Survivability Fundamentals in Cybersecurity: A CISO's Blueprint for Effective Preparedness and Response

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In this edition of The Future of Cybersecurity Newsletter, we explore a unique approach for CISOs to enhance their cybersecurity programs by drawing parallels from aviation survivability fundamentals.

Aviation Survivability as a Model

The aviation industry's dedication to survivability offers a compelling model for cybersecurity. In aviation, survivability encompasses the principles and strategies ensuring the resilience and continuity of flight operations under adverse conditions. These principles, when applied as a parallel model in cybersecurity, can offer CISOs fresh perspectives on enhancing their cybersecurity programs.

Survivability Fundamentals

In the context of aviation, survivability involves meticulous planning, robust design, redundancy, and emergency response. These aspects can be mapped to cybersecurity strategies. For instance, redundancy in aviation safety systems can be likened to the need for backup systems and data redundancy in cybersecurity. These fundamentals include:

• Risk Assessment and Management: Similar to cybersecurity’s ‘Identify’ phase, this involves evaluating potential hazards, vulnerabilities, and critical assets within aviation operations. This concept is a fundamental part of aviation safety and is often discussed in aviation safety manuals and guidelines provided by organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• Robust Design and Redundancy: Ensuring aircraft and systems are designed with resilience in mind, incorporating redundant systems to mitigate the impact of failures. These principles are central to aircraft design and are widely covered in aerospace engineering literature, as well as in safety regulations and standards set by aviation authorities.
• System Integrity and Maintenance: Regular checks and maintenance of aircraft systems to ensure they are functioning as intended, akin to the maintenance of cybersecurity measures. The importance of regular checks and maintenance of aircraft systems is a standard practice in aviation, emphasized in various aircraft maintenance manuals and regulatory guidelines.
• Emergency Preparedness and Response: Developing comprehensive plans and protocols to respond effectively in the event of an emergency, paralleling the ‘Respond’ function in cybersecurity. Aviation emergency procedures are outlined in detail in pilot training manuals and safety guidelines provided by aviation authorities and airlines.
• Continuous Monitoring and Vigilance: Ongoing surveillance of flight conditions and aircraft performance, similar to the ‘Detect’ function in cybersecurity. This practice in aviation is akin to the surveillance systems used in air traffic control and cockpit systems, detailed in aviation technology and operations literature.
• Training and Skill Development: Regular training for pilots and crew on emergency procedures and new technologies, echoing the need for continuous learning in cybersecurity. The focus on regular training for pilots and crew is a staple in aviation education and is covered extensively in pilot training curriculums and materials.
• Adaptation and Continuous Improvement: Learning from incidents and adapting practices for improved safety, mirroring the ‘Recover’ function in cybersecurity and the need for ongoing improvement. This principle is a key part of aviation safety culture, as discussed in safety management literature and guidelines from aviation authorities.

Mapping Aviation Fundamentals to Cybersecurity Frameworks

Mapping these aviation survivability fundamentals to cybersecurity frameworks such as the NIST CSF creates a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity incident response preparedness:

• Identify (Risk Assessment and Management): Both aviation and cybersecurity begin with the assessment of potential risks and the prioritization of critical assets or operations.
• Protect (Robust Design and Redundancy): Implementing protective measures in cybersecurity is akin to aviation's focus on robust design and system redundancy.
• Detect (Continuous Monitoring and Vigilance): The continuous monitoring of systems for potential threats is crucial in both aviation and cybersecurity.
• Respond (Emergency Preparedness and Response): Effective response strategies in cybersecurity mirror aviation's emphasis on preparedness and rehearsed response protocols.
• Recover (Adaptation and Continuous Improvement): Post-incident recovery in both fields involves not just restoring operations but also learning from the incident to improve future resilience.

Supply Chain in Aviation and Cybersecurity

In aviation, the supply chain plays a vital role in ensuring the quality and reliability of components used in aircraft manufacturing. This includes stringent vetting processes, quality control measures, and continuous collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers.

Similarly, in cybersecurity, the supply chain is critical as it involves the providers of hardware, software, and services that constitute an organization's IT ecosystem—and let’s not forget that it also impacts the information security ecosystem from the cloud to the edge to the endpoints to the controls audit and enforcement programs to the security operations center (SOC). Threats like third-party vulnerabilities and supply chain attacks necessitate rigorous assessment and management strategies. CISOs can adopt aviation-like practices by:

• Conducting Collaborative 3rd-Party Vendor Risk Management: Implement stringent vetting processes for suppliers to ensure they meet security standards, but not doing so in a vacuum. Rather, collaborate with suppliers to manage and mitigate risks, sharing information about potential threats and best practices.
• Performing Regular Audits and Compliance Checks: Regularly audit suppliers for compliance with cybersecurity standards, akin to quality checks in aviation.

