SA-8(13)—Security and Privacy Engineering Principles | Minimized Security Elements
>Control Description
>DoD Impact Level Requirements
No specific parameter values or requirements for this impact level.
>Discussion
The principle of minimized security elements states that the system does not have extraneous trusted components. The principle of minimized security elements has two aspects: the overall cost of security analysis and the complexity of security analysis. Trusted components are generally costlier to construct and implement, owing to the increased rigor of development processes.
Trusted components require greater security analysis to qualify their trustworthiness. Thus, to reduce the cost and decrease the complexity of the security analysis, a system contains as few trustworthy components as possible. The analysis of the interaction of trusted components with other components of the system is one of the most important aspects of system security verification.
If the interactions between components are unnecessarily complex, the security of the system will also be more difficult to ascertain than one whose internal trust relationships are simple and elegantly constructed. In general, fewer trusted components result in fewer internal trust relationships and a simpler system.
>Assessment Interview Topics
Questions assessors commonly ask
Process & Governance:
- •What acquisition policies and procedures address the requirements of SA-8(13)?
- •How are security and privacy requirements integrated into the acquisition process?
- •Who is responsible for ensuring that acquisitions comply with SA-8(13)?
- •How is security integrated throughout your system development lifecycle (SDLC)?
Technical Implementation:
- •How are security requirements defined and documented in acquisition contracts?
- •What mechanisms ensure that acquired systems and services meet security requirements?
- •How do you validate that vendors and service providers comply with specified security controls?
- •What security practices are required at each phase of the SDLC?
Evidence & Documentation:
- •Can you provide examples of acquisition documentation that includes security requirements?
- •What evidence demonstrates that acquired systems meet security specifications?
- •Where is acquisition security documentation maintained throughout the system lifecycle?
- •Can you show evidence of security activities performed during development?
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