Organize Assets

You may apply the same tag to an asset as well as an asset group that contains it. For example, you might want to create a group based on assets tagged with a certain location or owner. This may occasionally lead to a circular reference loop in which tags refer to themselves instead of the assets or groups to which they were originally applied. This could prevent you from getting useful context from the tags.

The following example shows how a circular reference can occur with with location and custom tags:

1. A first user tags a number of assets with the location Cleveland.
2. The user creates a dynamic asset group called Midwest office with search results based on assets tagged Cleveland.
3. The user applies a custom tag named Accounting to the Midwest office asset group because all the assets in the group are used by the accounting team.
4. A second user, who is not aware of the Midwest office dynamic asset group or the Cleveland tag, creates a new dynamic asset group named Financial with search results based on the Accounting tag.
5. That user tags the Financial group with Cleveland, expecting that all assets in the group will inherit the tag. But because the assets were tagged Cleveland by the first user, the Cleveland tag now refers to itself in a potentially infinite loop.

The following example shows how a circular reference can occur with criticality:

1. You create a dynamic asset group Priorities for all assets that have an original risk score of less than 1,000. One of these assets is named Server_1.
2. You tag this group with a Very High criticality level, so that every asset in the group inherits the tag.
3. Your Security Console has been configured to double the risk score of assets with a Very High criticality level.
4. Server_1 has its risk score doubled, which causes it to no longer meet the filter criteria of Priorities. Therefore, it is removed from Priorities.
5. Since Server_1 no longer inherits the Very High criticality level applied to Priorities, it reverts to its original risk score, which is lower than 1,000.
6. Server_1 now once again meets the criteria for membership in Priorities, so it once again inherits the Very High criticality level applied to the asset group. This, again, causes its risk score to double, so that it no longer meets the criteria for membership in Priorities. This is a circular reference loop.

The best way to prevent circular references is to look at the Tags page to see what tags have been created. Then go to the details page for a tag that you are considering using and to see which assets, sites, and asset groups it is applied to. This is especially helpful if you have multiple Security Console users and high numbers of tags and asset groups. To access to the details page for a tag, simply click the tag name.

Over time, the criticality of an asset may change. For example, a laptop may initially be used by a temporary worker and not contain sensitive data, which would indicate low criticality. That laptop may later be used by a senior executive and contain sensitive data, which would merit a higher criticality level.

Your options for changing an asset's criticality level depend on where the original criticality level was initially applied and where you are changing it:

• If you apply a criticality level to a site and then change the criticality of a member asset, you can only increase the criticality level. For example, if you apply a criticality level of Medium to a site and then change the criticality level of an individual member asset, you can only change the level to High or Very High.
• If you apply a criticality level to an asset group, and if any asset has had a criticality level applied elsewhere (in sites, other asset groups, or individually), the asset will retain the highest-applied criticality level. For example, an asset named Server_1 belongs to a site named Boston with a criticality level of Medium. A criticality level of Very High is later applied to Server_1 individually. If you apply a High criticality level to a new asset group that includes Server_1, it will retain the Very High criticality level.
• If you apply a criticality level to an asset group, and if any asset has had a criticality level applied elsewhere (in sites, other asset groups, or individually), the asset will retain the highest-applied criticality level. For example, an asset named Server_1 belongs to a site named Boston with a criticality level of Medium. A criticality level of Very High is later applied to Server_1 individually. If you apply a High criticality level to a new asset group that includes Server_1, it will retain the Very High criticality level.
• If you apply a criticality level to an individual asset, you can later change the criticality to any desired level.

1. On the Assets page, click the Asset Filter icon.
2. Click Create.
3. Select Dynamic Asset Group.
4. Select filters in the Filtered asset search.
   • Use the first drop-down list. When you select a filter, the configuration options for that filter dynamically become available.
   • Select the appropriate operator. Note: Some operators allow text searches. You can use the * wildcard in any of the text searches.
   • Use the + button to add filters.
   • Use the - button to remove filters.
   • Click Reset to remove all filters.
5. Click Search.

After you configure asset search filters as described in the preceding section, you can create an asset group based on the search results. Using the assets search is the only way to create a dynamic asset group. It is one of two ways to create a static asset group and is more ideal for environments with large numbers of assets.

1. In the search results, click Create Asset Group and select Dynamic.
2. Enter a unique asset group name and description.
3. Click Add Users to give users access to an asset group so that they can view assets or perform asset-related operations, such as reporting, with assets in that group.
4. Select the check box for every user account that you want to add to the access list or select the check box in the top row to add all users.
5. Click Save.

After you configure asset search filters as described in the preceding section, you can create an asset group based on the search results. Using the assets search is the only way to create a dynamic asset group. It is one of two ways to create a static asset group and is more ideal for environments with large numbers of assets.

1. In the search results, click Create Asset Group and select Dynamic.
2. Enter a unique asset group name and description.
3. Click Add Users to give users access to an asset group so that they can view assets or perform asset-related operations, such as reporting, with assets in that group.
4. Select the check box for every user account that you want to add to the access list or select the check box in the top row to add all users.
5. Click Save.

1. On the Assets page, click the Asset Filter icon.
2. Click Create.
3. Select Static Asset Group.
4. Select filters in the Filtered asset search.
   • Use the first drop-down list. When you select a filter, the configuration options for that filter dynamically become available.
   • Select the appropriate operator. Note: Some operators allow text searches. You can use the * wildcard in any of the text searches.
   • Use the + button to add filters.
   • Use the - button to remove filters.
   • Click Reset to remove all filters.
5. Click Search.

After you configure asset search filters as described in the preceding section, you can create an asset group based on the search results. It is one of two ways to create a static asset group and is more ideal for environments with large numbers of assets.

1. In the search results, click Create Asset Group and select Static.
2. Enter a unique asset group name and description.
3. Click Add Users to give users access to an asset group so that they can view assets or perform asset-related operations, such as reporting, with assets in that group.
4. Select the check box for every user account that you want to add to the access list or select the check box in the top row to add all users.
5. Click Save.

1. On the Assets page, next to Groups, click View.
2. Click New Static Asset Group.
3. Type a group name and description in the appropriate fields.
4. Add tags to the group. Any tag you add to a group is applied to to all of the member assets.
5. Click Save.

1. Go to Assets > Asset Group Configuration and select the static asset group you created.
2. Apply filters to assets, then click Display matching assets. For example, you can select all of the assets within an IP address range that run on a particular operating system.
3. Select the assets you want to add to the asset group.
4. To include all assets, select the check box in the header row.
5. Click Save.

When you use this asset selection feature to create a new asset group, you will not see any assets displayed. When you use this asset selection feature to edit an existing report, you will see the list of assets that you selected when you created, or most recently edited, the report. Click Save to save the new asset group information.