Dear All
As security seems to be a consistant concern I would like you all to read the following extract from the de Poel IT security file. It does not include all information as this is sensitive however it does demonstrate that this system is as secure as is possible. Certainly ASsecure as on line banking etc.
With regard to ongoing concerns and additional questions please raise them on here again and any and all sensible questions posted by Friday that have not already been answered will be by Monday.
As a lot of people writting on here do clearly not know what the system does or what it is for I suggest they view our web site www.depoelconsulting.com and read about add prior to comenting. Alternatively please contact Kay Jones on 01565 682020 who will be happy to send you literature on the system.
Security Information
de Poel Agency Driver Database addTM
Background: The application developers have in place an extensive series of standard operating procedures to deal with security. These include
A set of procedures for:
Acceptable Use
Audit Policy
Information Sensitivity
Acceptable Encryption
Risk Assessment
Server Security
These policies cover:
the security of data held
the security of data applications that the company develop
the security of systems that the company maintain, build and establish
the security of electronic transmission of data
Application Design
Before building the application the developers completed a risk analysis of the project. This highlighted several areas of potential risk due to the sensitivity of the information that the application was storing. Data holding individuals personal details was considered to be ‘high risk’ information due to the possibility of this information falling into the wrong hands. The potential for using this data as a source for ‘identity theft’ was one of the primary concerns. An examination of the possible ways of this information being captured and then preventing its capture was an initial part of the projects design. As in all risk based analysis where the level of risk is judged to be high the requirement and specification process first and foremost addresses these issues.
During the design process the following topics were analysed:
Identification and Authentication - establishment of a claimed identity
Access Control - the control and authorisation of access to information by a user
Integrity — prevention of unauthorised amendment or deletion of information
Accounting - the recording of an account holder’s security related actions
Audit - the monitoring of security related events
Data Exchange - the protection of inter-communication.
Non-repudiation - to render an event undeniable
Identification and Authentication. Access to the system will be limited to known individuals who have a contractual agreement covering their use of the system.
Access Control. Access to information on the database will be filtered through a set of privileges that restrict users to viewing information they expressly have permission to see. This will be in accordance to Client policy and procedures. For example a user may only view information on a subject within the database if within normal circumstances they have the right to view that information as an express part of the duties they perform.
Integrity. Users will only be able to amend a record if within normal circumstances they have the right to amend that information as an express part of the duties they perform. For instance a manager who is authorised to record incidents that occur within their workplace, or their jurisdiction, as a normal part of their duties, such as accidents, will be the only level of user who can amend such records within the application.
Accounting. Clients will have in place policies to ensure that a user is accountable for the accuracy and validity of any information they enter on the system. The application records the user who entered this information and as a secondary check requires that when they confirm an item of information that is of a non factual nature, such as an incident, that the user re enters their password at the point of submitting that data.
Audit. All driver data entry is logged against the system user, further more records will not be deleted they can only be revoked. This enables the system to maintain a full audit trail of all user entered data and the exact nature of the data they entered. Incorrect data will be overlaid with corrected data.
Data Exchange. The first stage in securing any data that is transmitted is encryption. All data exchange between the system and any other system by any means will be encrypted to a minimum of 128 bit. This includes local and wide area data exchange through all protocols including the internet.
Non-repudiation. The audit logs and the retention of all user entry will ensure that users are not able to repudiate any entries they have made. No users records will be removed from the system, they will have a revoked status preventing them from gaining access, to ensure that historical data entry can be ascribed to the user who was responsible for entering it.
Server Security. Aside from a high level of physical security the servers that host the system will have in place the following measures.
System Access.
The system will support SSL at 128 bit and not permit any other kind of connection through any other protocol.
Login will require three pieces of information including a password.
Logins will not be sent in the clear.
Passwords will be stored in the authentication database in a one way hashed (encrypted) format preventing anyone else including system administrators from seeing them.
Initial password allocation will be in the form of a ‘one time password’, users must then reset their password to a new one of their choosing, preventing password sent in the clear from being used.
User selected passwords must contain a mixture of alphas and integers and must be 6 characters in length (e.g. 7Ghs9j1)
While we cannot publicise the exact steps taken to secure the server from malicious attacks the following steps have been taken.
The server will reside behind two firewall systems.
All ports not used by the system will be closed.
All services not used by the system will be disabled. (e.g. telnet, ftp)
The server will be subject to regular security scans, searching for over 6000 know vulnerabilities, the known vulnerability profile is updated prior to each scan.
The server architecture and OS has been determined by choosing the most resilient combination as evaluated by independent security analysts.
The application code will be employ Data Filtering
The application code will be designed to resist the following
Spoofed Form Submissions
Spoofed HTTP Requests
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Request Forgeries
Exposed Access Credentials
SQL Injection
Session Fixation
Session Hijacking
The application and all other security measures will be subject to ongoing review and assessment.
Kind Regards
Matthew Sanders
Director
de Poel Consulting Limited
most drivers do not utalise the internet for their job or even in their leisure time to look up transport related issue, we can only hope to get discussion started amongst a minority of drivers,