RSA Archer Platform 6.4 Security Configuration Guide

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Security Configuration Guide
6.4

Contact Information
Go to the RSA corporate web site for regional Customer Support telephone and fax numbers:

https://community.rsa.com/community/rsa-customer-support.
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April 2018

Security Configuration Guide

Contents

Preface

6

About this Guide

6

RSA Archer Documentation

6

Support and Service

7

Other Resources

8

Chapter 1: Security Configuration Settings
User Access Control

9
9

Default User Accounts

12

Adding User Accounts

13

Access Roles

18

Adding Access Roles

19

Assigning Access Roles to Users or Groups

20

Configuring LDAP for Managing User Accounts and Groups

23

Configuring an Instance for Single Sign-On

31

Configuring the Instance Database Connection String and Pooling Options

37

Changing SysAdmin and Services Account Passwords

38

Configuring the Login Page

39

Authentication Methods

40

Message Logging

41

Log Description

42

Security Events Report

42

RSA Archer Error Logs

43

Log Directory Permissions

44

Windows Event Logs

44

Port Usage

44

Network Encryption

50

Data Feeds

50

HTTP Transporter

59

FTP Transporter

60

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Security Configuration Guide

File Transporter

60

Web Server Communication

63

SSL Certificate Guidance

64

SQL Server Communication

65

RSA Archer Web Services API

66

RSA Archer Web Services

66

Encrypting Data

66

Configuring the Hardware Security Module

69

Additional Security Considerations

69

JavaScript Transporter Security Considerations

70

Java Runtime Environment Deployment

70

Privilege Levels for Archer Services

70

Least Privileges Requirement for RSA Archer Database Objects

71

RSA Archer Supported Environments

71

Support Categories

73

File Repository Path

74

Restrict Permissions on Repository Files

74

Keyword Index Files

74

Company Files Path

74

Building Global iViews

75

Formatting iView Videos

80

Adding Objects to the Layout

81

Offline Access

88

Installing Offline Access

89

Disabling ASMX Web Services

91

Chapter 2: Secure Deployment and Usage Settings

93

Secure Deployment and Usage Settings

93

Web Server Security Configuration

100

Disallow Arbitrary File Uploads

100

Remove IIS and ASP.NET Version Information from HTTP Headers

101

AspNet-Version HTTP Header

101

Remove X-Powered-By HTTP Header

102

IP Whitelist

102

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Security Configuration Guide

Physical Security Controls Recommendations

Chapter 3: Maintaining Security

102

103

Security Patch Management

103

Malware Detection

103

Virus Scanning

103

Ongoing Monitoring and Auditing

104

Chapter 4: FIPS Compliant Mode

105

Platform Release Supporting FIPS
FIPS-Compliant Operation Requirements

105
105

FIPS Certificates

105

SQL Server FIPS Setup

106

LDAP Configuration for FIPS Mode

107

Platform FIPS Certification

107

Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) Standard (FIPS 180-3)

107

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Algorithm (FIPS 197)

107

Appendix A: Authentication Methods

109

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Security Configuration Guide

Preface
About this Guide
This guide provides an overview of security configuration settings available in the RSA Archer
Platform and security best practices for using those settings to help ensure secure operation of
RSA Archer® Suite.

RSA Archer Documentation
You can access RSA Archer documentation on the Archer Customer/Partner Community on RSA
Link at: https://community.rsa.com/community/products/archer-grc/archer-customer-partnercommunity/platform/64
Document

Description

Release Notes A list of issues fixed in the release and a list of issues known at the time of the
release. Available in PDF format.
What's New
Guide

Overview of the new and updated features in the current release. Overview of the
differences between RSA Archer version 5.x and version 6.x. Suggestions on
planning for moving from 5.x to 6.x are included. This information is available in
the RSA Archer Online Documentation and in PDF format.

Installation
and Upgrade
Guide

Instructions for installing the latest RSA Archer release, and upgrading from 5.x
and 6.x to the latest release. Available in PDF format.

Preface

6

Security Configuration Guide

Document

Description

Online
Information for using RSA Archer including how to set up and maintain the
Documentation Platform, how to use the Platform features, how to use the RESTful and Web
APIs, security configuration information, and how to install and use the solution
use cases. Available from within the product in HTML5 format using contextsensitive links, as well as in a Zip format for local installation. The Online
Documentation is also available in full on the RSA Archer Community on RSA
Link at: https://community.rsa.com/community/products/archer-grc/archercustomer-partner-community/platform/64. Content from the Online Documentation
system is also available in PDF format, divided in to the following guides:
l

Administrator's Guide

l

User's Guide

l

RESTful API Guide

l

Web API Guide

l

GRC API Guide

l

Security Configuration Guide

l

Use Case Guides (one guide for each of the available solution use cases)

Archer Control Information for using the RSA Archer Control Panel module to manage the
Panel (ACP)
internal settings of the Platform, such as license keys, global paths and settings.
Help
Available from within the ACP module, in a ZIP format for local installation, and
in PDF format.
Planning
Guide

Information about how to plan for your new RSA Archer installation. This
document is intended for system administrators who are responsible for installing
and managing RSA Archer. Available in PDF format.

Support and Service
Customer Support Information https://community.rsa.com/community/rsa-customer-support
Customer Support E-mail

Preface

archersupport@rsa.com

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Security Configuration Guide

Other Resources
Resource Description
RSA Archer
Community
on
RSA Link

Our public forum, on the RSA Link Community platform, brings together customers,
prospects, consultants, RSA Archer thought leaders, partners and analysts to talk
about GRC as a practice, and includes product demos, GRC videos, white papers,
blogs and more.
https://community.rsa.com/community/products/archer-grc

RSA Archer
Customer /
Partner
Community
on
RSA Link

Our private community, is a powerful governance, risk and compliance online
network that promotes collaboration among RSA Archer customers, partners,
industry analysts, and product experts. Engaging with the RSA Archer Community
on RSA Link enables you to collaborate to solve problems, build best practices,
establish peer connections and engage with RSA Archer thought leaders.

RSA Ready

RSA's Technology Partner Program is where third parties gain access to RSA
Software in order to develop an interoperability and have it documented and
certified. RSA Ready certifications are posted to an online community and
supported by RSA Support.

https://community.rsa.com/community/products/archer-grc/archer-customer-partnercommunity

https://community.rsa.com/community/products/rsa-ready
RSA
Exchange
for
RSA Archer

The RSA Exchange for RSA Archer offerings help you rapidly deploy adjacent or
supporting risk business processes, quickly integrate new risk data sources, and
implement administrative utilities to make the most out of their risk and compliance
investment.
https://community.rsa.com/community/products/archer-grc/exchange

Preface

8

Security Configuration Guide

Chapter 1: Security Configuration Settings
User Access Control

9

Configuring an Instance for Single Sign-On

31

Configuring the Instance Database Connection String and Pooling Options

37

Changing SysAdmin and Services Account Passwords

38

Configuring the Login Page

39

Authentication Methods

40

Message Logging

41

Port Usage

44

Network Encryption

50

Encrypting Data

66

Configuring the Hardware Security Module

69

Additional Security Considerations

69

User Access Control
Access control provides a framework for maintaining users, roles, and security parameters, and for
assigning access rights at the system, application, record, and field levels.
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User accounts allow users to log on to RSA Archer.
User groups provide a means of grouping users based on organizational structure or geographic
locations.
Access roles are collections of application-level and page-level rights that an administrator can
create and assign to any number of users and groups to control user privileges (create, read,
update, and delete).
Security parameters are rules for controlling user access to RSA Archer and its individual pages.
LDAP synchronization streamlines the administration of users and groups by allowing updates
and changes that were made in the LDAP server to be reflected automatically in RSA Archer.

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It is important to have well-defined policies around Help Desk procedures for your RSA Archer
installation. RSA strongly recommends that your Help Desk administrators understand the
importance of password strength and the sensitivity of data, such as user logon names and
passwords. Creating an environment where an end user is frequently asked for this kind of sensitive
data increases the opportunity for social engineering attacks. Train end users to provide, and Help
Desk administrators to request, the least amount of information needed in each situation.
Preventing Social Engineering Attacks
Fraudsters frequently use social engineering attacks to trick unsuspecting employees or individuals
into divulging sensitive data that they can then use to gain access to protected systems. RSA
recommends that you use the following guidelines to help reduce the likelihood of a successful social
engineering attack:
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If Help Desk administrators need to initiate contact with a user, they should not request any user
information. Instead, users should be instructed to call the Help Desk back at a well-known Help
Desk telephone number to ensure that the original request is legitimate.
The Help Desk telephone number should be well known to all users.
Help Desk administrators should only ask for user name of the user over the phone when they call
the Help Desk. Help Desk administrators should never ask for user passwords.
Help Desk administrators should authenticate the user's identity before performing any
administrative action on a user's behalf. RSA recommends that you verify user identity using the
following methods:
o

Call the user back on a phone owned by the organization and on a number that is already stored
in the system.
Important: Be careful when using mobile phones for identity confirmation, even if they are
owned by the company because mobile phone numbers are often stored in locations that are
vulnerable to tampering or social engineering.

o

Send an email to the user at a company email address. If possible, use encrypted email.

o

Work with the manager of the employee to verify the user identity.

o

Verify the identity in person.

o

Use multiple open-ended questions from employee records. For example: "Name one person in
your group." or "What is your badge number?" Avoid yes or no questions.

Advice for Your Users
RSA recommends that you instruct your users to do the following:

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l

Never give their passwords to anyone, not even to Help Desk administrators.

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Change their passwords at regular intervals.

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Be aware of what information requests to expect from Help Desk administrators.

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Always log off from the RSA Archer web interface when finished.

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Always lock their desktops when they step away from their computers.

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Regularly close their browser and clear their cache of data.

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Do not upload any files to RSA Archer from sources other than themselves.

Note: RSA recommends that you conduct regular training to communicate this guidance to users.

Entity permissions
RSA Archer supports user permissions on multiple system components. RSA recommends that you
grant permissions only to users who need to access these components. When granting permissions to
these components, RSA recommends that you do not select the Everyone group because that group
grants rights for all users. Additionally, RSA recommends that you review the granted permissions
on a routine basis to ensure that the correct access is granted to the users.
The following table explains how user permission is configured on the supported components.
Component

Permissions Explanation

Workspaces,
Dashboards,
Global iViews

Configured from the Access tab in a workspace or dashboard. RSA recommends
that you configure these components to be private.

Global Reports

Configured when you save a report. RSA recommends that you set the
Permissions field to Global Report.

Record
Permissions

Configured in a Record Permissions field in an application or questionnaire.

Field
Permissions

Configured in the Access tab in a field in an application or questionnaire. RSA
recommends that you configure fields to be private.

Application
Owners,
Questionnaire
Owners,
Sub-Form
Owners

Configured in Application Builder for the assigned applications, questionnaires,
or sub-forms owners.

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Security Configuration Guide

Component

Permissions Explanation

Global Report
Administrators

Configured in Application Builder for the assigned report owners in a specific
application or questionnaire.

Discussion
Forum Roles

Configured in Discussion Forums. Discussion forum roles provide administration
and forum creation rights for specific discussion communities.

Default User Accounts
The following table describes the default RSA Archer user accounts of a System Administration
(sysadmin) account and several RSA Archer services accounts. When creating a new instance, the
installer requires the user to enter a password for the sysadmin and service accounts.
It is important to remember the following:
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Standard users cannot log on to any of the default user accounts. Only the System Administrator
can log on to the sysadmin account.
You cannot delete or rename any of the default user accounts.

