Information security is a common and ever-present concern for both private and public sector organizations. Information security protects information from a wide range of threats, risks, and vulnerabilities in order to ensure information availability, integrity and confidentiality, and hence business continuity. This research seeks to use a heuristic-based investigation of the Information Security Maturity Model (ISMM), developed by the author, combined with a thorough review of existing models, to suggest considerable extensions. This shall merit various applications leading to establish a connective body of knowledge and bridge a gap in existing literature and industry regarding the information security implementation in light of use of international standards and models. The ISMM model is neither based on a specific technology/protocol (e.g. PKI, IPSec, SSL) nor a certain system/product (e.g. Firewall, Antivirus, IDS), but rather an engineering approach towards a structured and efficient implementation of those technologies. The ISMM is a security-centric model that consists of five distinctive and ordered security layers, each of which has its own definition, scope, and characteristics. The model reflects the three key security processes (prevention, detection and recovery) and captures effects of people (visibility and sophistication) on every layer. It aims essentially to assess the maturity of any security implementation of any size and type (i.e. device, system, or environment). New extensions of the ISMM work are put forward. Literature review is augmented by introducing a new classification of information security models. Additionally, new abstractions are introduced, first: the abstraction of security conceptual boundaries, which signifies rational priorities and captures the unavoidable interferences between information and physical security in any security context, second: the abstraction of ratios of resources utilization (i.e. computational power, energy, memory, and other costs). Further extensions include a new attack model that classifies attacks in terms of their impact. This leads to a new approach for analyzing attacks and study adversary’s capabilities at different layers of both the ISMM and network models in the whole system, as one integrated entity against both single and hybrid attacks. As an example of one possible mapping and compatibility of the ISMM with other security-related models, the ISMM layers are mapped to their pertinent peers in network models (i.e. ISO/OSI and TCP/IP), which offers more information about security controls at each layer and its contribution to the actual overall security posture. The ISMM offers a prompt and structured approach to identify the current security state of small communication devices, computing platforms, and large computing environments in a consistent manner. A cost-effective realization is achieved through the optimization of IT and security expenditure. Therefore, the model assists to minimize deficiencies in security implementation. Also, the identification of needs and goals of the following level in the ISMM hierarchy allows a strategic approach proportional to allowable resources to take place, as a result, both goals are reached and cost is reduced much faster. This work is believed to facilitate grounds for future research endeavors such as applying these propositions on simulated examples, real life case studies, and developing a formula for the optimized distribution of security resources in a consistent manner with the best possible security level.

Information security is a common and ever-present concern for both private and public sector organizations. Information security protects information from a wide range of threats, risks, and vulnerabilities in order to ensure information availability, integrity and confidentiality, and hence business continuity. This research seeks to use a heuristic-based investigation of the Information Security Maturity Model (ISMM), developed by the author, combined with a thorough review of existing models, to suggest considerable extensions. This shall merit various applications leading to establish a connective body of knowledge and bridge a gap in existing literature and industry regarding the information security implementation in light of use of international standards and models. The ISMM model is neither based on a specific technology/protocol (e.g. PKI, IPSec, SSL) nor a certain system/product (e.g. Firewall, Antivirus, IDS), but rather an engineering approach towards a structured and efficient implementation of those technologies. The ISMM is a security-centric model that consists of five distinctive and ordered security layers, each of which has its own definition, scope, and characteristics. The model reflects the three key security processes (prevention, detection and recovery) and captures effects of people (visibility and sophistication) on every layer. It aims essentially to assess the maturity of any security implementation of any size and type (i.e. device, system, or environment). New extensions of the ISMM work are put forward. Literature review is augmented by introducing a new classification of information security models. Additionally, new abstractions are introduced, first: the abstraction of security conceptual boundaries, which signifies rational priorities and captures the unavoidable interferences between information and physical security in any security context, second: the abstraction of ratios of resources utilization (i.e. computational power, energy, memory, and other costs). Further extensions include a new attack model that classifies attacks in terms of their impact. This leads to a new approach for analyzing attacks and study adversary’s capabilities at different layers of both the ISMM and network models in the whole system, as one integrated entity against both single and hybrid attacks. As an example of one possible mapping and compatibility of the ISMM with other security-related models, the ISMM layers are mapped to their pertinent peers in network models (i.e. ISO/OSI and TCP/IP), which offers more information about security controls at each layer and its contribution to the actual overall security posture. The ISMM offers a prompt and structured approach to identify the current security state of small communication devices, computing platforms, and large computing environments in a consistent manner. A cost-effective realization is achieved through the optimization of IT and security expenditure. Therefore, the model assists to minimize deficiencies in security implementation. Also, the identification of needs and goals of the following level in the ISMM hierarchy allows a strategic approach proportional to allowable resources to take place, as a result, both goals are reached and cost is reduced much faster. This work is believed to facilitate grounds for future research endeavors such as applying these propositions on simulated examples, real life case studies, and developing a formula for the optimized distribution of security resources in a consistent manner with the best possible security level.

Agile principles for software development are now the industry standard for innovative projects. Agile is often hailed for being flexible, but there is also a commonly held 'truth' that agile principles and software security do not work well together. For this reason it is not uncommon to place all security responsibilities with a separate team, which goes against the agile principles of being team-centered and may affect flexibility or timeframe of a project. Additionally, software security is difficult and requires extensive experience and knowledge, something that varies a lot among software developers. This study presents a threat modeling process tailored for the specific needs and capabilities of the agile developer team. The process combines features of attack trees and abuser stories with other supplementary techniques in a pedagogical instruction manual to create an accessible and easy-to-get-started method intended to be driven by the developers themselves. The process has been developed through extensive review of extant threat modeling methods and the circumstances of the agile team, and trialed through user tests at an agile ITorganization in the financial services. / Agila principer för mjukvaruutveckling är nu industristandard för innovativa projekt. Agila metoder hyllas ofta för sin flexibilitet men det finns också en vidspridd uppfattning att agila metoder och mjukvarusäkerhet inte går bra ihop. Av den anledningen är det inte ovanligt att säkerhetsansvar och -uppgifter drivs av en separat säkerhetsgrupp, vilket går emot de agila principerna om fokus på utvecklarteamet. Detta kan få effekter både för projektets flexibilitet och dess tidsram. Dessutom är IT-säkerhet ett svårt ämne som kräver både erfarenhet och avsevärd kunskap, något som funnits variera mycket bland mjukvaruutvecklare. Den här studien presenterar en hotmodelleringsprocess som skräddarsytts för utvecklarteamets specifika behov och styrkor. Processen kombinerar funktioner från attackträd och abuser stories med andra, komplementära tekniker i en pedagogisk instruktionsmanual för att leverera en lättillgänglig och snabbstartad metod menad att drivas av utvecklarna själva. Processen har utvecklats genom omfattande studier av etablerade hotmodelleringsprocesser, samt den agila teammiljön, och testats och vidareutvecklats genom användartester hos en agil IT-organisation inom finansbranschen.