ISOL Application Security Request For Proposal (RFP) ✓ Solved

ISOL Application Security: Request for Proposal (RFP) Form -

Project Name: [Insert Project Name]

Project Sponsor: Dr. Richmond Ibe

Project Group Names: [List team members]

Department: [Insert Department]

Organization: ABC Corporation

Contact Information: [Insert contact email]

Phone: [Insert phone number]

Date: [Insert date]

Table of Contents: Introduction; Problem Statement; Purpose Statement; Scope Statement; Impact Assessment; Budget / Financial Assessment; High-Level Functional Requirements; Business Benefits; Special Issues or Constraints; Summary; Conclusion; References.

The project: Investigate the 2018 data breach at ABC Corporation caused by inadequate access control and excessive privilege escalation. Develop a proposal that analyzes root causes and recommends processes and technical controls to enforce least privilege, assign and manage employee privileges, and mitigate future data breaches. Deliverables must include an introduction; a clearly stated problem identifying lack of access control and privilege escalation as the vulnerability; a purpose statement; scope; impact assessment; a detailed budget/financial assessment; high-level functional requirements (for example: data flow mapping, data breach response service, appointment of a data protection officer, upgraded firewalls, and formal privilege management processes); business benefits (tangible and intangible); special issues or constraints; summary; conclusion; and references.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

In 2018 ABC Corporation experienced a significant data breach that exposed sensitive corporate and customer information. The security team was tasked to investigate root causes, remediate vulnerabilities, and recommend sustainable controls. Our analysis identifies deficient access control and excessive privilege assignment as primary contributors to the incident. This proposal documents the investigation findings and prescribes organizational, process, and technical controls to implement least privilege and reduce the likelihood and impact of future breaches (NIST SP 800-53, 2020; CIS Controls, 2021).

Problem Statement

The core problem is ineffective access control implementation at ABC Corporation that created a vulnerability exploited during the 2018 breach. Employees were granted escalated privileges beyond job requirements, violating the principle of least privilege and increasing attack surface. Poor privilege governance, lack of role-based access controls (RBAC), and insufficient monitoring allowed unauthorized access to sensitive datasets (Microsoft, 2021; OWASP Foundation, 2021).

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this project is to investigate the 2018 data breach, determine root causes, and design a pragmatic program to assign and manage employee privileges. The project will deliver: a privilege assignment policy, technical controls (including privileged access management), data flow mapping, detection and response capabilities, a budgeted implementation plan, and governance recommendations to ensure continuous least-privilege enforcement (NIST SP 800-53, 2020; Gartner, 2021).

Scope Statement

This proposal focuses on access control and privilege management for ABC Corporation’s corporate systems and applications. The scope includes user accounts, service accounts, administrative privileges, remote access, and endpoint configuration. It excludes physical security upgrades and third-party vendor audits except where vendor privileges interact with corporate systems. Implementation phases will prioritize high-risk systems identified via data flow mapping and asset classification (CIS Controls, 2021).

Impact Assessment

Effective implementation will reduce unauthorized access risks, minimize breach likelihood, and lower breach costs. According to industry reports, robust identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM) reduce incident dwell time and cost (Verizon DBIR, 2024; IBM/Ponemon, 2023). Expected benefits include fewer incidents, faster detection/response, improved regulatory compliance (ISO/IEC 27001), and stronger customer trust. Residual risks include insider threats and misconfigurations, which will be mitigated by continuous monitoring and periodic audits (ENISA, 2020).

Budget / Financial Assessment

Estimated costs reflect phased implementation over 12 months. Major line items:

• Privilege Management/PAM solution license and setup: $60,000
• Data flow mapping and IAM assessment tools: $20,000
• Endpoint encryption and device compliance tooling: $25,000
• Staffing: one full-time Data Protection Officer (DPO) and part-time IAM engineer for 12 months: $120,000
• Training & change management (user awareness, administrators): $10,000
• Incident response service and breach detection integration: $40,000
• Contingency (10%): $27,500

Total estimated budget: $302,500. This estimate will be refined after an initial discovery phase and vendor selection. Cost justification includes avoided breach costs, regulatory fines, and improved operational efficiency (IBM/Ponemon, 2023).

High-Level Functional Requirements

• Data flow mapping and asset classification tool to identify sensitive data paths and high-value assets (DFD outputs).
• Privileged Access Management (PAM) for just-in-time (JIT) elevated access, session recording, and credential vaulting (Gartner, 2021).
• Role-based Access Control (RBAC) and automated provisioning/deprovisioning integrated with HR systems.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative and remote access, and device posture checks for endpoints (NIST SP 800-63).
• Data breach detection and incident response service to reduce time-to-detect and time-to-contain (Verizon DBIR, 2024).
• Appointment of a Data Protection Officer responsible for privilege governance, audits, and compliance (ISO/IEC 27001).
• Upgraded network and application firewalls with filtering and segmentation to reduce lateral movement.
• Reporting and continuous monitoring dashboards for privilege use and anomalous behavior (SANS Institute).

Business Benefits (Tangible and Intangible)

Tangible benefits: reduced expected breach costs, lower insurance premiums, fewer downtime hours, and regulatory compliance that avoids fines (IBM/Ponemon, 2023). Intangible benefits: increased customer trust, improved employee accountability, and strengthened corporate reputation. Strong IAM also accelerates onboarding and offboarding, improving productivity and reducing admin overhead (CIS Controls, 2021).

Special Issues or Constraints

Constraints include legacy systems without modern authentication, potential resistance to change, and budget limitations. Legacy integrations may require custom connectors or phased migration. Data residency and regulatory constraints (e.g., GDPR) must be respected when deploying cloud-based IAM or PAM services. A change management program will be required to address cultural and operational adoption (ENISA, 2020).

Summary and Conclusion

ABC Corporation’s 2018 breach was primarily driven by poor privilege governance and excessive access rights. This proposal recommends a prioritized, budgeted program to implement least privilege through policy, PAM, RBAC, MFA, data flow mapping, and appointing a Data Protection Officer. These measures align with established standards and best practices and will materially reduce breach risk and impact while delivering measurable business value (NIST SP 800-53, CIS Controls, OWASP). We recommend initiating a 6–8 week discovery phase to finalize scope, vendor selection, and a detailed project plan for phased implementation.

References

• NIST. (2020). NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5: Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (NIST SP 800-53, 2020).
• CIS Controls. (2021). Center for Internet Security Critical Security Controls. (CIS Controls, 2021).
• OWASP Foundation. (2021). OWASP Top Ten. Open Web Application Security Project.
• Verizon. (2024). 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report. Verizon Enterprise Solutions.
• IBM Security / Ponemon Institute. (2023). Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023. IBM.
• ISO/IEC. (2013). ISO/IEC 27001:2013 — Information security management systems — Requirements.
• Microsoft. (2021). Principle of Least Privilege and Privileged Access Guidance. Microsoft Documentation.
• Gartner. (2021). Market Guide for Privileged Access Management. Gartner Research.
• SANS Institute. (2020). Practical Privileged Account Management and Monitoring. SANS Whitepaper.
• ENISA. (2020). Guidelines for SME Security and Data Breach Prevention. European Union Agency for Cybersecurity.