If you are involved in application security, DevSecOps, IT risk management, or compliance, learning about ONF is necessary for you to be able to implement ISO/IEC 27034 smoothly. This article will explain ONF, its importance, and how you can utilize it to organize your application security more efficiently in your whole company.
Back to ONF, we have to understand that ISO/IEC 27034 is a standard that offers a complete procedure on how to integrate security in the software delivery process. Unlike ISO/IEC 27001 that mainly deals with security issues at the company level, ISO 27034 is still focused on the application security of the particular ones—a very important difference in today’s cyberworld.
Core ideas of ISO 27034 contain:
In fact, ONF is the main concept that explains the principles of securing the applications throughout the whole process of doing, applying, and keeping safe.
The Organizational Normative Framework (ONF) is the collection of application security documents, policies, and resources that reflects your organization’s security strategy, all in a structured manner. It can be seen as a customizable security blueprint that guides developers, security professionals, and auditors in building and managing secure applications.
On ISO/IEC 27034, an ONF should be a collection of:
It defines what “secure” means in your organization’s particular situation—matching the technologies you use, the regulatory frameworks you follow, and the risks you
ONF facilitates contextualized security as opposed to generic checklists or compliance tools designed for everyone without any consideration of the customer's context. However, every organization is different. Here, a healthcare app dealing with patient data that is confidential will have security requirements that are completely different from those of an e-commerce catalog site.
OnF empowers organizations to:
Here are the key components that every ONF should include, as per the ISO 27034 application security standard:
They are the foundation of secure application development. They describe in detail what developers, testers, and architects need to do, in order to be along the compliant line.
Applications are not equal in the matter of their risk profiles. This model is used to group applications depending on such criteria as:
In this way, the ONF can adjust security controls that suit the classification the best.
They represent the control sets that are assigned to each application classification level in advance. They are a basic opening for the start of the industry-specific security measures implementation during the software development lifecycle.
Some of the examples of controls that you can find in regulations and guidelines are as follows:
The ONF ensures security throughout each step of the SDLC (software development lifecycle):
Stage
ONF Contribution
Requirements
Establish security goals depending on the app classification
Design
Utilize given threat models and architectural guidelines
Development
Adhere to secure coding standards and realize ASCs
Testing
Employ accepted tools and techniques for vulnerability scanning
Deployment
Implement configuration controls and define access policies.
Application security in many organizations may be quite fragmented—handled in an inconsistent manner by the teams that use different standards, tools, and judgment. The ONF provides a framework and consistency, which in turn results in less likelihood of:
An ONF properly implemented may be a total game-changer when it comes to streamlining audits, reducing remediation efforts, and increasing stakeholder confidence in the organization's application security maturity.
If you are looking to become the leader of your organization's application security program—or the one who consults on implementing these frameworks professionally—starting with formal training is the way to go.
The CourseMonster team is ready to provide the best professional training for the students
Enroll in the ISO/IEC 27034 Lead Application Security Implementer Course
This course covers:
If your current job is that of an IT security manager, software architect, or compliance professional, this training is designed to empower you with the skills and confidence to take up application security leadership roles.
Being conversant with and adopting the Organizational Normative Framework forms the core of one’s ability to thrive in the implementation of ISO/IEC 27034. It not only outlines the relevant technical aspects but is also a strategic roadmap for safe application development that can be extended to multiple teams, devices, and software.
Having ONF, companies can visualize the end-state of a secure development process, infuse that culture continuously and verify that it is followed in audits or when incidents occur. For individuals, professional ONF skills empower one to be accessible to opportunities in DevSecOps positions, application security leadership, and consulting.
If you want to get the best ONF and implement it, then get help
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