User Account

Description

sysadmin

The system administrator account for RSA Archer. This account
can be disabled, but cannot be deleted or renamed.

userArcherAssetServer

A service account for the Asset service. This account can only
be used by RSA Archer services.

userArcherAsyncService

A service account for job management. This account can only be
used by RSA Archer services.

userArcherCalculationAccount A service account for calculations. This account can only be
used by RSA Archer services.
userArcherDataFeedService

A service account for data feeds. This account can only be used
by RSA Archer services.

userArcherLdapService

A service account for LDAP synchronization. This account can
only be used by RSA Archerservices.

userArcherNotificationService

A service account for notifications. This account can only be
used by RSA Archer services.

userMigrationUser

A service account for migration. This account can only be used
by the installer.

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User Account

Description

userOfflineService

A service account for Offline Access. This account can only be
used by RSA Archer services.

Adding User Accounts
You must create a user account for each user who needs access to RSA Archer. Mobile users log in
to mobile devices using the user name and password that is established in their user accounts.
Configuring new accounts
Each RSA Archer user must have an account to log on to the system.
New User Accounts

All new user accounts are created with a unique password assigned manually by an administrator or
generated automatically by RSA Archer. RSA strongly recommends that you enable the Force
Password Change with the Next Sign-In option in RSA Archer for all new user accounts.
Configuring this option requires the user to change the password after the first successful logon
attempt into RSA Archer.
Effective Permissions Investigation Console (EPIC) provides a more efficient and less complicated
way for system administrators to determine user access for an individual record. Instead of
navigating the Access Control settings, application-level permissions and permission field rules and
assignees, system administrators, module owners, and users with permission to use EPIC can launch
EPIC from any record and view the access rights and permissions for selected users. System
administrators can also access EPIC from the Administration menu. EPIC enables system
administrators and users with EPIC permission to implement a consistent access control design
across RSA Archer and to troubleshoot access control and permissions issues.
For more information, see "Effective Permissions Investigation Console" in the RSA Archer Online
Documentation.
Important: RSA strongly recommends that you ensure users are approved for logging on to the
system before creating an account for them. Even when users are approved, RSA recommends that
you only assign the minimum set of access permissions for users to perform their job.
New User Account with System Administrator Privileges

RSA recommends that you create a new user account and assign the System Administrator access
role to it. This access role grants the account all rights within RSA Archer.
Important: RSA recommends that before issuing this account, you ensure that the user is approved
for full access to the system.

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Security Configuration Guide

Platform User Accounts

RSA Archer enforces the password strength, logon, and session time-out policies specified by the
security parameters defined in the Administration workspace.
Note: These security parameters are enforced by RSA Archer across all user accounts except the
sysadmin and service accounts. RSA strongly recommends that you instruct your administrators on
your corporate IT policy and security best practices for generating and managing passwords for all
accounts.
The following table shows the default security parameters settings for password strength.
Parameter

Setting

Minimum password length

9 characters

Alpha characters required

2 characters

Numeric characters required

1 character

Special characters required

1 character

Uppercase characters required

1 character

Lowercase characters required

1 character

Password change interval

90 days

Previous passwords disallowed

20 passwords

Grace logons

0 logon

Maximum failed logon attempts 3 attempts
Session time-out

10 minutes (sysadmin account)
10 minutes (user account)
30 minutes (service account)

Account lockout period

999 days

RSA recommends that you treat these settings as the minimum requirement for enforcing strong
passwords and secure sessions in RSA Archer.
Add a user account
1. Go to the Manage Users page.

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a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click Users.
2. Click Add New.
3. In the General Information section, enter the name of the user, the user name for log on, and the
domain.
Property

Description

First
The valid name of the user. First and last names are required.
Name, Middle
Name, and
Last Name
User Name

A seven character system-defined name in all lowercase. The user name
contains the first six characters of the Last Name followed by the first
character of the First Name. If the Last Name is fewer than six characters,
the system uses additional characters from the First Name to make a sevencharacter user name. If the user name is not unique in the domain, the system
appends a number (up to 999) to the end of the name to make the name unique.

User Domain

If your RSA Archer instance has one or more Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP) configurations defined, select the domain to which the user
is a member. To use the RSA Archer domain, select No Domain.

4. (Optional) In the Contact Information section, enter the default email address and any other
pertinent information for contacting the user.
Property Description
Address

The complete address of the user.

Company

The company name.

Title

The title of the user.

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Security Configuration Guide

Property Description
Email

Phone

The following user email types are available:
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Business

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Mobile 2

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Business 2

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Other

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Home

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Other 2

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Home 2

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Pager

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Mobile

The following user telephone number types are available:
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Assistant

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ISDN

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Business

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Mobile

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Business 2

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Mobile 2

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Business Fax

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Other

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Home

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Other 2

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Home 2

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Other Fax

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Home Fax

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Pager

5. (Optional) In the Localization section, enter the time zone, locale, and language if the location
and language of the user is different from the system.
Option

Description

Time Zone

The time zone for the location of the user. Time is based on Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC). All time is stored as UTC and converted based on the
time zone of the user.

Locale

The physical location of the user.

Manually
select a
language

Overrides the default language set for the instance. When you select this option,
you must specify the language.

6. In the Account Maintenance section, enter the user password and assign the security parameter
for this user.

Chapter 1: Security Configuration Settings

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Security Configuration Guide

Property

Description

Status

The current status of the user account. The options are Active, Inactive, or
Locked.

Password

For new user accounts, the password must be entered and confirmed. These
entries must match exactly. The password must conform to the default security
parameter password rules.
For existing user accounts, use the Change Password link to change the
password manually.
The Send user a notification with password information option enables
RSA Archer administrators to notify new users that the user account has been
setup with a temporary password and may require a password change.

Force
Password
Change

Determines whether the user is forced to change the password the next time
the user logs in.

Security
Parameter

The security parameter assigned to the user. A user can only have one security
parameter assigned at a time.

Notifications, Enables users to select the records and applications for which they want to
Subscriptions receive notifications when an update occurs.
Default
Home Page

Sets a user’s default home page to use either a task-driven landing page or a
dashboard based on group, role, or user profile. If the user belongs to multiple
roles or groups, the home page is based on the most recently assigned role or
group. Once the user logs in, the selected home page becomes default and any
changes to the home page of the role or the group do not affect the user's
default home page.
Note: If the user's permission to access the dashboard assigned to the home
page is revoked, a message appears upon log in allowing them to select a new
home page.
Important: If the administrator sets the default home page while the user is
logged in, the user must click the Home button to refresh the home page
setting. If the user changes the default home page selection, the change is
applied upon clicking Save.

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Property

Description

Default
Home
Dashboard

Sets which dashboard displays on the default home page.

7. (Optional) Select the Send user a notification with password information checkbox if you want to
send the user an email notification of the password change.
Note: If you do not select this checkbox, you must inform the user of the new password. The
Default Email address is used for the notification email.
8. (Optional) In the Notes section, record any additional information about the user account.
For example, listing hours of availability or preferences for how the user should be contacted.
Account notes appear when users click a linked user name in RSA Archer to view the user
profile.
9. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Access Roles
An access role is a collection of application-level and page-level rights that an administrator can
create and assign to any number of users and groups to control user privileges (create, read, update,
and delete). For example, the access role of a General User can allow access only to applications,
and the access role of an Administrative User can allow access only to RSA Archer features. RSA
recommends that you assign permissions through group membership, and not assign permissions
directly to user accounts.
RSA Archer includes an access role called System Administrator that you cannot delete or modify.
The System Administrator role grants users unrestricted access to all RSA Archer features and to all
records stored in applications, including records enrolled in content review. Only System
Administrators can assign the System Administrator access role.
RSA Archer solutions include pre-defined access roles for use with the solution.
For instructions on assigning permissions through group membership, see Assigning Access Roles to
Users and Groups.

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As the number of users, groups, and applications increases, keeping track of who has access to what
becomes more complex. RSA recommends simplifying the process. If you create granular access
roles for each of your applications, for example, Policy Administrator, Policy Author, and Policy
Reader, you can grant access to new or existing users and groups by selecting from a list of
predefined access roles.
Importing access roles
Although access roles are supported objects in the packaging process, when you import access roles
with groups during the packaging process, you must manually associate each access role to the
respective group. After the package is installed, you must manually add users to each group in the
target instance.

Adding Access Roles
RSA Archer supports role-based access control. RSA Archer allows you to create access roles that
you can assign to users. Each access role is mapped to a list of user authorization settings. User
authorization settings control rights or permissions that are granted to a user for accessing a resource
managed by RSA Archer.
Creating an access role defines the application and page-level rights for all users assigned the role.
Page-level rights
Rights Description
Create

Create new page content, such as records, fields, notification templates, and content
review stages.

Read

Read page content.

Update

Modify existing page content.

Delete

Delete page content.

Add an access role
1. Go to the Manage Access Role page.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click Access Roles.
2. Click Add New.

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3. Do one of the following:
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If you want to create a new access role, click Create a new Access Role from scratch, and
then click OK.
If you want to create a new access role from an existing access role, click Copy an existing
Access Role. Select the access role from the Access Role list, and then click OK.

4. In the General Information section, enter a name and description for the access role.
5. (Optional) To enter an Alias, click Apply, and then enter an Alias name.
6. (Optional) To set access role as the default for all users and groups, in the Default Access Role
field of the Default Access Role section, click Assign as Default.
7. (Optional) In the Group Assignments section, assign groups to the access role.
8. Click Apply.
9. On the Rights tab, and select the (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) checkboxes that
correspond to the appropriate rights for each page type.
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User or group access to the Manage Global Values Lists page provides access to all global
values lists in RSA Archer. If you want a user to have access to specific global values lists
and not all lists, select the appropriate CRUD access for the individual global values list.
If you grant access rights to import data, you must also grant rights to the content record that
data will be imported into. For example, users can import data into the Policies application
only if they have access to Integration: Data Imports; Create, Read, and Update rights to
Policies: Content Record; and Policies: Data Import.

10. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Assigning Access Roles to Users or Groups
RSA Archer allows creating one or more access roles. Each access role is mapped to a list of
permissions that grant the user rights to perform certain tasks and create, read, update, and/or delete
RSA Archer entities. RSA recommends that you limit privilege abuse and conflict of interests by
configuring access roles that provide separation of duties.

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Security Configuration Guide

Immediately after installation, RSA recommends you configure access roles as follows:
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Create a new access role with no rights and make it the default role. Grant additional roles to
users as needed for appropriate access in RSA Archer.
Create read-only roles that can be used by an auditor. RSA recommends that these roles only
have permissions to view reports, configurations, and logs.
Create a new Security Administrator role that has full rights to Access Control. Grant the
Security Administrator role access rights to managing roles.
Configure access roles to grant non-administrative users only the rights they need for each task
based on their role in the organization. You can grant multiple access roles to each user. RSA
recommends that these roles do not have permission to view or modify security configuration.

RSA recommends that you review users’ task permissions on a routine basis to ensure that each user
is granted the correct task permissions.
Access roles are cumulative and can be assigned to users, groups, and users with more than one
access role.
Example
One access role grants create, read, and update privileges in the Policies applications and another
access role grants only delete privileges. A user who is assigned both access roles has create, read,
update, and delete privileges in the Policies applications.
Role Assignment by Group or User

RSA Archer allows access roles to be assigned to users through group membership or directly to
user accounts. RSA recommends that you assign permissions through group membership and not
directly through user accounts.
You can assign access roles to users in either of the following ways.
Assign an access role to a user
1. Open the user account to which you want to assign an access role.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click Users.
c. Select the user account.
2. Click the Roles tab.
3. Click Lookup.

