id: "SA-08(06)" title: "Minimized Sharing" family: "SA" family_name: "System and Services Acquisition" sort_id: "sa-08.06" priority: "P1" implementation_level: "system" parent: "SA-08" enhancement: True


Statement

Implement the security design principle of minimized sharing in {{ insert: param, sa-08.06_odp }}.

Guidance

The principle of minimized sharing states that no computer resource is shared between system components (e.g., subjects, processes, functions) unless it is absolutely necessary to do so. Minimized sharing helps to simplify system design and implementation. In order to protect user-domain resources from arbitrary active entities, no resource is shared unless that sharing has been explicitly requested and granted. The need for resource sharing can be motivated by the design principle of least common mechanism in the case of internal entities or driven by stakeholder requirements. However, internal sharing is carefully designed to avoid performance and covert storage and timing channel problems. Sharing via common mechanism can increase the susceptibility of data and information to unauthorized access, disclosure, use, or modification and can adversely affect the inherent capability provided by the system. To minimize sharing induced by common mechanisms, such mechanisms can be designed to be reentrant or virtualized to preserve separation. Moreover, the use of global data to share information is carefully scrutinized. The lack of encapsulation may obfuscate relationships among the sharing entities.

Assessment Objective

{{ insert: param, sa-08.06_odp }} implement the security design principle of minimized sharing.

System and services acquisition policy

procedures addressing the security design principle of minimized sharing used in the specification, design, development, implementation, and modification of the system

system design documentation

security and privacy requirements and specifications for the system

system security and privacy architecture

system security plan

other relevant documents or records

Organizational personnel with the responsibility for determining system security and privacy requirements

organizational personnel with system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification responsibilities

system developers

organizational personnel with information security responsibilities

Organizational processes for applying the security design principle of minimized sharing in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification

mechanisms supporting the application of the security design principle of minimized sharing in system specification, design, development, implementation, and modification