Step 1: Identify Components of Key Management
Key management will be an important aspect of the new electronic protected health information (e-PHI). Key management is often considered the most difficult part of designing a cryptosystem.
Choose a fictitious or an actual organization. The idea is to provide an overview of the current state of enterprise key management for Superior Health Care.
Review these authentication resources to learn about authentication and the characteristics of key management.
Provide a high-level, top-layer network view (diagram) of the systems in Superior Health Care. The diagram can be a bubble chart or Visio drawing of a simple network diagram with servers. Conduct independent research to identify a suitable network diagram.
Read these resources on data at rest, data in use, and data in motion.
Identify data at rest, data in use, and data in motion as it could apply to your organization. Start by focusing on where data are stored and how data are accessed.
Review these resources on insecure handlingand identify areas where insecure handling may be a concern for your organization.
Incorporate this information in your key management plan.
In the next step, you will consider key management capabilities.
Step 2: Learn Key Management Capabilities ——–LAB
Step 3: Identify Key Management Gaps, Risks, Solutions, and Challenges
In a previous step, you identified the key components of an enterprise key management system. In this step, you will conduct independent research on key management issues in existing organizations. You will use this research to help identify gaps in key management, in each of the key management areas within Superior Health Care.
Conduct independent research to identify typical gaps in key management within organizations. Incorporate and cite actual findings within your key management plan. If unable to find data on real organizations, use authoritative material discussing typical gaps.
Identify crypto attacks and other risks to the cryptographic systems posed by these gaps. Read these resources to brush up on your understanding of crypto attacks.
Propose solutions organizations may use to address these gaps and identify necessary components of these solutions.
Finally, identify challenges, including remedies, other organizations have faced in implementing a key management system.
Include this information in your enterprise key management plan.
Provide a summary table of the information within your key management plan.
Incorporate this information in your implementation plan.
In the next step, you will provide additional ideas for the chief information security officer (CISO) to consider.
Step 4: Provide Additional Considerations for the CISO
You have satisfactorily identified key management gaps. Incorporate these additional objectives of an enterprise key management system as you compile information for the CISO.
Explain the uses of encryption and the benefits of securing communications by hash functions and other types of encryption. When discussing encryption, be sure to evaluate and assess whether or not to incorporate file encryption, full disc encryption, and partition encryption. Discuss the benefits of using triple DES or other encryption technologies. To complete this task, review the following resources:
uses of encryption
types of encryption
hash functions
Describe the use and purpose of hashes and digital signatures in providing message authentication and integrity. Review these resources on authentication to further your understanding. Focus on resources pertaining to message authentication.
Review the resources related to cryptanalysis. Explain the use of cryptography and cryptanalysis in data confidentiality. Cryptanalysts are a very technical and specialized workforce. Your organization already has a workforce of security engineers (SEs). Cryptanalysts could be added to support part of the operation and maintenance functions of the enterprise key management system. Conduct research on the need, cost, and benefits of adding cryptanalysts to the organization’s workforce. Determine if it will be more effective to develop the SEs to perform these tasks. Discuss alternative ways for obtaining cryptanalysis if the organization chooses not to maintain this new skilled community in-house.
Research and explain the concepts and practices commonly used for data confidentiality: the private and public key protocol for authentication, public key infrastructure (PKI), the X.509 cryptography standard, and PKI security. Read about the following cryptography and identity management concepts: public key infrastructure and the X.509 cryptography standard.
Keep in mind that sometimes it takes considerable evidence and research for organizational leaders to buy in and provide resources.
Incorporate this information in your implementation plan.
In the next step, you will provide information on different cryptographic systems for the CISO.
Step 5: Analyze Cryptographic Systems
In the previous step, you covered aspects of cryptographic methods. In this step, you will recommend cryptographic systems that your organization should consider procuring.
Independently research commercially available enterprise key management system products, discuss at least two systems, and recommend a system for Superior Health Care.
Describe the cryptographic system, its effectiveness, and its efficiencies.
Provide an analysis of the trade-offs of different cryptographic systems.
Review and include information learned from conducting independent research on the following topics:
security index rating
level of complexity
availability or utilization of system resources
Include information on the possible complexity and expense of implementing and operating various cryptographic ciphers. Check out these resources on ciphers to familiarize yourself with the topic. Incorporate this information in your implementation plan.
In the next step, you will begin final work on the enterprise key management plan.
Step 6: Develop the Enterprise Key Management Plan
In the previous steps, you gathered information about systems used elsewhere. Using the materials produced in those steps, develop your Enterprise Key Management Plan for implementation, operation, and maintenance of the new system. Address these as separate sections in the plan.
In this plan, you will identify the key components, the possible solutions, the risks, and benefits comparisons of each solution, and proposed mitigations to the risks. These, too, should be considered as a separate section or could be integrated within the implementation, operation, and maintenance sections.
A possible outline could be:
Introduction
Purpose
Key Components
Implementation
Operation
Maintenance
Benefits and Risks
Summary/Conclusion
The following are the deliverables for this segment of the project:
Deliverables
Enterprise Key Management Plan: An eight- to 10-page double-spaced Word document with citations in APA format. The page count does not include figures, diagrams, tables, or citations.
Lab Report: A Word document sharing your lab experience along with screenshots.
Step 7: Develop the Enterprise Key Management Policy
The final step in this project requires you to use the information from the previous steps to develop the Enterprise Key Management Policy. The policy governs the processes, procedures, rules of behavior, and training for users and administrators of the enterprise key management system.
Research similar policy documents used by other organizations and adapt an appropriate example to create your policy.
Review and discuss the following within the policy:
digital certificates
certificate authority
certificate revocation lists
Discuss different scenarios and hypothetical situations. For example, the policy could require that when employees leave the company, their digital certificates must be revoked within 24 hours. Another could require that employees receive initial and annual security training.
Include at least three scenarios and provide policy standards, guidance, and procedures that would be invoked by the enterprise key management policy. Each statement should be short and should define what someone would have to do to comply with the policy.
The following is the deliverable for this segment of the project:
Deliverables
Enterprise Key Management Policy: A two- to three-page double-spaced Word document.