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4. In the Available list, expand the Roles tree, and click the access role to assign.
Note: To search for a specific role, enter the role name in the Find field and, if applicable,
select the type from the adjacent list. Click
Available list in the Search Results node.

. The results of your search appear in the

5. Click OK.
6. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Assign an access role to a user group
The group that you are assigning to the access role must exist.
If you associate a user group with an access role and the group contains subgroups, the subgroups
are not automatically associated with the access role. To associate subgroups with an access role,
you must also select the subgroups.
1. Open the access role to which you want to assign a user group.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click Access Roles.
c. Select the access role.
2. In the Group Assignments section, click Assign.
3. From the Available list, expand Groups, and select the group or groups to which you want to
assign the access role. You can also use the Find field to search for a specific group.
4. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Unassign an access role from a user account
You only can remove roles in which the Assignment Method is set to Manual.
1. Open the user account from which you want to unassign an access role.
a. From the menu bar, click

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.
b. Under Access Control, click Users.
c. Select the user account.
2. Click the Roles tab.
3. From the Selected list, click

to unassign the applicable access roles.

4. Click OK.
5. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Configuring LDAP for Managing User Accounts and Groups
Before you can update your user accounts and groups through a Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (LDAP) server, you must:
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Configure your LDAP server.

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Map attributes from your LDAP directory to your user accounts in RSA Archer.

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Set the rules for creating, updating, activating, and reactivating the user accounts and groups.

You can also set a schedule to automate the synchronization process between your LDAP server and
the RSA Archer database. RSA recommends that you select LDAP servers that communicate using
LDAP over HTTPS, and that you set the LDAP Connection attribute to secure.
Note: RSA recommends requiring a domain for LDAP synchronizations and SSO. If domains are
not used, RSA recommends disabling the display of the Domain field in the RSA Archer Control
Panel.

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The following fields change during mapping:
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A user profile field that is mapped to an LDAP attribute is populated for new accounts. The value
is retained for existing accounts.
A user profile field that is mapped to an LDAP attribute that does not have a value is not
populated for new accounts. The value is retained for accounts that were previously created.
When the Email Address or Phone field in the user profile is mapped to an LDAP value, the
LDAP value is inserted in the first email or phone number field in the user profile for new user
accounts. For existing accounts, the LDAP value replaces the value in the first email or phone
number field in the user profile. If a user has modified the email address or phone number through
the Platform, the modification is overwritten by LDAP synchronization unless the LDAP value is
null.
The Time Zone field in the user profile cannot be mapped to an LDAP attribute.

Step 1: Set up your LDAP server
1. Go to the Manage LDAP Configurations page.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click LDAP Configurations.
2. Click Add New.
3. In the General Information section, enter the name and description.
4. Click the Configuration tab.
5. In the LDAP/Active Directory Server section, enter the user domain, IP address, and connection
or binding preferences.
Field

Description

User
Domain

Specifies the domain to which user accounts from this LDAP server belong. The
name must be unique for all LDAP configurations.
If you are using Windows Authentication, ensure that the User Domain field
matches the Windows domain name. If these values do not match, single sign-on
(SSO) fails. These domain names are not case sensitive.

Connection Specifies whether a secure connection is required.

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Field

Description

Name/IP
Address

Specifies the fully qualified name or IP address of your LDAP or Active
Directory server. Selecting this option ensures that your server assumes
responsibility for directing RSA Archer to the appropriate domain controller.
If the previously contacted domain controller is unavailable, a secondary domain
controller is identified and used instead. For example, if your primary LDAP
server is down for maintenance, RSA Archer is directed to the secondary server
to execute LDAP synchronization.

Binding

Enables you to bind the LDAP connection to a default domain controller without
specifying the name of a default server. Microsoft recommends the use of
serverless binding for fault tolerance.
If you are using an Active Directory server, select whether to use serverless
binding. If you select Use Serverless Binding, you do not need to enter a value in
the Name/IP Address field.

6. In the LDAP/Active Directory Server Configuration section, enter the configuration options for
your LDAP server.
Field

Description

User
Name

Specifies the user name of the user identified to access the LDAP or Active
Directory server when additional authentication is required.

Password

Specifies the password of the user identified to access the LDAP or Active
Directory server when additional authentication is required.

Active
Directory
Domain

Specifies the domain of the active directory when additional authentication is
required.

User
Identifier

Identifies the object as a user object:
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For new LDAP configurations, the default value is user.

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For Active Directory servers, the default value is user.

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For other LDAP servers, the default value is inetOrgPerson.

To obtain the actual default values for your organization, see your LDAP
administrator.

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Field

Description

Group
Identifier

Identifies the object as a group object:
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For new LDAP configurations, the default value is group.

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For Active Directory servers, the default value is group.

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For other LDAP servers, the default value is groupOfUniqueNames.

To obtain the actual default values for your organization, see your LDAP
administrator.
Additional
Attributes

Provides additional attributes that must be retrieved from the LDAP source during
search. For example, if you are using filters, enter the filters in this field.

User
Group
Identifier

Identifies the groups to which the user belongs:
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For new LDAP configurations, the default value is memberOf.

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For Active Directory servers, the default value is memberOf.

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For other LDAP servers, the default value is uniqueMember.

To obtain the actual default values for your organization, see your LDAP
administrator.
Users and
Groups

Sets the User/Group association:
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Users contain groups: Specifies that the user-group association is defined in
the user object of the active directory server.
Groups contain users: Specifies that the user-group association is defined in
the group object of the LDAP server.

Connection Inputs the time-out value in seconds for the LDAP query. This value must be a
Time-out
whole number greater than 0.
For new LDAP configurations, the default value is 60.

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Field

Description

Binding

Sets the Binding for an LDAP configuration from the following options:
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Use Simple LDAP Binding: Use when your server does not allow connection
using the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) protocol, or if you
experience errors.
Disable page searching: Use when your server does not support paged
searching.
Remove the whitespace from the DNs: Use to remove unnecessary white
space in the Distinguished Name (DN) before the names are compared when
you are using an LDAP server other than Active Directory.

7. (Optional) Click Test Connection to test your configuration settings.
8. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Step 2: Map LDAP attributes to your user profiles
1. Go to the Configuration tab of the LDAP Configuration.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click LDAP Configurations.
c. Click the Configuration tab.
2. Go to the User Field Mapping section.
3. In the Base DN field, enter the domain name.
4. (Optional) In the Filter field, enter the criteria for filtering the LDAP directory.
5. In the Attributes field, click Get Attributes to populate the field mapping.
6. In the Field Mapping field, select the attributes for each field in the user profile that you are
synchronizing with the LDAP directory.
Field

Description

Base DN

Specifies the Base Distinguished Name (DN) for the location of user account
information in your LDAP directory.

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Field

Description

Filter

Filters the LDAP information available for mapping to user profile fields. Filters
are entered using the following format: objectClass=class name.
Example
You want to map only LDAP values associated with the “user” class. You would
enter objectClass=user as the filter. This entry results in the values associated
with this class being available for mapping.

Attributes

Populates the Attribute lists in the Field Mapping section.

Field
Mapping

Maps the attributes from the LDAP directory to the fields in the user profile. You
must map all required fields in the user profile to an attribute.

Synch
Tests the connection of an LDAP Configuration between the RSA Archer
Connector database and the LDAP server or active directory server.
Test
If an error message is displayed when the number of records returned exceeds the
configured size limit for the active directory, contact your LDAP administrator to
request a configuration change.
7. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Step 3: Set rules for managing user accounts and groups
1. Go to the Data Sync tab of the LDAP Configuration.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Access Control, click LDAP Configurations.
c. Click the Data Sync tab.
2. In the User Account Management section, define the rules for updating, creating, deactivating,
and reactivating accounts.

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Field

Description

Updating

Specifies the rules for updating the user profile.
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Update all user accounts on each sync: Updates all user accounts based on
the information contained in your LDAP server
Update only user accounts where the LDAP attribute meets the following
criteria: Updates user accounts based on a specific LDAP attribute and the
specified criteria.

Example:
You want to update only user accounts from your New York office. You
would select Office from the Attribute list, select Equals as the operator, and
enter New York in the Value field from the Operator list.
Create/Update Creates or updates a user account if the account does not exist in
RSA Archer. The name for the new user account is assigned the value of the
LDAP attribute mapped to the User Name (Login) field.
Deactivation

Deactivates user accounts.
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Deactivate all user accounts that do not have a matching LDAP user.
Deactivates user accounts for which no matching LDAP account is found
during data synchronization.
Deactivate those user accounts where LDAP attribute meets the following
criteria and then enter the LDAP criteria. Deactivate user accounts based
on a specific LDAP attribute.

Example:
You want to deactivate user accounts where the employment status for the
matching LDAP user account is set to inactive. You would select
Employment Status from the Attribute list, select Equals as the operator, and
enter Inactive in the Value field from the Operator list.

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Field

Description

Reactivation

Reactivates user accounts based on specific LDAP attribute criteria.
Example:
You want to reactivate inactive user accounts where the employment status in
the matching LDAP user account is set to active. You would select
Employment Status from the Attribute list, select Equals and enter Active in
the Values field from the Operator list.

Send
Notification

Sends a notification to each user that is created to alert the user of a new
password. The Default Email Address in the user account must be present to
send notifications. When you select this option, a notification message is sent
to all users that are being created.
RSA recommends disabling this option when synchronizing a large number of
records because uploading a large number of users can cause the email server
to exceed its capacity for sending email messages.

3. (Optional) In the Group Management section, enter the criteria for synchronizing the
LDAP group structure with RSA Archer.
Field

Description

Group Replicates your LDAP group structure in RSA Archer when synchronized.
Sync The common name (CN) of the group on your LDAP server is used as the group name
in RSA Archer. If a group in RSA Archer is created before synchronizing with your
LDAP server, and there is a group with a matching name in your LDAP directory, the
group in RSA Archer is not synchronized with the LDAP group. Instead, a new group
with the same name is created and is flagged with the Synchronization icon.
Selecting the Group Synch option makes your LDAP server the authoritative system
for RSA Archer group management.
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Any groups that you delete from your LDAP server also are deleted from
RSA Archer
Any changes made to your groups in the LDAP directory are reflected in
RSA Archer.

You cannot edit or delete groups in RSA Archer that were created through LDAP
synchronization. You can create additional groups in RSA Archer that are not included
in your LDAP group structure, and can fully manage these groups in RSA Archer.

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Field

Description

Group Specifies the Base Distinguished Name (DN) for your LDAP group structure.
Base If you selected Group Sync and you do not specify a DN for your group structure, the
DN
group sync query defaults to the Base DN specified in the LDAP configuration.
4. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Configuring an Instance for Single Sign-On
Single Sign-On (SSO) reduces administrative overhead related to user accounts. When you enable
SSO authentication, you can retrieve user profile information at the time of initial account creation
from an LDAP directory server. This optional step automates the configuration of basic user profile
data. You can configure Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for SSO or as a stand-alone method. For SSO,
you can set up the authentication for Windows Integrated or for Windows Integrated and SSL.
Setting up the authentication requires you to modify the web.config file.
RSA Archer supports two basic authentication mechanisms:
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Username/password login scheme (the default).
Single sign-on (SSO) configuration, which facilitates seamless user login in corporate computing
environments and supports most popular web authentication products.

The RSA Archer Control Panel provides controls for enabling SSO and selecting an SSO method.
When configuring SSO, you must set up LDAP integration from the Manage LDAP Data
Configuration page on the Access Control feature.

