In this section, we will delve into the Maturity Assessment process within the OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM). This process helps organizations evaluate their current security practices and identify areas for improvement.

• Understand the purpose of a maturity assessment.
• Learn the steps involved in conducting a maturity assessment.
• Explore the tools and techniques used for assessing maturity.
• Analyze the results to create a roadmap for improvement.

A maturity assessment is a structured evaluation of an organization's security practices against a predefined model, such as OWASP SAMM. The goal is to determine the current maturity level of the organization's security processes and identify gaps and areas for improvement.

• Maturity Levels: These levels indicate the sophistication and effectiveness of security practices. SAMM defines four maturity levels:
  • Level 0: No security practices in place.
  • Level 1: Initial, ad-hoc security practices.
  • Level 2: Defined and repeatable security practices.
  • Level 3: Managed and measurable security practices.
  • Level 4: Optimized and continuously improving security practices.
• Assessment Criteria: Specific criteria used to evaluate the maturity of security practices in different domains.

• Scope: Determine which parts of the organization (e.g., departments, projects) will be assessed.
• Objectives: Clearly define what you aim to achieve with the assessment (e.g., identify gaps, prioritize improvements).

• Interviews: Conduct interviews with key stakeholders to understand current practices.
• Documentation Review: Review existing policies, procedures, and documentation related to security.
• Surveys: Distribute surveys to gather input from a broader audience.

• Map Practices to SAMM: Compare current practices against the SAMM maturity levels.
• Identify Gaps: Highlight areas where current practices do not meet the desired maturity level.

• Scorecard: Create a scorecard to visualize the maturity levels across different domains.
• Prioritize: Identify high-priority areas for improvement based on the assessment results.

• Action Items: Define specific actions to address identified gaps.
• Timeline: Establish a timeline for implementing improvements.
• Resources: Allocate necessary resources (e.g., budget, personnel) for the improvement plan.

• SAMM Toolbox: A set of tools provided by OWASP to facilitate the maturity assessment process.
• Spreadsheets: Custom spreadsheets to track and score maturity levels.

• Workshops: Conduct workshops with stakeholders to discuss findings and develop improvement plans.
• Benchmarking: Compare your organization's maturity levels with industry benchmarks.

A mid-sized software development company wants to assess the maturity of its security practices.

1. Define Scope and Objectives: The scope includes the development and operations teams. The objective is to identify gaps in secure coding practices.
2. Gather Information: Conduct interviews with team leads, review coding standards, and distribute a survey to developers.
3. Evaluate Current Practices: Map current coding practices to SAMM levels and identify gaps in secure coding training.
4. Analyze Results: Create a scorecard showing that secure coding practices are at Level 1 (ad-hoc).
5. Develop Improvement Plan: Define actions such as implementing secure coding training and establishing coding standards. Set a timeline of six months for these improvements.

Objective: Conduct a maturity assessment for a hypothetical organization and develop an improvement plan.

Steps:

1. Define the scope and objectives of the assessment.
2. Gather information through interviews, documentation review, and surveys.
3. Evaluate current practices and map them to SAMM maturity levels.
4. Analyze the results and create a scorecard.
5. Develop an improvement plan with specific actions, timeline, and resources.

Solution:

1. Scope and Objectives: Assess the security practices of the web development team to identify gaps in secure coding and testing.
2. Gather Information: Conduct interviews with developers and testers, review coding guidelines, and distribute a survey.
3. Evaluate Practices: Map practices to SAMM and identify that secure coding is at Level 1 and security testing is at Level 2.
4. Analyze Results: Create a scorecard showing secure coding at Level 1 and security testing at Level 2.
5. Improvement Plan: Implement secure coding training, establish secure coding guidelines, and enhance security testing processes. Allocate a budget and set a timeline of six months.

Conducting a maturity assessment is a critical step in understanding and improving an organization's security practices. By following a structured approach, organizations can identify gaps, prioritize improvements, and develop a roadmap for achieving higher maturity levels. This process not only enhances security but also aligns security practices with business goals and regulatory requirements.