IBM z/OS system administrator must develop a process notify appropriate personnel when accounts are modified.

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-223541	ACF2-OS-000050	SV-223541r533198_rule		Medium

Description
Once an attacker establishes access to a system, the attacker often attempts to create a persistent method of reestablishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to modify an existing account. Notification of account modification is one method for mitigating this risk. A comprehensive account management process will ensure an audit trail which documents the modification of operating system user accounts and notifies the system administrator and ISSO of changes. Such a process greatly reduces the risk that accounts will be surreptitiously created and provides logging that can be used for forensic purposes. To address access requirements, many operating systems can be integrated with enterprise-level authentication/access/auditing mechanisms that meet or exceed access control policy requirements.

Description

Once an attacker establishes access to a system, the attacker often attempts to create a persistent method of reestablishing access. One way to accomplish this is for the attacker to modify an existing account. Notification of account modification is one method for mitigating this risk. A comprehensive account management process will ensure an audit trail which documents the modification of operating system user accounts and notifies the system administrator and ISSO of changes. Such a process greatly reduces the risk that accounts will be surreptitiously created and provides logging that can be used for forensic purposes. To address access requirements, many operating systems can be integrated with enterprise-level authentication/access/auditing mechanisms that meet or exceed access control policy requirements.

STIG	Date
IBM z/OS ACF2 Security Technical Implementation Guide	2021-03-29

Details

Check Text ( C-25214r500758_chk )
Ask the system Administrator for the documented process to notify appropriate personnel when accounts are modified. If there is no documented process, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-25202r500759_fix)
Develop a documented process to notify appropriate personnel when accounts are modified.