Prior to the introduction of the risk management framework (RMF), the Department of Defense (DoD) accepted and implemented policies that lacked interconnectivity. The DoD’s policy was replaced by RMF beginning on May 24, 2016 . The RMF document contains several components: changes to DoD instruction, implementing references and new cybersecurity policies, turn the DIACAP Technical Advisory Group (TAG) into RMF (TAG), directs authorization documents to the DoD’s IT department, and provide procedural guidance. The proceeding information in this document will answer the question of why and how the DoD needed to update its cybersecurity policy and strategies with the RMF.
Transitioning to RMF is a complex process that took several months in order to implement. They started by evaluating the DIACAP and discovered that there were areas that could be updated in ways that can help DoD reach its goals. A joint task force (JTF) was created in order to gather intelligence and make recommendations on a new strategy for the DoD, which ultimately led to the creation of Revised 8500 Series policies. As a result, the DoD now uses the 8500 series documentation for information assurance and risk management procedures. This paragraph explains how the DoD was able to generate RMF policies.
However, an extremely important question is why would the DoD need to transition to RMF if they already had a policy that worked for many years. The DoD, like other government departments are constantly researching methods and strategies for improving its cybersecurity. The DoD aimed to find a solution that would provide information assurance as well as increase the protection of security controls. They were looking to find policies that would impact all members of the DoD in a systematic way. In the beginning of the research, the DoD found answers to the following questions: how to define adequate security for each system, what is the process of defining a technology as adequate, how many controls should be utilized, gather intelligence regarding controls, and define roles and responsibilities for each staff member that accesses any DoD system. There are several examples of how the RMF policies are an improvement to different staff members: it provides a standardize and cost-saving method of security for CIOs, it increases deployment solutions for warfighters, increase security for business and government system owners, integrate security controls for systems developers.
The history of RMF started with previous generations of policies. The DoD created DITSCAP as a security solution in 1997. The acronym stands for the Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process. The solution had many vulnerabilities, the most important of which is its inability to integrate with other software and hardware used at the DoD. Many cybersecurity analysts assert that it was an unsuccessful security solution, but its creation was positive because it led to the development of DIACAP-which replaced the program in 2007. DIACAP was more effective as an enterprise solution as it could integrate with the technologies already in place at the DoD. It also included a web-based support channel that could assist any user with troubleshooting and frequently asked questions. The major drawback to the solution was that it implemented well with technologies at the DoD but did not have a lot of connectivity with systems in other government departments. RMF released in 2013 and its biggest innovation is that it allowed the DoD systems to have stronger connectivity to other systems in the Federal government. RMF also improves system categorization, continuous monitoring and authentication. The best improvement is that RMF provides more control over the security controls of DoD systems.
RMF is strong as a vulnerability assessment solution. It gives DoD users the ability to describe potential risk or suggest mitigation strategies for existing risks. RMF is also more efficient in terms of generating security reports for management and executives. It also indicates areas in which the RMF technology can benefit the DoD by pooling its resources with other government departments. The framework provides the DoD with more security features that they may want to use during a military conflict or in order to prevent one. RMF is excellent at showing who is responsible for the specific roles within the DoD, which will make operations more efficient.