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SSO properties
Option

Description

Single
Sign-On
Mode

Specifies the user log on method. By default, the method is Disabled. When you have
enabled this option, the system grants the user access if the user exists in
RSA Archer. If the user does not exist, an LDAP query retrieves the user profile
information and creates an account.
The other options are:
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HTTP Header. This method requires an HTTP header parameter that identifies the
user attempting to access the application.
Request Parameter. This method requires a request form or query string parameter
that identifies the user attempting to access the application.
Windows Integrated. This method uses the “Integrated Windows Authentication”
built into Internet Information Services (IIS) that uses the user credentials via
NTLM/Active Directory.
Federation. This is the name of the protocol on which the Security Assertion
Markup Language (SAML) v2.0 in RSA Archer functions. The purpose of this
option is to delegate authentication to your own authentication system.
Note: You must use Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) as the service
provider for the Federation option.

Username Specifies the user name of the user logging on to RSA Archer. This option is required
Parameter when you have selected the Request Parameter or HTTP Header methods as the
Single Sign-On Mode.
Domain
Specifies the domain to which the user can log on. This option is required when you
Parameter have selected the Request Parameter or HTTP Header methods as the Single Sign-On
Mode.
Allow
Manual
Bypass

Activates manual log on. When selected, users can log on to the system manually by
adding the parameter manuallogin with a value of true to the query string passed to
default.aspx (for example, https://egrc.archer.rsa.com/default.aspx?manuallogin=true).
When this parameter is in the query string, users see the Login dialog box rather than
passing the user credentials into the application. This option is particularly beneficial
to a system administrator who needs to log in to the application with the System
Administrator user account instead of having the SSO send the credentials of the
personal user account.

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Authentication options
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Windows Integrated SSO only

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Windows Integrated SSO with SSL

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SSL only

Configuration Procedure
Step 1: Enable authentication for Single Sign-on
1. Go to Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Enable authentication for the following SSO modes for the current server desktop connection:
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For HTTP Header, enable Anonymous Authentication

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For Request Parameter, enable Anonymous Authentication

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For Windows Integrated, enable Windows Authentication

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For Federation, enable Anonymous Authentication.

Note: RSA Archer requires that only one authentication type be enabled at a time.
3. In the RSA Archer Control Panel, specify and then enable the instance for which you are
configuring SSO.
Step 2: Configure Single Sign-on
Note: You must have system administrator rights on the server running the RSA Archer web
application.
1. Click the Single Sign-On tab of the instance you want to configure.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. From the Instance Management list, double-click the instance.
2. In the Single Sign-On Mode field, select one of the following options:
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HTTP Header

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Request Parameter

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Windows Integrated

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Federation

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3. Do one of the following:
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If you selected Request Parameter or HTTP Header methods, go to the next step.

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If you selected Windows Integrated method, go to step 6.

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If you selected Federation, go to step 7.

4. In the Username Parameter field, enter the name of the user log on.
5. In the Domain Parameter field, enter the domain to which the user can log on.
6. Do one of the following:
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To enable manual log on, click Allow Manual bypass, and then go to step 14.

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To force single sign-on regardless of the user, go to step 14.

7. Configure the following options in the Single Sign-on section:
a. Select Override federation metadata to ignore Federation metadata at the installation level.
This enables instances to use a different ADFS service provider.
Note: Any change of the entity name or change of any certificates in ADFS requires that you
re-import metadata into RSA Archer.
b. If you selected Override federation metadata, you can click Select to navigate to a different
metadata XML file, and then select the file.
Note: For instructions about how to get FederationMetadata.xml, see your service provider's
documentation. For example, in ADFS, the URL to obtain the XML file will look like
https://server/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml, where server is the
name of your service provider.
c. In the Relying Party Identifier field, enter the replying party identifier, which is provided in
ADFS for this instance.
d. In the Home Realm Parameter field, enter the name you created to identify your realm. This
is the identifier used in the vanity URL. The syntax for this string is:
https://servername/../Default.aspx?=
For example, to skip the identity provider prompt, you can pass the home realm as a
parameter:
https://servername/../Default.aspx?Realm=ADFS-IDP
8. Configure the following options in the Identity Providers section:
a. In the Decision Page Header field, enter the text you want to appear as the heading at the top
of the decision page.
b. In the Dropdown Label field, enter the text you want to appear on the decision page as the
label for the drop-down that lists all identity providers.

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c. In the Identity Provider field, select an existing identity provider. Alternatively, you can
complete the following three fields to add a new identity provider (refer to the Claim Names
for the Federation table at the end of this procedure for RSA Archer supported claim names):
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In the Realm field, enter the realm name for the new identity provider.
You can link to the following Web site to learn how to set up the claim provider and
relying party in ADFS:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/adfs2-step-by-step-guides(v=ws.10).aspx

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In the Identifier field, enter the appropriate claim provider identifier which is provided in
ADFS for a given identity provider. For a complete list of the claims that RSA Archer
supports, see the table below.
In the Display Name field, enter the display name for the new identifier, which then
displays in the drop down list of decision page.

To add more providers, click

, and then complete the same three fields for each provider.

9. (Optional) In the On Login Error field, enter the URL for the page you have created to which the
user is redirected in case of a login failure.
10. (Optional) In the On User Not Found field, enter the URL for the page you have created to
which the user is redirected in case the user name cannot be found in RSA Archer.
11. (Optional) In the On Provisioning Failure field, enter the URL for the page you have created to
which the user is redirected in the case of a provisioning failure, for example if you have
exceeded the maximum number of users for your instance.
12. Select the Provisioning Settings for the selected Identity Provider as appropriate.
13. Enter the default First Name, Last Name, and User Role that RSA Archer uses if no name and
user roles were specified at the time of provisioning. You can, at a later time, edit these values
for the new user.
14. On the toolbar, click Save.
Claim Names for the Federation Option
The following table contains claims mapping information. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are
mandatory.
Note: ADFS expects claims to be in URL format, for example
http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/claims/Group.

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RSA Archer Field Name

RSA Archer Supported Claim Name /
Namespace

User Identity Information
User Name*

UPN*

Domain

UserDomain

First Name

FirstName

Last Name

LastName

Middle Name

MiddleName

Title

Title

Contact Details
Email Address

EmailAddress

Phone Number

PhoneNumber

Company Name

CompanyName

Address

FullAddress
Street
City
State
Zipcode

Localization
Time Zone ID

TimeZoneId

Account Maintenance
Security Parameter ID

SecurityParameterId

Access Control Roles / Groups
Group

Group

Role

Role

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Step 3: Set authentication for Single Sign-on
1. Enable LDAP synchronization enabled in Microsoft Internet Information System (IIS).
2. Specify and enable the instance for which you are configuring SSO.
3. Configure single sign-on for the instance.
4. Modify the web.config file for your authentication method.

Configuring the Instance Database Connection String and Pooling
Options
You can configure the database connection string for either Windows Integrated Security or SQL
Server encryption 2012 or 2014. RSA recommends that you configure authentication with this
database based on Microsoft’s recommended best practices for secure authentication to a database.
RSA Archer supports using Integrated Security for connecting to the database.
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If using Windows Integrated Security, this option uses the current Windows identity established
on the operating system thread to access the instance database. Selecting this option disables
Login name and Password. Do not select this option if you are using SQL Server Authentication.
If using SQL Server encryption, you must install separate certificates on each server (web
application, services, and database) and you must enable encryption on the SQL server.
Otherwise the connection will fail.
If your application connects to an AlwaysOn availability group (AG) on different subnets,
selecting the Multi-Subnet Failover option provides faster detection of and connection to the
active server

Connection pooling is enabled for all instances and maintains a cache of database connections that
you can reuse when requesting information from the database. Pooling reduces the number of new
database connections that you must make.
Configure the instance database connection string
Complete this task for all configurations to set the database connection string for the instance.
1. On the instance you are configuring, go to the Connection Properties section.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. From the Instance Management list, double-click the instance.
c. Go to the Database tab, and then go to the Connection Properties section.
2. In the SQL Server field, select the database server for the instance.

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3. Select the authentication method for connecting to the database server.
Do one of the following:
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If using Windows Integrated Security, select Use integrated security and skip to step 6.

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If using SQL Server encryption, select Use encryption and continue at the next step.

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If your application connects to an AlwaysOn availability group (AG) on different subnets,
select the Multi-Subnet Failover option, and then continue at the next step. Enabling this
option adds the following expression to the SQL connection string for the Instance database:
MultiSubnetFailover=True

4. In the Login name field, enter the name of the SQL Server Authentication account.
5. In the Password field, enter the login password for the SQL Server Authentication account.
6. In the Database field, enter the instance database name.
7. Click Test Connection to test the connection string.
8. (Optional) In the Connection Timeout field, change the default duration of time for the
connection timeout.
9. Designate the file repository path.
Override the pooling options for the instance database
By default, database pooling is enabled with a minimum of 0 connections and a maximum of 100.
1. Click the Database tab, and then go to the Pooling section.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. From the Instance Management list, double-click to expand the Instances list.
c. Double-click the instance in the list that you want to configure.
2. In the Pooling field, click Override connection pool size.
3. In the Min pool size field, enter the minimum pool size.
4. In the Max pool size field, enter the maximum pool size.
5. On the toolbar, click Save.

Changing SysAdmin and Services Account Passwords
RSA recommends that you instruct your administrators on your corporate IT policy and security best
practices for generating and managing passwords for default System Administrator (sysadmin) and
default services accounts.

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After installing RSA Archer, you must change the passwords of the SysAdmin Account and
Services Account. You should change both passwords at least every 90 days using the RSA Archer
Control Panel. The new passwords must be strong, meeting the security parameter configuration for
the accounts. You can disable the sysadmin account, but cannot delete or rename it.
Important: Do not use a semicolon ( ; ) as the special character in a password. RSA Archer does
not recognize this character.
Change the SysAdmin password
1. On the Accounts tab, go to the SysAdmin Account section of the instance you want to update.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. From the Instance Management list, double-click the instance.
2. In the New Password field, enter the password for the SysAdmin account.
3. (Optional) Select Show Password to show the password as you enter it. If this option is not
selected, the password is masked with substituted characters for the actual text.
Change the Services Account password
1. On the Accounts tab, go to the Services Account section of the instance you want to update.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. From the Instance Management list, double-click the instance.
2. In the New Password field, enter the password for the Services account.
3. (Optional) Select Show Password to show the password as you enter it. If this option is not
selected, the password is masked with substituted characters for the actual text.
4. Complete the Default Instance Creation.
For additional information on other options, see the RSA Archer Control Panel Help.

Configuring the Login Page
RSA recommends that you require a domain for LDAP synchronization and SSO. If you do not use a
domain, RSA recommends that you disable the Domain field in the RSA Archer Control Panel.
If you are using SSO, the RSA Archer does not display a logon banner. In this case, RSA
recommends that you ensure that the SSO provider displays the government or corporate-approved
login banner.

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Disable the domain field
1. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel, and then go to the Installation Settings tab.
2. On the General tab, go to the Login Page section.
3. In the Default field, select Hide Domain field on Login Page.
4. On the toolbar, click Save.
Display the login banner
1. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel, and then go to the Installation Settings tab.
2. On the General tab, go to the Login Page section.
3. In the Banner field, enter the banner that you want to appear at the bottom of the Login page. By
default, the Hide Domain field on Login Page checkbox is blank, indicating that the Domain field
appears.
4. On the toolbar, click Save.

