  http://www.cert.org/octave/

U Virginia has a good website on their IT risk management process that
includes their questionnaires:
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/security/riskmanagement/

I'll keep Rodney happy and plug the Educause Security Risk Assessment and
Analysis section too :-)
http://connect.educause.edu/term_view/Security%2BRisk%2BAssessment%2Band%2BAnalysis

Brad Judy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Youngquist, Jason R." <jryoungquist () CCIS EDU>
To: <SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 3:41 PM
Subject: [SECURITY] checklists/auditing within the IT department


I'm looking for any recommendations on books or documents for
auditing/best practices within one's IT department.

Our department is broken up into 5 sections:
Data Services - support the student information system - by programming
and system support
Web Services - program web applications & work on databases
Network Services - physical security, networking gear (routers,
firewalls, switches, etc.) servers (Windows, Linux, and a number of
different applications), and VOIP services
End User Support - purchase, deploy, and fix desktop computer-related
issues
Helpdesk/Computer Lab - provide support to customers and student
computer lab(s).

I'm looking for a number of questions/checklists/best practices to ask
individuals in each section of the department.  The goal is to come up
with a list of questions/checklists so each week I'll talk to an
individual from each section of the department and ask them a few
questions (from a long list of questions from their particular area) in
order make sure things are working properly, security is being followed,
and determine if there are any issues that need to be addressed.

Here are some example questions:
Generator XYZ - does a self-check happen?  If so, when?  Has the
self-check been successful?
Servers - Which servers are being backed up?  Are there new servers
which haven't been added to the tape backup schedule yet?
Servers - When was the last time a file restore was done?  Was it
successful?
Inventory - When was the last time a computer inventory was done?  Where
is it located?
VOIP - What steps are being taken to reduce/eliminate toll fraud,
eavesdropping, caller-id spoofing, denial of service, etc.
Web - Is there an inventory of web applications?  If so, where is it
located?
Web - Is there a document of coding best practices?  If so, where is it
located?


I've been doing some googling and brainstorming, but appreciate any
additional information.


Thanks.
Jason Youngquist
Information Technology Security Engineer
Technology Services
Columbia College
1001 Rogers Street, Columbia, MO  65216
(573) 875-7334
jryoungquist () ccis edu
http://www.ccis.edu