Integrating Top-down and Bottom-up Cybersecurity Guidance using XML

Abstract

This paper describes a markup-based approach for synthesizing disparate information sources, and then discusses a software implementation of the approach. The implementation, developed using XForms and Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT), makes it easier for people to use two complementary, but differently structured, guidance specifications together: the (top- down) Cybersecurity Framework and the (bottom-up) National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-53 security control catalog. An example scenario demonstrates how the software implementation can help a security professional select the appropriate safeguards for restricting unauthorized access to an Industrial Control System. The implementation and example show the benefits of this approach and suggest its potential application to disciplines other than cybersecurity.