An Extended Security Measurement Framework for Open-Source Enterprise Resource Planning Software Security

Abstract

Modern organizations are adopting new ways of measuring their level of security for compliance and justification of security investments. The highly interconnected environment has seen organizations generate lots of personal information and sensitive organizational data. Easiness in automation provided by open-source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has accelerated its acceptability. The study aimed at developing a security measurement framework for open-source ERP software. The motivation was twofold: paradigm shift towards open-source ERP software and the need for justified investment on information security. Product quality evaluation method based on ISO 25010 framework guided the selection of attributes and factors. A security measurement framework with security posture at the highest level, attributes and factors was developed presenting a mechanism for assessing organization’s level of security. Security posture promotes customers’ confidence and gives management means to leverage resources for information security investment. The future work includes definition of metrics based on the framework.