What type of control is this?

Scenario 2: Beauty is a cosmetics company that has recently switched to an e-commerce model, leaving the traditional retail. The top management has decided to build their own custom platform in-house and outsource the payment process to an external provider operating online payments systems that support online money transfers.

Due to this transformation of the business model, a number of security controls were implemented based on the identified threats and vulnerabilities associated to critical assets. To protect customers’ information. Beauty’s employees had to sign a confidentiality agreement. In addition, the company reviewed all user access rights so that only authorized personnel can have access to sensitive files and drafted a new segregation of duties chart.

However, the transition was difficult for the IT team, who had to deal with a security incident not long after transitioning to the e commerce model. After investigating the incident, the team concluded that due to the out-of-date anti-malware software, an attacker gamed access to their files and exposed customers’ information, including their names and home addresses.

The IT team decided to stop using the old anti-malware software and install a new one which would automatically remove malicious code in case of similar incidents. The new software was installed in every workstation within the company. After installing the new software, the team updated it with the latest malware definitions and enabled the automatic update feature to keep it up to date at all times. Additionally, they established an authentication process that requires a user identification and password when accessing sensitive information.

In addition, Beauty conducted a number of information security awareness sessions for the IT team and other employees that have access to confidential information in order to raise awareness on the importance of system and network security.

According to scenario 2. Beauty has reviewed all user access rights.

What type of control is this?
A . Detective and administrative
B . Corrective and managerial
C . Legal and technical

View Answer

Answer: A

Explanation:

Preventive controls: These are controls that aim to prevent or deter the occurrence of a security incident or reduce its likelihood. Examples of preventive controls are encryption, firewalls, locks, policies, etc.

Detective controls: These are controls that aim to detect or discover the occurrence of a security incident or its symptoms. Examples of detective controls are logs, alarms, audits, etc.

Corrective controls: These are controls that aim to correct or restore the normal state of an asset or a process after a security incident or mitigate its impact. Examples of corrective controls are backups, recovery plans, incident response teams, etc.

Administrative controls: These are controls that involve the management and governance of information security, such as policies, procedures, roles, responsibilities, awareness, training, etc.

Technical controls: These are controls that involve the use of technology or software to implement information security, such as encryption, firewalls, anti-malware, authentication, etc.

Physical controls: These are controls that involve the protection of physical assets or locations from unauthorized access, damage, or theft, such as locks, fences, cameras, guards, etc.

Legal controls: These are controls that involve the compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, or agreements related to information security, such as privacy laws, data protection laws, confidentiality agreements, etc.

In scenario 2, the action of Beauty reviewing all user access rights is best described as a "Preventive and Administrative" control.

Preventive Control: The review of user access rights is a preventive measure. It is designed to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information by ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to specific files. By controlling access rights, the organization aims to prevent potential security breaches and protect sensitive data.

Administrative Control: This action also falls under administrative controls, sometimes referred to as managerial controls. These controls involve policies, procedures, and practices related to the management of the organization and its employees. In this case, the review of access rights is a part of the company’s administrative procedures to manage the security of information systems.

Reference: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 – Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection ― Information security management systems ― Requirements