14-Feb-2020

IT-Grundschutz Compendium

Each year in February the publication of the IT-Grundschutz, the IT-Grundschutz-Compendium, is published in a new edition by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). This edition is based on the so-called building blocks, within which potential threats are discussed and security requirements are highlighted.

These building blocks are included in the IT-Grundschutz-Compendium.

• ISMS: Security Management
• ORP: Organization and personnel
• CON: Concept and approach
• OPS: Operation
• DER: Detection and response
• APP: Applications
• SYS: IT systems
• IND: Industrial IT
• NET: networks and communication
• INF: Infrastructure

The requirements described herein reflect the so-called state of the art.

Since 01.02.2020, Edition 2020 of the IT-Grundschutz-Compendium is relevant for certification. The current edition contains two new IT-Grundschutz modules and a linguistic revision of all modules of Edition 2019. New are

• CON.8 Software development and
• INF.5 Room and cabinet for technical infrastructure

CON.8 refers here to individual or modified software solutions. The module places information security in the foreground when developing, adapting or extending IT applications in-house and is an extension of CON.5 (development and use of individual software).

INF.5 applies to containers and rooms in general in which technical infrastructure is accommodated. The aim is to protect its components electronically, mechanically and structurally so that its functionality is guaranteed.

ORP.4 Identity and authorization management is particularly relevant for users.

This is concerned with the doubtless identification and authentication of IT components. Above all, in the authorization management, the BSI has made a change in content that relates to the regular password change.

The British Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG), a department of the intelligence service GCHQ, has been advising against regular password changes since 2016, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States of America followed a year later.

The background is the current state of research, according to which the enforcement of a periodic password change led to less secure passwords. The chapter on the regulation of password use in ORP.4.A8 now no longer contains a corresponding recommendation for change and no longer contains a commitment to fixed rules for the complexity and length of passwords. Rather, BSI refers to the fact that a password must be changed if it falls into unauthorized hands.