Authentication Methods
Authentication methods authorize users to perform computer functions and determine the
connectivity to the databases. The method you use is entirely up to your business operations. The
authentication methods include:
l

l

SQL Server Authentication. RSA Archer connects to each database using a SQL account created
on the SQL Server instance. You provide the account information during the installation process.
SQL Server Data bases. RSA Archer SQL Server 2014 or SQL Server 2016 databases for data
storage. Restrict authorization to these databases to only the accounts that need access to the
database.
During installation and upgrade, the account connecting to the databases from RSA Archer
requires db_owner permission. Post-installation, the account connecting to both Instance and
Configuration databases from RSA Archer requires the following permissions on the database:
o

Data Read rights (member of db_datareader)

o

Data Writer rights (member of db_datawriter)

o

Execute permissions on all stored procedures and scalar functions

o

Select permissions on all views, table-valued functions, and in-line functions

o

Execute permissions on the system-stored procedure sp_procedure_params_100_managed

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Important: Grant the same privileges to the user for both the Instance database and the
Configuration database.
l

Integrated Security. RSA Archer connects through a Windows identity established on the
operating system thread using an Active Directory domain user account. You must configure the
Application Pool Identity in IIS as the domain user account before installing RSA Archer. This
domain user account has DB Owner (DBO) access to the instance database that serves as the
process identity for applications assigned to the application pool. DBO access is only required
during the installation.
RSA recommends creating a custom domain services account dedicated to RSA Archer for the
IIS Application Pool Identity, and then providing it access to the necessary resources. In addition,
be prepared to provide the same account credentials for the RSA Archer Services account during
the installation process.
Note: The term Integrated Security may also be referred to as Trusted Connections. The
Application Pool is a means of isolating Web Applications where there are multiple IIS worker
processes that share the same Web Server.

Message Logging
A log is a chronological record of system activities that enables the reconstruction and examination
of the sequence of environments and activities surrounding or leading to an operation, procedure, or
event in a security-relevant transaction from inception to final results.
RSA Archer logs Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) trace events and writes log messages to a
specified database. ETW is a kernel-level API that enables high-performance data collection and
tracing in Windows. It enables you to start and stop event tracing at a granular level, log to a very
efficient buffering system, and consume events across a system.
You can monitor the log messages with any tool that consumes ETW trace events. Message logging
provides an easier way to troubleshoot processing jobs when errors occur. For example, you can use
this log to troubleshoot errors that might occur in a data feed job. Messages are grouped by each data
feed with a Start and Stop event so that you can easily identify where the data feed failed.
Third-party tools request either the Provider Name or the Provider ID in order to consume the trace
events generated in RSA Archer:
l

Provider ID: 472DD2D1-1B28-5523-9DDD-B4DEB8924408

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Provider Name: RSA-Archer-GRC-Platform

If you are using message logging, you must create a database dedicated to the RSA Archer
Instrumentation service. Do not use the same database that stores instance or configuration data.

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Note: If you are specifying an account other than the Local System account to run the services and
you are using the RSA Archer Instrumentation service, you must add this user to the Performance
Log Users group to grant permission to write to ETW.

Log Description
The following table shows the security-relevant logs provided by RSA Archer.
Component

Location

Security Events Report

The instance database

RSA Archer Error Logs File system in the configured logging directory
Windows Event Logs

Event Viewer

Security Events Report
The Security Events report contains a list of all of the security-related events that have occurred in
RSA Archer. RSA recommends that administrators define and enforce a retention policy for the
RSA Archer Error logs, as well as the Windows Event logs, in accordance with your corporate IT
policy and security best practices. This report includes the following security events:
l

Access Role Created

l

Access Role Deleted

l

Access Role Modified

l

Account Status Modified

l

Application Owner Added

l

Application Owner Deleted

l

Failed User Login

l

Full Application Content Delete

l

Global Report Permission Granted

l

Global Report Permission Removed

l

LDAP Configuration Delete Started

l

LDAP Configuration Delete Completed

l

Maximum Login Retries Exceeded

l

Offline Access Sync Requested - Download

l

Offline Access Sync Requested - Upload

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l

Password Changed by Administrator

l

Password Changed by User

l

Reset Password Requested

l

Role Assigned to User

l

Role Removed from User

l

Security Events Started

l

Security Events Stopped

l

Security Parameter Assignment Modified

l

Security Parameter Created

l

Security Parameter Deleted

l

Security Parameter Modified

l

Sub-Form Owner Added

l

Sub-Form Owner Deleted

l

User Account Added

l

User Account Deleted

l

User Account Modified

l

User Added to Group

l

User Full Name Modified

l

User Login

l

User Login Name Modified

l

User Logout

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User Removed from Group

RSA Archer Error Logs
You can configure the location of the RSA Archer error log in the RSA Archer Control Panel at both
the installation and the instance level. The default log location for the instance is
C:\ArcherFiles\logging.
RSA recommends that you configure the setting at the installation level and allow the location for
the instance level to default based on the installation setting.
For more information, see "Logging Settings" and "Verify the Logging Properties" in the
RSA Archer Control Panel Help.

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Log Directory Permissions
RSA recommends that you restrict the permissions on the log files folder to the same read, write,
and modify permissions of the account that the IIS processes and the RSA Archer-installed services
are running.
For More information, see "Task 5: Grant Permissions to RSA Archer Directories" in the
"Configuring the Web Server" section of the RSA Archer Platform Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Windows Event Logs
The following items are logged in the Windows Event logs by the RSA Archer services and Web
Application:
l

Service Start (Application and System logs)

l

Service Stop (Application and System logs)

l

.NET Runtime Errors

Port Usage
RSA recommends that you configure your firewall rules and access control lists to expose only the
ports and protocols necessary for operation of RSA Archer.
The Job Engine and Configuration Service can run on multiple servers simultaneously. You should
account for each server running those services when planning firewall rules. For a given item, you
can omit the rule if the source and destination components run on the same server.
RSA Archer services and supporting services on the web server use specific ports to communicate
with each other and with interfaces and applications external to RSA Archer.
You can modify the following ports:
l

Configure the port used for SQL in SQL Server.

l

Configure the port used for HTTPS in Microsoft IIS.

The following table lists ports used by RSA Archer. Rows in bold text identify the minimum set of
ports that must be open for the application to work. Brackets around items in the Destination column
indicate supporting hosts and servers that communicate with RSA Archer.
Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Client Web
Connectivity

Platform Web
UI

Web Server
(IIS) or Load
Balancer

HTTP(S)

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Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

80/TCP,
443/TCP

Mandatory

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Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

See Web Server Communication. The destination is a Load Balancer if the
Platform is deployed with a web server cluster or farm. RSA recommends that
you rely only on HTTPS.
Platform Web
API

Web Server
(IIS) or Load
Balancer

HTTP(S)

80/TCP,
443/TCP

Optional

See Web Server Communication. The destination is a Load Balancer if the
Platform is deployed with a web server cluster or farm. RSA recommends that
you rely only on HTTPS. You can change the default port for use by your
application.
Archer-toArcher Data
Feed

Web Server
(IIS) or Load
Balancer

HTTP(S)

80/TCP,
443/TCP

Optional

See Web Server Communication. The destination is a Load Balancer if the
Platform is deployed with a web server cluster or farm. You can change the
default port for use by your application.
Offline Access

Web Server
(IIS) or Load
Balancer

HTTP(S)

80/TCP,
443/TCP

Optional

80/TCP,
443/TCP

Optional

Only required if using offline access.
RSS Feeds

Web Server
(IIS) or Load
Balancer

[Remote Host]

HTTP(S)

See Web Server Communication. The destination is a Load Balancer if the
Platform is deployed with a web server cluster or farm. You can change the
default port for use by your application.
Threat Feeds

Job Engine
Service

[Remote Host]

HTTPS

443/TCP

Optional

See Web Server Communication. Only required if using Threat Management to
pull in a threat intelligence feed from Symantec DeepSight, Verisign iDefense, or
other supported feeds..

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Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

SQL Queries

Configuration
Service, Job
Engine Service,
Queuing
Service, Web
Server (IIS)

[Database
Server (SQL
Server) running
RSA Archer
database]

SQL

1433/TCP

Mandatory

See SQL Server Communication. You can change the default port for use by your
application.
LDAP
[Database
Synchronization Server (SQL
Service
Server) running
RSA Archer
database]

SQL

1433/TCP

Optional

See SQL Server Communication. Only required if using LDAP synchronization.
Configuration
Service, LDAP
Synchronization
Service, Job
Engine Service,
Queuing
Service, Web
Server (IIS)

[Database
Server (SQL
Server) running
RSA Archer
database]

SQL

1434/UDP

Optional

If using a named instance, SQL Browser is also required.
Microsoft File
Sharing

Job Engine
Service, Web
Server (IIS)

[File Server for
document
repository]

SMB/CIFS 445/TCP

Optional

Only required if the document repository is not contained on a single web server.
Web Server
(IIS)

[File Server for
company_files]

SMB/CIFS 445/TCP

Optional

Only required if the appearance files are not all contained in a single web server.
Queuing
Service

[File Server for
keyword
indexes]

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SMB/CIFS 445/TCP

Optional

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Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

Only required if the keyword search indexes are not all contained on a single web
server.
LDAP
Queries

LDAP
[LDAP Server]
Synchronization
Service

LDAP(S)

389/TCP
(LDAP),
636/TCP
(LDAPS)

Optional

Only required if performing LDAP synchronization. You can change the default
port for use by your application.
Audit Logging Web Server
(IIS)

[Remote Host]

TCP/UDP

Varies

Optional

13402

Optional

Only required if Audit Logging is enabled.
Cache
Locator

Java

[Cache Service
Server]

TCP

Only required if using the RSA Archer Cache as your Caching Option.
Cache Server

Java

[Cache Service
Server]

TCP

13401

Optional

Only required if using the RSA Archer Cache as your Caching Option.
Local Cache

Local cache
[Cache Service
client (Web
Server]
Server (IIS),
Job Engine
Service, LDAP
Synchronization
Service)

TCP

40404

Optional

Only required if using the RSA Archer Cache as your Caching Option.
Email
Notifications

Job Engine
Service

[SMTP Server]

SMTP(S)

25/TCP
(SMTP),
465
(SMTPS)

Optional

Only required if using email notifications. You can change the default port for
use by your application.

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Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Mail Monitor

Job Engine
Service

[POP3 or
IMAP Server]

POP3(S),
IMAP(S)

Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

110/TCP
(POP3),
995/TCP
(POP3S),
143
(IMAP),
993/TCP
(IMAPS)

Optional

Only required if leveraging Mail Monitor functionality.
Read Receipts Job Engine
Service

[POP3 or
IMAP Server]

POP3,
IMAP

110/TCP
(POP3),
143
(IMAP)

Optional

Only required if leveraging Read Receipt functionality.
Configuration
Data
Retrieval

Job Engine
Service,
Queuing
Service, Web
Server (IIS)

Configuration
Service

WCF

13201/TCP

Mandatory

Required for RSA Archer service to obtain Platform configuration data.
Caching
Service

Configuration
Service

WCF

13201/TCP

Optional

Only required if using the RSA Archer Cache as your Caching Option.
LDAP
Configuration
Synchronization Service
Service

WCF

13201/TCP

Optional

1330013304/TCP

Mandatory

Only required if using LDAP synchronization.
Configuration
Data Updates

Configuration
Service

Web Server
(IIS)

WCF

Required to push configuration data updates to the web servers.

