NIST SP 800-128 Guide for Security-Focused Configuration Management of Informati: Recomendations

NIST SP 800-128 August 2011

An information system is typically in a constant state of change in response to new, enhanced, corrected, or updated hardware and software capabilities, patches for correcting software flaws and other errors to existing components, new security threats, changing business functions, etc. Implementing information system changes almost always results in some adjustment to the system configuration. To ensure that the required adjustments to the system configuration do not adversely affect the security of the information system or the organization from operation of the information system, a well-defined configuration management process that integrates information security is needed. Organizations apply configuration management (CM) for establishing baselines and for tracking, controlling, and managing many aspects of business development and operation (e.g., products, services, manufacturing, business processes, and information technology). Organizations with a robust and effective CM process need to consider information security implications with respect to the development and operation of information systems including hardware, software, applications, and documentation. Effective CM of information systems requires the integration of the management of secure configurations into the organizational CM process or processes. For this reason, this document assumes that information security is an integral part of an organization's overall CM process; however, the focus of this document is on implementation of the information system security aspects of CM, and as such the term security-focused configuration management (SecCM) is used to emphasize the concentration on information security. Though both IT business application functions and security-focused practices are expected to be integrated as a single process, SecCM in this context is defined as the management and control of configurations for information systems to enable security and facilitate the management of information security risk.

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First you gotta find it and make sure it's the latest version, not always easy. Then you gotta print it using a network printer you share with 100 other people - and its outta paper - and the toner is low (take out the toner cartridge, shake it, then put it back). If it's just 10 pages, no problem, but if it's a 250-page book, you will need to punch 3 holes in all those pages and put it in a 3-ring binder. Takes at least an hour. An engineer that's paid $75 an hour has to do this himself (who has assistant's anymore?).

If you are paid more than $10 an hour and use an ink jet printer, buying this book will save you money.

It's much more cost-effective to just order the latest version from Amazon.com

This public domain material is published by 4th Watch Books. We publish tightly-bound, full-size books at 8 1/2 by 11 inches, with glossy covers. 4th Watch Books is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and is not affiliated with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

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A full copy of all the pertinent cybersecurity standards is available on DVD-ROM in the CyberSecurity Standards Library disc which is available at Amazon.com.

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