Service Providers in Aviation and Cybersecurity

In aviation, service providers such as systems maintenance firms and technology solutions providers are integral to operational safety. They assist in system integration, maintenance, and sometimes in emergency response.

In cybersecurity, service providers, including IT solutions firms and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), play similar roles. They aid in integrating various cybersecurity systems, maintaining them, and often responding to incidents. CISOs can take cues from aviation by:

• Ensuring Service Providers’ Alignment with Security Goals: Just as aviation service providers align with safety objectives, cybersecurity service providers should align with an organization's security goals.
• Conducting Regular Training and Joint Exercises: Engage in regular training sessions and joint response exercises with service providers to ensure coordinated responses to incidents.
• Following a Shared Responsibility Model: Develop a model of shared responsibility, where both the organization and the service provider understand and agree upon their roles in maintaining cybersecurity. The best practices surrounding the shared responsibility model that has been established by leading cloud service providers offer a robust framework that can be effectively applied to a range of programs beyond just cloud-based applications.

CISOs' Action Plan

For CISOs, adopting these aviation-based principles involves a multi-faceted approach:

• Supply Chain Vetting and Compliance: Rigorously evaluate and continuously monitor the cybersecurity practices of suppliers, ensuring they adhere to your organization's security standards and protocols.
• Service Provider Integration: Work closely with service providers to ensure seamless integration of cybersecurity strategies. This includes defining clear roles and responsibilities and ensuring that providers’ actions are in sync with the organization's security objectives.
• Collaborative and Comprehensive Risk Assessment and Management: Develop and regularly update risk management strategies that account for emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Regularly conduct joint risk assessments with key suppliers and service providers to identify potential vulnerabilities and collaboratively develop mitigation strategies.
• Implementing Redundancy and Resilience: Ensure systems and data are protected with redundant backups and resilient designs to withstand cyber attacks. This approach should be complemented by regular testing and updating of backup systems to ensure they can be quickly activated during a crisis.
• Ongoing Monitoring and Detection: Establish continuous monitoring protocols to detect and address threats promptly. This process is further enhanced by participating in Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), where shared knowledge of threats and vulnerabilities among peers can lead to more effective and timely responses.
• Robust Response Strategies, Planning, and Exercises: Develop and regularly test incident response plans, ensuring they are agile and effective. Develop and test coordinated incident response plans with key suppliers and service providers. This approach, including the execution of deep dive tabletop exercises, helps ensure a unified approach to managing and resolving cyber incidents.
• Continuous Training and Awareness: Maintain a culture of security awareness and implement regular training programs for internal staff, suppliers, and partners, to ensure they are aware of the latest cybersecurity threats and best practices.
• Recovery and Learning: Focus on not just recovering from incidents but also analyzing them to enhance future cybersecurity measures. This involves conducting thorough post-incident reviews to identify root causes, documenting lessons learned to improve response strategies, and updating policies and training to prevent similar occurrences.

Elevating the Cybersecurity Posture by Embracing Aviation's Resilience and Collaboration Model

This edition of The Future of Cybersecurity hopefully offers CISOs a novel perspective on cybersecurity strategy formulation. By drawing inspiration from aviation survivability fundamentals, CISOs can develop more resilient, robust, and responsive cybersecurity programs. The parallels between the two industries underscore the importance of a proactive, risk-managed approach, emphasizing the need for continuous improvement and adaptation in the face of evolving cyber threats. And, by adopting these measures with partners as part of the equation, CISOs can create a more robust cybersecurity ecosystem that extends beyond their immediate organizational boundaries.

Thank you for engaging with this comprehensive analysis. As a reminder, our goal remains to foster a safer, more secure, and resilient digital world, much like the aviation industry’s commitment to safety in the skies. How are we doing?

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This fictional story represents the results of an interactive collaboration between Human Cognition and Artificial Intelligence.

Sincerely, Sean Martin and TAPE3

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Sean Martin is the host of the Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast, part of the ITSPmagazine Podcast Network—which he co-founded with his good friend Marco Ciappelli—where you may just find some of these topics being discussed.

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