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Purpose

Source

Destination

Protocol

Configuration
Service

Job Engine
Service,
Queuing
Service

WCF

Port
(Default)

Mandatory or
Optional

1330513350/TCP

Mandatory

Required to push configuration data updates to RSA Archer services.
Configuration
Service

Caching
Service

WCF

1330513350/TCP

Optional

Only required if using the RSA Archer Cache as your caching option.
Configuration
Service

LDAP
WCF
Synchronization
Service

1330513350/TCP

Optional

Varies

Optional

Only required if using LDAP synchronization.
SSO
Web Server
Authentication (IIS)

[Remote Host]

Varies

Only required if using SSO, in which case additional traffic may need to be
allowed. The destinations, ports, and protocols would vary based on the SSO
provider and your specific implementation. You can change the default port for
use by your application.
Data
Publication

Job Engine
Service

[Remote Host]

Varies

Varies

Optional

Only required if using the Data Publication feature, in which data can be
extracted and written to a relational database system. The destinations, ports, and
protocols vary based on the destination system. You can change the default port
for use by your application.
Other Data
Feeds

Job Engine
Service

[Remote Host
(s)]

Varies

Varies

Optional

Only required if using RSA Archer to pull data from other systems using transfer
protocols, for example, FTP, SMB, and SQL. The destinations, ports, and
protocols vary based on your implementation. You can change the default port for
use by your application.

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Network Encryption
The following sections provide information on how to secure communication protocols used by
RSA Archer:
l

Data Feeds

l

Web Server Communication

l

SSL Certificate Guidance

l

SQL Server Communication

l

RSA® Archer® Web Services API

Data Feeds
Data Feed Manager is a flexible, code-free tool for aggregating data in RSA Archer. Use the tool to:
l

l

l

Configure multiple, dynamic data feeds, and manage those feeds without relying on programming
resources.
Build and configure dynamic integrations with external enterprise systems and files. From Data
Feed Manager, you can build a transport path between RSA Archer and an external source and
then map the data from that source to an existing target application or questionnaire in
RSA Archer.
Configure the data feed to run on a schedule. After the initial configuration, the data feed
executes automatically with no need for you to intervene.

You can integrate data using Data Feed Manager for:
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Network and asset discovery data

l

Vulnerability scan results

l

Performance scorecards

l

Incident reports

l

Audit results and recommendations

Because RSA Archer is vendor neutral and content independent, you can use RSA Archer as a point
of consolidation for enterprise data of any type for supporting analysis and process management.
With a centralized view of data from point solutions, databases, spreadsheets, and other sources, you
can access content more easily that is relevant to your job functions. Re-purpose data to support a
variety of business processes.

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A data feed must be both active and valid to run. As you configure your data feed, Data Feed
Manager validates the information for you. If it is not valid, an error message appears. You can save
the data feed and correct the errors later. However, the data feed does not process until you have
corrected the errors and the data feed validates.
Data feed types
Important: To avoid potential conflicts with other data feeds, RSA suggests that you use a different
user account for each data feed. Additionally, if you plan to run multiple data feeds simultaneously,
create a unique name to prevent termination of session tokens.
Data Feed Manager supports standard and transport data feeds.
Feed
Type
Standard

Description
Brings data from an external source into an application or questionnaire. This data feed
type requires that you:
l

Define the fields and data format

l

Map the fields in the source file to the target

l

l

Perform a report-based search for an application or questionnaire that contains the
source data that you want to import into another application or questionnaire.
Set up a user account as a Service account, which means this user account has all
necessary permissions to execute the data feed.

You can specify the following:
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l

l

Whether to send subscription notifications to specified users or groups when records
are modified.
Whether to send a notification to specified users or groups when a data feed job
completes, identifying a successful or failed completion.
The locale format of your source data. For example, different characters might be
used to indicate a decimal place.

Transport Locates a separate data file that contains additional instructions for launching
Only
subsequent, standard data feeds.
l

l

Ensure that a user account for the data feed and a target path for the separate data
file exist, but no additional data configuration.
Create a unique name when running multiple data feeds simultaneously to prevent
termination of session tokens.

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Data feed transporter types
The Data Feed Service (DFS) architecture accommodates the definition of various data retrieval
mechanisms. The following table describes the out-of-the-box transporters.
Transporter Description
Archer Web
Services

Accesses the Web Services API and retrieves data from an instance of
RSA Archer. This transporter is used in Archer-to Archer data feeds.

Database
Query

Returns results using an SQL query.

DeepSight
2.0

Uses the v2 Symantec web service to retrieve vulnerabilities threat feed data.

DeepSight
4.0

Uses the v4 Symantec web service to retrieve security risk and vulnerability
SCAP data feeds.

File

Retrieves delimited data files, including support for multi-file manifests.

FTP

Retrieves data files using the FTP protocol.

HTTP

Executes a GET or POST to retrieve data from an HTTP or HTTPS site.

iDefense

Retrieves vulnerabilities and geopolitical threat feed data.

JavaScript

Executes a user-provided JavaScript file. If the result of that execution is a data
set, it is transformed and processed into the platform as normal.

Mail Monitor

Retrieves content from monitored email accounts.

RSS

Retrieves records from a configured RSS feed.

This transporter will soon become unusable because of deprecation by Symantec.
For DeepSight v4 data feeds that are available on the RSA Archer Community on
RSA Link, use the DeepSight 4.0 transporter.

Supported and unsupported field types for data mapping
Supported Field Types
l

Attachment

l

CAST Detail

l

Cross-Reference

l

Date

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l

External Links

l

Image

l

Internal Reference

l

IP Address

l

Matrix

l

Numeric

l

Record Permissions

l

Related Records

l

Sub-Form

l

Text

l

User/Groups List

l

Values List

Unsupported Field Types
l

Access History

l

CAST Score Card

l

Discussion

l

First Published Date

l

History Log

l

Last Updated Date

l

MRDC (Must be populated through reference fields.)

l

Record Status

l

System-generated Related Record that points to a Questionnaire

l

Voting

Schema sources
The source for the schema of your data feed depends on which transporter you are using. The
following list identifies and describes the schema sources that are available for each of the out-ofthe-box transporters.
Important: The process of loading a source definition for a data feed times out at five minutes. You
may want to consider using a smaller set of source data when you set up the feed.

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Source

Description

Execute
Search

Executes the search in RSA Archer and detects the source schema from the results.

Execute
Query

Executes the query specified on the Transport tab and detects the source schema from
the resulting record set.

Recommended approach for an Archer-to-Archer data feed. Loads the source fields
directly from the report. When using this scheme, complete all required information on
the Transport and Navigation tabs.

Using this option may trigger actions in the database associated with this query.
Sample
File

Uses a skeleton of your actual source data file. For example, if you are importing data
from a .csv file, the source data file is a .csv file that includes the column names from
your source data. If you are importing data from an .XML file, the source data file
includes the structure of your .XML without the actual field values.
When you select the sample file, the Source Fields section populates with the fields
specified in the sample data file.
For the Archer Web Services Transporter, select a file from an external location that
contains the data in a same format as the report format.

Load
URL

Loads the contents at the target URL and detects the source schema from the contents.
Using this option may trigger actions associated with accessing the target URL.

Standard Uses the standard mail schema.
Schema

Updating locked records
RSA Archer has an important feature that prevents the updating or altering of a locked record. A
record becomes locked when a user has opened it in Edit mode for the purpose of modifying it.
However, it is important to note that records can be updated through the RESTful and Web APIs, as
well as through data feeds, even when a user has locked them. The following are examples of
typical APIs that can update user-locked records:
l

PUT content (RESTful )

l

UpdateRecord (Web Services)

l

UpdateRecords (Web Services)

Unique identifiers
A unique identifier is a field, or a combination of fields, whose values in individual records are

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different from all other records, thereby uniquely identifying the record. A compound unique
identifier means that all fields in the key must match the fields in the target application in order for a
match to occur.
By establishing a unique identifier, you instruct the Data Feed Manager on how to update existing
data in the application or questionnaire from the matching source data. After setting the order of the
key fields, the Data Feed Manager scans the data source for matches to each unique key in the
specified order. If any key is found to match the field in the target application than the record is
considered matched. If no match is found, the Data Feed Manager creates a new target application
or questionnaire record.
For example, you can select an IP Address field in a record to be your unique identifier. If a data
source record has a matching value for the target application field, the source record data updates
the target application record data. If no match is found, the data feed creates a new application
record.
Note: Matching logic includes text formatting when matching the key fields in the data feed source
to a record in the RSA Archer database. When a data feed has two records with the same text, but
with different formatting tags, the records are distinguished as separate records.
Fields that act as unique identifiers for your data feed do not have to be the same as the key fields
for your target applications or questionnaires. The following table lists the field types from a target
application or questionnaire that can be selected as unique identifiers.
Text-Based Field Types

List-Based Field Types

Text

Values Lists

Numeric

Record Permission

Date

User Groups

IP Address

Sub-form Fields

Tracking ID ("System ID" only)
Note: You can only use the Tracking ID field as a key field if it is configured as System ID. If
configured as Application ID, it is not available for use as a key field.
When selecting cross-reference or related records fields as unique identifiers, you must select a
field from the related application matching one of the above field types. For example, if you select
the Vulnerabilities cross-reference field, which cross-references the Vulnerabilities application, in
an Assets application, you also select a qualifying field from the Vulnerabilities application to serve
as a unique identifier.

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Matching criteria for unique identifiers
Option

Description

MatchExact Specifies that data source field must match the unique identifier value exactly for
the target record to be updated. If the match is not exact, a new record is created.
For example, if a data source field has a value of "Renee Jones" and a mapped
application field that is specified as a unique identifier has a value of "Renee Ellen
Jones," the target application record is not updated because it is not an exact match.
MatchAny

Specifies that the source data must match at least one condition in the list-based
field for the target record to be updated.
For example, if a target application record has the values Blue and Green selected
in the field specified as the unique identifier, and the mapped field in the source data
includes only the value Blue, the record is updated because at least one of the
values matches.

MatchAll

Specifies that the source data must match all of the conditions in the list-based field
for the target record to be updated.
For example, if the target application record has the values Blue and Green selected
in the field specified as the unique identifier, and the mapped field in the source data
includes the values Blue and Green, the record is updated. However, if the source
data includes only the value Blue, the record is not updated. A new target
application record is created instead because there is not a complete match.

Data feed communication
The Data Feed Manager can be configured to retrieve or receive data from various external data
sources using a variety of transport protocols. When given the option, RSA recommends that you
select secured versions over unsecured versions.
To strengthen data feed security, RSA recommends that the Data Feed Manager require data feed
paths to be specified as relative paths.
Note: Relative path entry is set up as the default starting with RSA Archer 6.0. Because the setting
is not updated automatically on systems upgraded to version 6.0, RSA recommends manually setting
the requirement on upgraded systems.

