BUSINESS SERVICES RISK MANAGEMENT

• US 20110125548A1
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Levi, Eliav, Aharon, Michal, Kogan, Hadas
• Application Number:
  US12/625,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125548A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities

Abstract

A business service model includes a description of a topology of interconnections between configuration items that implement a business service. Each of the configuration items is associated with a respective vulnerability score and a respective type classification. Based on the vulnerability scores and the type classifications, the following values are determined for each of the configuration items: a respective activity level value indicating a probability of the configuration item being active in the business process, a respective vulnerability probability value indicating a probability of the configuration items being compromised and damaged in the business process, and a respective business process risk value indicating a probability of a failure of the business process resulting from damage of the configuration item. The business process is scored based on the activity level values, the vulnerability values, and the business process risk values.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a business service model comprising a description of a topology of interconnections between configuration items that implement a business service, wherein each of the configuration items is associated with a respective vulnerability score and a respective type classification;

based on the vulnerability scores and the type classifications, determining for each of the configuration items a respective activity level value indicating a probability of the configuration item being active in the business service, a respective vulnerability probability value indicating a probability of the configuration items being compromised and damaged in the business service, and a respective business service risk value indicating a probability of a failure of the business service resulting from damage of the configuration item; and

scoring the business service based on the activity level values, the vulnerability values, and the business service risk values;

wherein the receiving, the determining, and the scoring are performed by a |computer|_[Al].

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scoring comprises deriving from the activity level values, the vulnerability values, and the business service risk values a risk score indicating a probability of the business service being damaged.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the scoring comprises evaluating a function R( ) given by:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises ascertaining the respective activity level of each of the configuration items based on the type classifications of the configuration items and the topology of interconnections between the configuration items.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ascertaining comprises ascertaining the respective activity level of each given one of the configuration items based on a respective count of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, the classification types of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, and the topology of interconnections between all the configuration items.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining the respective vulnerability probability value of each of the configuration items based on a mapping of the respective vulnerability score of the configuration item to the respective vulnerability probability value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining the respective business service risk value based on a mapping of the respective classification type of the configuration item to the respective business service risk value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the scoring comprises ascertaining a score for the business service based on a function that maps the type classifications of the configuration items and the topology of interconnections between the configuration items to the score, and further comprising ranking the configuration items in accordance with their respective contributions to the score of the business service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the ranking comprises determining for each of the configuration items a respective value of a gradient of the function with respect to the respective vulnerabilities of the configuration items, and the ranking the configuration items based on the respective gradient function values.

10. At least one computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method comprising:

receiving a business service model comprising a description of a topology of interconnections between configuration items that implement a business service, wherein each of the configuration items is associated with a respective vulnerability score and a respective type classification;

based on the vulnerability scores and the type classifications, determining for each of the configuration items a respective activity level value indicating a probability of the configuration item being active in the business service, a respective vulnerability probability value indicating a probability of the configuration items being compromised and damaged in the business service, and a respective business service risk value indicating a probability of a failure of the business service resulting from damage of the configuration item; and

scoring the business service based on the activity level values, the vulnerability values, and the business service risk values.

11. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the scoring comprises evaluating a function R( ) given by:

12. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the determining comprises ascertaining the respective activity level of each of the configuration items based on the type classifications of the configuration items and the topology of interconnections between the configuration items.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the ascertaining comprises ascertaining the respective activity level of each given one of the configuration items based on a respective count of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, the classification types of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, and the topology of interconnections between all the configuration items.

14. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the scoring comprises ascertaining a score for the business service based on a function that maps the type classifications of the configuration items and the topology of interconnections between the configuration items to the score, and further comprising ranking the configuration items in accordance with their respective contributions to the score of the business service.

15. The at least one computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the ranking comprises determining for each of the configuration items a respective value of a gradient of the function with respect to the respective vulnerabilities of the configuration items, and the ranking the configuration items based on the respective gradient function values.

16. Apparatus, comprising:

a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions; and

a processor coupled to the computer-readable medium, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations comprising

receiving a business service model comprising a description of a topology of interconnections between configuration items that implement a business service, wherein each of the configuration items is associated with a respective vulnerability score and a respective type classification;

based on the vulnerability scores and the type classifications, determining for each of the configuration items a respective activity level value indicating a probability of the configuration item being active in the business service, a respective vulnerability probability value indicating a probability of the configuration items being compromised and damaged in the business service, and a respective business service risk value indicating a probability of a failure of the business service resulting from damage of the configuration item; and

scoring the business service based on the activity level values, the vulnerability values, and the business service risk values.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein in the scoring the processor is operable to perform operations comprising evaluating a function R( ) given by:

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein in the determining the processor is operable to perform operations comprising ascertaining the respective activity level of each given one of the configuration items based on a respective count of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, the classification types of the configuration items that are connected directly to the given configuration item, and the topology of interconnections between all the configuration items.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein in the scoring the processor is operable to perform operations comprising ascertaining a score for the business service based on a function that maps the type classifications of the configuration items and the topology of interconnections between the configuration items to the score, and further comprising ranking the configuration items in accordance with their respective contributions to the score of the business service.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein in the ranking the processor is operable to perform operations comprising determining for each of the configuration items a respective value of a gradient of the function with respect to the respective vulnerabilities of the configuration items, and the ranking the configuration items based on the respective gradient function values.