FAQ

Product security refers to the practices and measures taken to protect connected products, such as vehicles, medical devices, and industrial equipment, from unauthorized access, attack, or cyber damage. It encompasses the security of the product from its initial design through its development, deployment, maintenance, and disposal.

ProdSec is an abbreviation for Product Security. It’s a specialized area within cybersecurity focused on ensuring the security and integrity of a specific product, such as a software application or hardware device.

In the context of cybersecurity, product security involves implementing security measures and protocols within the product to safeguard against cyber threats, prevent data breaches, and ensure the product’s integrity and reliability.

Product security is crucial to prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and attacks that can lead to significant financial losses, damage to reputation, and harm to users. It is essential for maintaining customer trust and complying with regulatory requirements.

While product security is a broad term that covers the security aspects of a product with embedded software-driven systems while application security specifically refers to protecting software applications from threats and vulnerabilities during development and post-deployment.

No, DevSecOps is a methodology that integrates security practices within the DevOps process. It focuses on incorporating security at every stage of software development. Product security is a broader concept that includes DevSecOps as a part of its overall strategy.

Ensuring product security involves:

Conducting internal audits and vulnerability assessments.
Managing vulnerabilities via SBOMs, VEX, and other processes.
Regularly updating and patching the product.
Ensuring compliance with relevant security standards and regulations.

Secure product development is a process that involves integrating security considerations and practices into the product development lifecycle. It aims to identify and mitigate security risks early in the development process.

PLM stands for Product Lifecycle Management. In cybersecurity, it refers to managing the security of a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from design and development to deployment, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning.

Responsibility for product security typically lies with a dedicated security team, which may include roles such as Chief Product Security Officer (CPSO), security engineers, analysts, and a product security manager. However, all members of a product development team have a role in ensuring security.

A product security manager oversees the implementation of security measures in a product. They coordinate security efforts across teams, develop security strategies, ensure compliance with security standards, and manage responses to security incidents.

Tasks include conducting risk assessments, developing security protocols, implementing and enforcing security policies, monitoring for security breaches, and coordinating response strategies to security incidents.

An SBOM is a comprehensive inventory of all components in a software product. It’s used for vulnerability management, information sharing, license compliance, and supply chain transparency as well as product security activities.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools are used to analyze open-source components within a software project, whereas an SBOM is a detailed list of all software components, both open source and proprietary.

Open Source Software (OSS) refers to software with source code that can be inspected, modified, and enhanced by anyone, while an SBOM is a list that may include OSS components

An SBOM lists software components, whereas a Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) lists physical hardware components in a device.

Common formats include SPDX (Software Package Data Exchange) and CycloneDX. These standards ensure consistency and interoperability in SBOM documentation.

This involves creating, maintaining, and utilizing SBOMs effectively over time and throughout all stages to manage software components and address security and compliance issues.

The requirement for an SBOM varies by industry and regulatory environment. In some sectors, like healthcare and critical infrastructure, it’s increasingly becoming a regulatory requirement.

An SBOM itself doesn’t include vulnerabilities but helps in identifying them by listing all software components, which can then be cross-referenced with vulnerability databases.

SBOM requirements vary based on their use, the state of the device, and most of all the regulations that it falls under. According to CISA, there should be six distinct SBOMs that represent various stages of the product lifecycle.

This refers to the U.S. government’s initiative to improve the nation’s cybersecurity, which includes enhancing software supply chain security, potentially involving SBOM requirements.

SBOM compliance refers to creating, cataloging, and maintaining SBOMs in a way that allows companies to meet regulatory compliance.

VEX is a way of documenting and sharing vulnerability information as well as vulnerability management methods that have been used to keep the product secure.

This refers to vulnerabilities in a product’s components where the exploitability status is shared through VEX documentation.

Minimum requirements include the identifier of the vulnerability, the product it affects, and the exploitability status within that product.

ISO 21434 focuses on automotive cybersecurity specifically, whereas ISO 26262 is concerned with functional safety in automotive systems.

A Cyber Digital Twins™ is a virtual representation of a physical system, used for simulation and analysis purposes. It allows for testing and optimization in a virtual environment, which can enhance security by identifying potential vulnerabilities without impacting the actual system which may be in development or in the field.

Industries that benefit from digital twins include manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, and energy sectors. Companies in these sectors use digital twins for simulation, predictive maintenance, and improving product design and operational efficiency.

Cyber Digital Twins™ work by using sensors and data analytics to create a virtual model of a physical object or system. This model is continuously updated with real-time data, allowing for simulations, analysis, and optimization based on current conditions.

Automotive cybersecurity is crucial due to the increasing connectivity of vehicles, which makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Such attacks can compromise vehicle safety, personal data security, and even enable unauthorized control over vehicle functions.

Securing vehicles involves:

– Implementing strong product security measures
– SBOM Management
– Implementing a Cybersecurity Management system in line with UNECE WP.29 R155
– Regularly updating software and firmware
– Conducting regular security assessments
– Threat modeling or TARA

Examples include hacking into vehicle communication systems, GPS spoofing, taking control over vehicle operations, and accessing sensitive data through connected devices.