BatchContentSave data feed token
Data feeds leveraging the BatchContentSave token should be used with caution. RSA recommends
using this token for high-volume ingestion of enrichment content. It is not recommended for content

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progressing through workflows. Content changes made by a BatchContentSave enabled feed are not
tracked within the system History Log fields (though field audit information is retained).
Archer-to-Archer Data Feeds

An Archer-to-Archer data feed provides the ability to pull data from one instance to another through
a report-based search. The source data is inserted in its raw or formatted state back into the same
application, a different application in the same instance, or an application in a different instance.
An Archer-to-Archer data feed uses the Archer Web Services Transporter. The Archer Web
Services Transporter accesses the RSA Archer Web Services API and retrieves data from the
specified instance or another instance of RSA Archer. The user account running the search in the
API must have at least Read access to the report being used and the application. Record permissions
are evaluated as well, and could limit the source data retrieved from the application. Report-based
data feeds can use either the report ID or the report GUID during configuration.
For report-based data feeds, create a Global Report and click Apply in the source application.
Ensure that content exists for every field in the source application from which you want to import
data. If a field in the source application is empty, it will not be available for you to select in the data
feed. Use the report GUID when working with the data feed before closing the report.
Important: Do not run the Archer-to-Archer data feed using the same account with which you have
logged in to RSA Archer. Using the same credentials logs you out of your session. In addition, do not
run multiple data feeds using the same account credentials. Each Archer-to-Archer data feed must
have its own separate and unique account for logging in and retrieving data.
Archer Web Services Transporter
The Archer Web Services Transporter must be configured with the same authentication method as
configured in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) on the web server. If you do not know
the Microsoft IIS configurations, contact your system administrator before continuing.
Guidelines for designating the security credentials
l

l

If IIS is configured for Anonymous authentication, use the Anonymous/Service Account User
option. When IIS is set to Anonymous authentication, the user account credentials are not sent
with the data feed request.
If IIS is configured for Windows Integrated authentication, use either Anonymous/Service
Account User or Specific.
o

If credentials are set to Anonymous/Service Account User, the service account running the
asynchronous job is sent with the data feed request.

o

If credentials are set to Specific, the specified Windows account credentials are sent with the
data feed request.

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You must also define the transport configuration for this transporter. The Web API uses the
following search types for processing data of a data feed.
Search
Type

Description

Report ID

Retrieves data using the search report GUID or ID, which is provided in the search
results for the report.

Search
XML

Retrieves data using the module ID and a configuration string. This information is
obtained by running an XML search using an API call.

Statistic
Report ID

Retrieves data using the search statistical report GUID or ID, which is provided in
the search results for the statistical report.

Additionally, a data feed can access the source data through a proxy server and can handle postprocessing of the local copy of the source data.
Use the following tasks to add an Archer-to-Archer data feed:
l

Adding Archer-to-Archer Standard Data Feeds

l

Adding Archer-to-Archer Transport Only Data Feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
RSS Data Feeds

The RSS data feed provides the ability to retrieve records from a configured RSS feed into an
RSA Archer instance.
Note: RSA recommends that you rely on HTTPS for secure communications between the web
server and the RSS transporter. RSA also recommends that you set the RSS iView Content Handling
option in the RSA Archer Control Panel to Scrub or Encode to address this issue.
Important: For the data feed to execute successfully, the server responsible for running the data
feed must have a service account with valid logon credentials.
Use the following tasks to add an RSS data feed:
l

Adding Standard RSS data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only RSS data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.

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HTTP Data Feeds

The HTTP Transporter data feed enables you to execute a GET or POST to retrieve data from an
HTTP or HTTPS site. The data is inserted in its raw or manipulated state into the RSA Archer
instance.
The source files must be text delimited files or XML files. You can use an XSLT to transform your
XML data into a consumable format.
HTTP Transporter

The HTTP Transporter allows a file from an external source with unknown contents and integrity to
be brought onto RSA Archer servers. This flexibility introduces a potential attack vector where the
associated risk must be accepted by the customer.
RSA recommends that you disable the HTTP Transporter if a business need does not require its use.
If you must use the HTTP Transporter, RSA recommends using HTTPS, selecting Zip File as the
File Type, and using encryption by selecting an Encryption Type.
An HTTP Transporter data feed can be configured as a standard or transport data feed type.
Disabling weak ciphers
Web server communication over HTTP relies on the SSL/TLS ciphers and key lengths provided by
the version of IIS on which RSA Archer is installed. Ensure that IIS is configured for cryptographic
support, which cannot be easily defeated. RSA recommends that you configure Microsoft IIS to only
allow ciphers with key lengths of 128 bits or greater.
Important: If data is from an external HTTP or HTTPS site, you must be able to access that
external site from the server running the services for the data feed to execute successfully.
Use the following tasks to add an HTTP data feed:
l

Adding Standard HTTP data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only HTTP data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
FTP Data Feeds

The FTP data feed enables you to pull data files using the FTP protocol, and insert that data in its
raw or manipulated state into the RSA Archer instance.
The source files can be delimited text files or XML files. You can use an XSLT to transform your
XML data into a consumable format.

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FTP Transporter

The FTP Transporter allows a file from an external source with unknown contents and integrity to be
brought onto RSA Archer servers. This flexibility introduces a potential attack vector where the
associated risk must be accepted by the customer.
RSA recommends that you disable the FTP Transporter if a business need does not require its use. If
you must use the FTP Transporter, RSA recommends selecting Zip File as the File Type and using
encryption by selecting an Encryption Type.
An FTP Transporter data feed can be configured as a standard or transport data feed type.
Use the following tasks to add an FTP data feed:
l

Adding Standard FTP data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only FTP data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
File Data Feeds

The File data feed enables you to pull data directly from a flat file and insert that data in its raw or
manipulated state into the RSA Archer instance.
The source files must delimited text files or XML files. You can use an XSLT to transform your
XML data into a consumable format. The Data Feed Manager can access files located on a network
server that is accessible to the Data Feed Manger. For example, a delimited file must reside on the
network server rather than your personal computer.
Important: For the data feed to execute successfully, the server responsible for running the data
feed must have the required access to the files.
File Transporter

The File Transporter allows a file from an external source with unknown contents and integrity to be
brought onto RSA Archer servers. This flexibility introduces a potential attack vector where the
associated risk must be accepted by the customer.
RSA recommends that you disable the File Transporter if a business need does not require its use. If
the File Transporter must be used, RSA recommends selecting Zip File as the File Type and using
encryption by selecting an Encryption Type.
For more information, see "Transporter Availability" in the RSA Archer Control Panel Help. For
information on configuring the File Transporter, see the "Data Feed Manager" section of "Define a
File Transporter" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.

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A File Transporter data feed can be configured as a standard or transport data feed type.
Use the following tasks to add a file data feed:
l

Adding Standard File data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only File data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
Threat Data Feeds

Threat data feeds aggregate data from external data feed sources into RSA Archer on a dynamic and
scheduled basis. The Data Feed Manager supports iDefense and DeepSight threat feeds.
RSA recommends that you rely on HTTPS for secure communications between the web server and
the threat feed. For information on enabling HTTPS, see Web Server Communication.
Supported DeepSight feed types
Transporter

Supported Feeds

DeepSight Transporter 2.0 Vulnerabilities
DeepSight Transporter 4.0 Security Risk
Vulnerabilities SCAP
Note: Data feeds using the DeepSight 2.0 transporter will soon become unusable because of
deprecation by Symantec. From the RSA Archer Community on RSA Link, download a copy of the
data feeds that use the DeepSight 4.0 transporters and import them.

Supported iDefense threat feed types
l

Vulnerabilities

l

Geopolitical Threat

RSA Archer provides a configuration file to establish a connection between an iDefense or
DeepSight threat feed and your instance of RSA Archer. Each of the threat feeds can be quickly
integrated with your instance of RSA Archer by importing the configuration file.
For a new threat feed, the first run is the baseload run, which should take place before regular threat
feeds run.
l

l

For DeepSight threat feeds, the baseload runs as one job.
For iDefense, the baseload runs in a series of jobs that pull up to 1,000 alerts at a time. Baseload
runs may take a long time to complete—typically under 14 days.

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Before you begin: Visit the Integration Exchange
Before you begin a new integration project with Data Feed Manager, visit the RSA Archer
Community on RSA Link. In the Integrations category, you can review prebuilt integration packages
from RSA Archer and third-party providers such as Qualys, nCircle, and Sendmail.
New integration packages are available regularly, and each package includes the following items:
l

Data feed configuration file

l

Target application(s)

l

Any supporting files (such as an .xslt file)

When you download an integration package from the RSA Archer Community on RSA Link, you can
import the configuration file directly into the Data Feed Manager and, if necessary, modify the
configuration. You can also import the target applications into the RSA Archer environment and
modify the applications through Application Builder.
Use the following tasks to manage threat data feeds:
l

Adding DeepSight Threat data feeds

l

Adding iDefense Threat data feeds

l

Importing Threat data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
Mail Monitor Data Feeds

The Mail Monitor Transporter data feed enables you to monitor email accounts using mail fields or
plain text body XML to specific fields in an application. By pulling email content into RSA Archer,
you can assess and process disparate email information, then create and document clear action plans
based on the information.
When integrating an application or questionnaire with a Mail Monitor data feed, you can do the
following:
l

Insert email content into an application or questionnaire.

l

Retrieve email messages, such as vulnerability alerts and open source monitoring alerts.

l

Define field mapping from email content to content records.

l

Configure mail protocols, mail servers, email accounts, and scheduling intervals.

Note: RSA recommends that you configure an SSL connection to connect with the email server.
Important: For the data feed to execute successfully, the server responsible for running the data
feed must have a service account with valid logon credentials.

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Use the following tasks to add a mail monitor data feed:
l

Adding Standard Mail Monitor data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only Mail Monitor data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
Database Query Data Feeds

The Database Query Transporter data feed enables you to pull data directly from a database by
query and insert the data in its raw or manipulated state into a RSA Archer instance.
The numerous types of supported database connections are Odbc, OleDb, Oracle, SQL, and many
others. As long as the connection string is configured successfully and the client driver is installed
on the system, RSA Archer can integrate regardless of the database type.
A Database Query Transporter data feed can be configured as a standard or transport data feed type.
RSA recommends that the external database from which you are capturing data is located within
your corporate network and that data transmission occurs over an encrypted communications
channel. RSA also recommends that the credentials you use to retrieve the data have read-only
permissions. For more information, see "Define a Database Query Transporter" in "Data Feed
Manager" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.
Use the following tasks to add a database query data feed:
l

Adding Standard Database Query data feeds

l

Adding Transport Only Database Query data feeds

For more information, see "Data Feeds" in the RSA Archer Online Documentation.

Web Server Communication
By default, RSA Archer web clients communicate with the RSA Archer Web Server (IIS) over one
of two ports:
l

HTTP using default port 80

l

HTTPS using default port 443

These web clients include:
l

l

l

RSA Archer web user interface
Third-party web applications, which are applications provided by the customer that use
RSA Archer web APIs (SOAP and REST)
Certain data feeds, for example, RSS and Threat Intelligence

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RSA recommends that you enable web server communication using HTTPS and disable the HTTP
service. In addition to providing encryption of data in transit, HTTPS allows the identification of
servers and, optionally, of clients, by means of digital certificates. To enable HTTPS, update the
following three components:
l

IIS

l

RSA Archer web.config

l

RSA Archer Control Panel

For more information, see Appendix A: Authentication Configuration.
While HTTPS is recommended and helps prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, consider the following
when enabling HTTPS and disabling HTTP:
l

l

l

Redirecting connections from an unsecured HTTP port to a secured HTTPS port can cause your
application to be vulnerable to these types of attack. Redirecting connections is not a complete
disablement of the HTTP port.
Disabling HTTP without ensuring that the SSL certificate is in the trusted certificate store
displays an error message.
Disabling HTTP causes the SOAP API forms to become non-functional. These forms only accept
HTTP Post.

RSA recommends that you use TLS 1.1 or TLS 1.2 to secure the HTTP communication between
RSA Archer web clients and the RSA Archer Web Server. Secure this communication by
configuring HTTPS connections between the client and the IIS web server.
For information on Microsoft recommendations, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

SSL Certificate Guidance
To enable Field Encryption in RSA Archer, it is advised that the certificate should be obtained from
a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). However, you may choose to generate a self-signed certificate.
RSA recommends using a hardware security module (HSM) for field encryption over a certificate in
a local store.
Field Encryption certificate requirements
Certificates must meet the following requirements:

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l

The certificate is present in the local machine store as a personal certificate.

l

The certificate is exportable.

l

The certificate is not expired.

l

The certificate has a key size of 2048 bits.

l

The certificate has a private key.

