Access Control Strategies for a Software Development Company

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 Access Control Strategies for a Software Development Company

Independent Software Incorporated (ISI), a small software development business, needs a

strong access control scheme to protect its critical data and file systems. ISI handles classified

and PII for big merchants, the federal government, and significant state governments. Given the

risks of unauthorised access—legal penalties, contract loss, and reputational damage—an access

control strategy is essential. Cyberattacks impact many aspects of life (Chadwick et al., 2020).

ISI's access control strategy must prioritise data and system confidentiality, integrity, and

availability. PII and classified information must be protected first. To maintain customer

confidence, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends avoiding

unauthorised access to sensitive data in its Special Publication 800-53. Second, ISI, a software

developer, values data integrity. Their code and project files must be trustworthy, since

unauthorised changes might introduce harmful code or security flaws into their programme. Our

access control approach must guarantee that only authorised workers may edit and access these

files. Finally, effective operations need data and system availability. We must balance security

and usefulness. ISI must provide workers with resources while avoiding deliberate or inadvertent

outages.

These claims are supported by NIST Special Publications. NIST's SP 800-53 emphasises

confidentiality, integrity, and availability as security principles, supporting ISI's access control

approach. Multifaceted access security techniques are needed to safeguard ISI's data at rest, in

motion, and file systems:

 Data at Rest: Encryption protects data at rest. Full-disk encryption for workstations and

server-based encryption for data repositories are essential. important management and strong

encryption techniques are important to this approach. Protecting data in transit requires secure

network connections. Privacy controls manage privacy risks and assure compliance with privacy

regulations, whereas security controls protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability (NIST,

2020). ISI should use HTTPS for online traffic and VPNs for remote access. Network

segmentation and firewalls should separate sensitive data from network traffic. Regular security

audits and vulnerability assessments should verify these procedures work. File System Access

Control: ISI should use ACLs and RBAC to secure file systems. Project files and sensitive data

will be protected. Using multifactor authentication (MFA) for key file systems and auditing file

access logs may assist discover odd activity.

ISI should follow best practises for implementation. This comprises a detailed risk

assessment, an access control policy specifying roles, responsibilities, and processes,

implementing the specified security measures, training employees, and monitoring and auditing

access control. These practises follow NIST SP 800-53. ISI may do periodic security

assessments and penetration testing to evaluate the access control scheme. NIST's SP 800-115

recommends hiring external auditors to assess industry standards and best practises compliance.

ISI should implement a change management approach to update the access control plan to meet

changing access needs. To adapt to new risks, technology, and regulations, policies and

processes should be reviewed and updated regularly. According to NIST's SP 800-128, security

must be proactive to react to changing dangers.

 Finally, ISI's access control scheme protects critical data and file systems. The strategy

seeks secrecy, honesty, and availability. Key techniques include encryption, secure network

connections, and file system access control. Best practises, frequent verification, and proactive

upgrades create a strong and effective access control architecture that meets industry standards

and advice.
 References

Chadwick, D. W., Fan, W., Costantino, G., De Lemos, R., Di Cerbo, F., Herwono, I., ... & Wang,

X. S. (2020). A cloud-edge based data security architecture for sharing and analysing

cyber threat information. Future generation computer systems, 102, 710-722.

NIST. (2020). Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations.

Security and Privacy Controlsfor Information Systems and Organizations, 5(5).

https://doi.org/10.6028/nist.sp.800-53r5