Machine learning can enhance cybersecurity by enabling advanced threat detection and response capabilities, predicting and mitigating potential attacks, and continuously learning from new threats to improve security measures.

An automotive security system refers to the integrated technologies and practices designed to protect connected and autonomous vehicles from cyber threats. Modern Product Security practitioners address this with the Product Security Platform where a vehicle and all of it’s software component vulnerabilities can be centrally managed in line with R155 CSMS.

Automakers are increasingly vulnerable due to the growing connectivity and complexity of automotive systems, reliance on third-party software, and the proliferation of connected services in vehicles. That is why the R155’s CSMS aligns the ecosystem in proper security practices.

CSMS stands for Cybersecurity Management System. In the automotive industry, it refers to the structured approach automakers use to manage and mitigate cybersecurity risks across the lifecycle of a vehicle.

CSMS is specific to automotive cybersecurity management, focusing on vehicle-specific risks and regulations. ISMS (Information Security Management System) is a broader framework for managing an organization’s information security.

A CSMS audit involves evaluating an automotive company’s cybersecurity management system to ensure it meets industry standards, regulations, and effectively manages and mitigates cybersecurity risks.

A software-defined vehicle relies heavily on software for its operations and features, offering high levels of connectivity and upgradability. Traditional vehicles have more limited software integration and connectivity.

WP.29 R155 requires an automotive cybersecurity management system that allows organizations to identify, track, and manage vulnerabilities throughout the full vehicle lifecycle.

R155 involves cybersecurity for road vehicles, while R156 deals with software update processes for road vehicles, both under the WP.29 regulation.

Medical device cybersecurity is vital to protect patient health information, ensure the safe functioning of the devices, and prevent unauthorized access that could compromise patient safety.

The regulatory strategy for medical devices involves complying with standards and regulations regarding their safety, efficacy, and security. This includes meeting the requirements of organizations like the FDA and adhering to cybersecurity standards.

Medical device cybersecurity is defined by a handful of organizations, such as the FDA, IMDRF, and others. The FDA’s latest Premarket Authorization Guidelines require:
– Proper SBOM Management
– Frequent vulnerability discovery and management processes
– Threat modeling, and more

An example includes the hacking of insulin pumps to alter dosages, potentially endangering patients’ lives.

Devices with high risks include those connected to networks (like infusion pumps, pacemakers), devices with wireless communication capabilities, and those storing sensitive patient data.

The biggest issue with implementing the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is ensuring robust cybersecurity to protect against the increased risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks associated with connected devices.

Threats include unauthorized access, data breaches, malware infections, and the potential for remote manipulation of device functionality.

Medical device cybersecurity refers to the practices and technologies used to protect medical devices from cyber threats, ensuring their safe and secure operation.

Risk assessment involves evaluating potential vulnerabilities in a medical device, assessing the likelihood and impact of various threats within both facility and patient home environments, and determining appropriate mitigation strategies.

As manufacturing equipment becomes connected, cybersecurity is crucial in the manufacturing industry to protect intellectual property, ensure the continuity of operations, safeguard sensitive data, and maintain the integrity of automated systems.

NIST Framework for Medical Devices: This framework provides guidelines for managing cybersecurity risks in medical devices, emphasizing the importance of securing devices throughout their lifecycle. The FDA however has final authority on these matters.

Threats can include external factors, such as develoment vulnerabilities, human error in partaking in phishing, or an unsecure network that has not been considered by system developers. That’s why the FDA demands a safe product development framework (SPDF).

The FDA provides guidance and regulatory oversight to ensure that medical devices are secure from cybersecurity threats and safe for patient use.

FDA Guidance 524B defines what is and what is not considered a connected medical device.

Section 3305 of the Omnibus bill gives the FDA the authority to enforce regulation surrounding medical device cybersecurity.

The FDA guidance for cybersecurity begins with the FDA’s premarket authorization guidelines (PMA). They lay out minimum cybersecurity practices and guidelines that medical device manufacturers must follo in order ot receive Market Approval.

Industrial cybersecurity refers to the protection of industrial systems, such as SCADA systems, industrial control systems, and manufacturing equipment, from cyber threats.

Smart factories use advanced technologies like AI, IoT, and robotics. Each of them are connected to a network, making these prised products vulnerable targets. Prioritizing cybersecurity in these environments is necessary to protect against data breaches, operational disruptions, and espionage.

Industrial control systems have become prime targets due to their critical role in national infrastructure and the potential for high-impact disruptions. These systems often use legacy technologies that are more vulnerable to modern cyber threats.

Cybersecurity is crucial in supply chain management to protect against data breaches, prevent interruptions in logistics, and safeguard sensitive information across the supply chain network. Teams can also identify threats before they are entered in the greater system, stopping the cycle in its tracks.

Key risks include malware attacks, data theft, and the compromise of supplier systems, which can impact the integrity and availability of products and services and create harm for those relying on mission-critical devices.

The rise in these attacks is attributed to the increased interconnectedness of supply chains, greater reliance on third-party vendors, and the high value of the data and processes within supply chains.