3.3 Web Application Security Standard

3.3.1. Overview

Web application vulnerabilities account for the largest portion of attack vectors outside of malware.   It is crucial that any web application be assessed for vulnerabilities and any vulnerabilities by remediated prior to production deployment.

3.3.2. Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to define web application security assessments within Highline College. Web application assessments are performed to identify potential or realized weaknesses as a result of inadvertent misconfiguration, weak authentication, insufficient error handling, sensitive information leakage, etc.  Discovery and subsequent mitigation of these issues will limit the attack surface of Highline College services available both internally and externally as well as satisfy compliance with any relevant policies in place.

3.3.3. Scope

This standard covers all web application security assessments requested by any individual, group or department for the purposes of maintaining the security posture, compliance, risk management, and change control of technologies in use at Highline College.

3.3.4. Standard

3.3.4.1 Web applications are subject to security assessments based on the following criteria:

• New or Major Application Release – will be subject to a full assessment prior to approval of the change control documentation and/or release into the live environment.
• Third Party or Acquired Web Application – will be subject to full assessment after which it will be bound to standard requirements.
• Point Releases – will be subject to an appropriate assessment level based on the risk of the changes in the application functionality and/or architecture.
• Patch Releases – will be subject to an appropriate assessment level based on the risk of the changes to the application functionality and/or architecture.
• Emergency Releases – An emergency release will be allowed to forgo security assessments and carry the assumed risk until such time that a proper assessment can be carried out.  Emergency releases will be designated as such by the Chief Information Officer or an appropriate manager who has been delegated this authority.

3.3.4.2 All security issues that are discovered during assessments must be mitigated based upon the following risk levels.

The Risk Levels are based on the OWASP Risk Rating Methodology. Remediation validation testing will be required to validate fix and/or mitigation strategies for any discovered issues of Medium risk level or greater.

• High – Any high risk issue must be fixed immediately or other mitigation strategies must be put in place to limit exposure before deployment.  Applications with high risk issues are subject to being taken off-line or denied release into the live environment.
• Medium – Medium risk issues should be reviewed to determine what is required to mitigate and scheduled accordingly.  Applications with medium risk issues may be taken off-line or denied release into the live environment based on the number of issues and if multiple issues increase the risk to an unacceptable level.  Issues should be fixed in a patch/point release unless other mitigation strategies will limit exposure.
• Low – Issue should be reviewed to determine what is required to correct the issue and scheduled accordingly.

3.3.4.3 The following security assessment levels shall be established by the InfoSec organization or other designated organization that will be performing the assessments.

• Full – A full assessment is comprised of tests for all known web application vulnerabilities using both automated and manual tools based on the OWASP Testing Guide.  A full assessment will use manual penetration testing techniques to validate discovered vulnerabilities to determine the overall risk of any and all discovered.
• Quick – A quick assessment will consist of a (typically) automated scan of an application for the OWASP Top Ten web application security risks at a minimum.
• Targeted – A targeted assessment is performed to verify vulnerability remediation changes or new application functionality.

3.3.5. Compliance

3.3.5.1 Compliance Measurement

ITS will verify compliance to this standard through various methods, including but not limited to, periodic walk-throughs, video monitoring, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and feedback to the standard owner.

3.3.5.2 Exceptions

Any exception to the standard must be approved by ITS in advance.

3.3.5.3 Non-Compliance

An employee found to have violated this standard may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

3.3.6. Related Standards, Policies, and Processes

None.

3.3.7. Revision History