What is OSCAL?

The SecRiskOps approach heavily leverages OSCAL (Open Security Controls Assessment Language). OSCAL is a standardized format and language developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to represent security controls and control assessments in a structured and machine-readable manner. The primary purpose of OSCAL is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of managing, assessing, and communicating security controls within an organization or across different systems and stakeholders.

OSCAL provides a way to describe security controls, control families, control objectives, and associated assessment procedures in a consistent and interoperable way that is machine friendly. This makes it easier for organizations to automate the assessment and compliance processes, streamline reporting, and ensure that security controls are properly implemented and monitored.

Key components of OSCAL include:

1. Catalogs: OSCAL defines catalogs that list security controls and their attributes. These catalogs serve as a central repository for security control information, making it easier to manage and update controls across different systems and documents.

2. Profiles: A profile is a subset of security controls selected from the catalog for a specific purpose or system. It allows organizations to tailor their security requirements based on their needs and risk assessments.

3. System Security Plans (SSPs): OSCAL includes a standardized format for creating System Security Plans, which are documents that describe the security posture of an information system. These plans include information about security controls, control implementation status, and assessment results.

4. Assessment Plans and Results: OSCAL defines formats for creating assessment plans that outline how security controls will be assessed, as well as formats for recording assessment results and findings.

5. Machine-Readable Formats: OSCAL specifications are designed to be machine-readable, meaning that security tools and software can process and exchange OSCAL data, facilitating automation and integration into various security and compliance processes.

Overall, OSCAL aims to improve the consistency, accuracy, and efficiency of security control management, assessment, and reporting. It's particularly valuable for organizations that need to comply with various regulatory frameworks or standards, as it provides a common language for representing security controls and their associated documentation.