How to secure a Field Encryption certificate
The certificate being used for encryption should have very limited access. Here are some of the
security measures that should be taken to protect the certificate:
l

l

l

l

Give Full Control and Read access to the certificate only to the Administrator account. All other
accounts should have only Read access.
Give the certificate read-only access to the following accounts:
o

In a server hosting the archer web application, only the AppPool account used by the web
application should be given access (Read-Only) to the certificate.

o

In a server hosting archer services, for example, Configuration Service and Job Framework,
only accounts used by the services should be given access (Read-Only) to the certificate.

Revoke access for all accounts that are not required.
Back up the encryption certificate regularly. The backup should be password protected and stored
safely.

For recommendations on generating/installing an SSL Certificate using IIS, see the Microsoft
TechNet Library.
For information about industry best practices, see the following:
l

NIST SP 800-52

l

PCI-DSS v1.2, point 4.1

SQL Server Communication
RSA recommends that you use a secured database connection to secure the communications
between the instance database server and the RSA Archer web and services servers. For
recommendations on configuring a secure database connection, see the Microsoft MSDN Library.
The Configuration database cannot accept secure or encrypted connections. RSA recommends that
you follow the guidance in SSL Certificate Guidance when issuing an SSL certificate to
communicate with SQL Server.

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RSA Archer Web Services API
The RSA Archer® Suite Web Services API is a collection of web services that provide a
programmatic interface for interacting with the RSA Archer. Each web service supports multiple
methods that can be used together to automate the exchange of information between the Platform and
an external application.
RSA Archer Web Services

RSA recommends that you rely on HTTPS for secure communications between the RSA Archer
web server and the following:
l

l

Third-party web applications, which are applications provided by the customer that use the
Platform web APIs
Archer-to-Archer data feeds

For information on configuring the RSA Archer Archer Web Services transporter, see the
RSA Archer Online Documentation.
The following web services are available with the RSA Archer.
Available Web Services
Access
Control

The Access Control class provides programmatic access to the Access Control feature,
such as creating users and managing security parameters.

Access
Role

The Access Role class provides programmatic access to options relating to managing
access roles.

Field

The Field class allows you to manage and configure the values lists used in the
applications, questionnaires, and sub-forms.

General

The General class allows you to create and terminate Web Services API user sessions.

Module

The Module class provides programmatic access to module information.

Record

The Record class allows you to create and manipulate content records in content
applications.

Search

The Search class allows programmatic access to the Platform’s search features.

Encrypting Data
RSA Archer allows you to encrypt the following field types in an application:

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l

Date

l

IP Address

l

Numeric

l

Text

The purpose of encryption is to protect sensitive data in the database. When you encrypt a field, all
data that is written to that field - whether in the record UI or through a data feed or import - stores as
encrypted in the database. Encrypted fields display data in the record UI as normal text. You can
encrypt new and existing fields.
The following table shows how encrypted fields affect other functionality in the application or
RSA Archer.
Related Area

Impact

Calculations

You cannot reference encrypted fields in a calculated field.
You can calculate encrypted fields.

Data
feeds/imports

If the incoming data targets an encrypted field, the data will be stored in the
database in an encrypted format.

History log

History logs are kept for encrypted fields.

Search (global
search)

Encrypted fields are not supported.

Advanced search
filters

Encrypted fields support only Equals and Does Not Equal filters. They cannot
perform statistical search operations, for example Group By and Count.

Layout rule filters

Encrypted fields are supported for all standard field filter options in a layout
rule.

Record Lookup
Configuration

Only the filter options Equals, Does Not Equal, Field Value Match, and Field
Value Does Not Match are available for encrypted fields.

RSA Archer
Encrypted fields are not supported.
Mobile application
RSA Archer BCM Encrypted fields are not supported.
mobile application
Offline sync

You cannot sync an application with encrypted fields offline.

Subscription
Notification filters

Only the filter options Equals, Does Not Equal, Field Value Match, and Field
Value Does Not Match are available for encrypted fields.

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Enable field encryption at the instance level
You must enable field encryption at the instance level. For instructions, see "Enable Field
Encryption for an Instance" in the RSA Archer Control Panel Help.
If you do not first enable field encryption at the instance level, users receive the following message
when they try to encrypt a field:
Field encryption needs to be enabled in Archer Control Panel.
Troubleshooting field encryption
Issue

Cause

Resolution

Encrypted fields do not display the
data.

The Key Encryption
Key (KEK) for one
or more of your
instances is missing.

Verify whether the KEK is present
on each of your Web Servers and
Services Servers and add the KEK
wherever it is missing. For
instructions, see "Enable Field
Encryption for an Instance" in the
RSA Archer Control Panel Help.

When a user logs in, the following
message appears: Configuration
error, some of the data may be
blank. Please contact your
administrator.
When the system administrator logs
in, the following message appears:
The encryption key is missing.
Please provide a new key in the
system. Dismiss?
The following message appears in
the error logs: Either Key
Encryption Key is missing or
inaccessible.
When editing an encrypted field,
you receive an unexpected error.
When the Configuration Service is
starting, the following message
appears: Key Encryption Key for
the following instances were either
missing or could not be accessed:
Instance1, Instance2.

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Configuring the Hardware Security Module
You can configure the settings for the Hardware Security Module (HSM) in connection with field
encryption.
Note: You must complete this task before you can enable field encryption for an instance.
1. Locate and copy the module token for the key store and security pin (or pass phrase) as
configured with the HSM hardware.
2. On the General tab, go to the Hardware Security Module section.
a. Open the RSA Archer Control Panel.
b. Go to Installation Settings.
c. Click the General tab.
3. In the Hardware Security Module section, select a module from the drop-down list.
4. In Module Token, enter the module value.
5. In Security Pin, enter the security pin value.
6. On the toolbar, click Save.

Additional Security Considerations
l

JavaScript Transporter Security Considerations

l

Java Runtime Environment Deployment

l

Privilege Levels for Archer Services

l

Least Privileges Requirements for RSA Archer Database Objects

l

File Repository Path

l

RSA Archer Supported Environments

l

Restrict Permissions on Repository Files

l

Keyword Index Files

l

Company Files Path

l

Building Global iViews

l

Adding Objects to the Layout

l

Offline Access

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JavaScript Transporter Security Considerations
The JavaScript Transporter allows you to integrate RSA Archer with external systems without a
middleware. You can use the JavaScript Transporter to upload and execute a NodeJS program. The
NodeJS program can consume APIs exposed by external systems to process and feed data into
RSA Archer. Here are a few security recommendations to consider when using this feature:
l

Communicate with external systems using APIs protected by SSL\TLS protocol.

l

Communicate with external systems using APIs that involve a strong authentication mechanism.

l

Mark sensitive parameters as "Protected" in the Custom Parameters section of the Transport tab
in the JavaScript Transporter Settings in the RSA Archer Control Panel.

Java Runtime Environment Deployment
The optional RSA Archer Cache service requires the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) with the
Java HotSpot Server Virtual Machine (VM) in a bit version that matches the Platform bit version.
For example, a 64-bit Platform version requires a 64-bit JRE.
As part of the JRE install, a Java certificate is installed that is used for secure authentication, which
requires the existence of Java. RSA strongly recommends installing Java Runtime Environment
(JRE) 8 (64-bit).

Privilege Levels for Archer Services
RSA strongly recommends that you set Archer services to run with Domain User account privileges.
In general, RSA Archer services should run with the lowest privilege level that allows them to work.
For instructions on setting Archer service privileges, see "Task 14: Configure the service
credentials" in the "Installing the Web Application and Services Components" section of the
RSA Archer Platform Installation and Upgrade Guide.
Local System privileges give Archer services unrestricted access to local system resources. While
this level of privilege allows the services to access all system resources easily, giving unrestricted
access to many services and accounts increases the security vulnerability of a system. Organizations
concerned with system security should avoid giving Local System privileges to services and
accounts without serious justification.
To improve system security, set services and accounts to run with Domain User account privileges
that limit their access to only the system resources they need for normal business operations. This
approach to setting privilege levels keeps the number of services and accounts with unrestricted
system access to a minimum, which reduces the number of entities that can unintentionally or
intentionally violate system security.

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Least Privileges Requirement for RSA Archer Database Objects
The principle of least privileges grants the minimum permissions required for day-to-day operations
of RSA Archer. To operate on a day-to-day basis using least privileges, the database user account
connecting to both the Instance and Configuration databases requires the following privileges:
l

Data Reader Rights (member of the db_datareader).

l

Data Writer Rights (member of the db_datawriter).

l

Execute permissions on all stored procedures and scalar functions.

l

Select permissions on all views, table-valued functions, and in-line functions.

l

l

l

l

l

Execute permissions on the system stored procedure sp_procedure_params_100_managed of the
master database.
Execute permissions on the user-defined table type content_date_Table_Type of the Platform
Instance database.
Reference permissions on the user-defined table type content_date_Table_Type of the Platform
Instance database.
Execute permissions on the _BulkType user-defined table types of the Platform Instance
database, if provisioned for Offline Access.
Reference permissions on the _BulkType user-defined table types of the Platform Instance
database, if provisioned for Offline Access.

Within the Instance and Configuration databases, the user must have access to objects belonging to
both the dbo and mswf4 schemas.
When installing or upgrading RSA Archer, use an account with a membership to the db_owner.

RSA Archer Supported Environments
The following table indicates the level of support of various RSA Archer server systems, databases,
browsers, and other third-party platform versions. For detailed definitions of each level of support,
see Support Categories.
Environment

Platform

Version

Support Category

Servers

Windows

2016

Qualified

2012 R2

Qualified

2012

Unsupported

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Environment

Platform

Version

Support Category

Database

Microsoft
SQL Server

2016

Qualified

2014

Qualified

2012

Unsupported

10

Qualified

8.5

Qualified

8

Unsupported

Edge 1

Qualified

11

Qualified

52 (ESR)1

Qualified

581

Qualified

55

Unsupported

Chrome 1

N/A

Future 2

Safari1

10 - 11

Qualified

Amazon Web
Services

Windows VM

Qualified

Microsoft Azure

Windows VM

Qualified

Silverlight

5.1

Qualified

iOS1

10 - 11

Qualified

Offline Access

Windows 10

Qualified

Windows 7

Extended Support

4.6.2

Qualified

4.6.1

Qualified

2013

Qualified

2010

Qualified

JRE (64-bit)3

8

Qualified

Virtualization4

VMWare

Qualified

Other

Unsupported

Web Server

Browsers

Microsoft IIS

Microsoft IE

Mozilla Firefox

Cloud

Miscellaneous

.NET Framework

Microsoft Office

1

These browsers do not support RSA Archer Administrator pages that require Silverlight.

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2

Chrome is classified as Future due to the accelerated rate at which Google releases versions.

3

RSA does not certify individual patches of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8 (64-bit).

4

Virtualization is supported on all versions of Windows that are indicated as Qualified or Extended
Support on both physical and virtual hardware. There are no explicit compatibility dependencies on
specific VMWare products or versions for the RSA Archer Platform provided that the underlying
Windows Operating System version is supported.

Support Categories
The following table defines the different categories that indicate the level of support of various
RSA Archer server systems, databases, browsers, and other third-party platform versions.
Category

Description

Qualified

Platform versions listed as Qualified have been extensively tested in
the RSA Archer lab environment. RSA Archer expects the Platform to
operate and perform within normal parameters in these environments
for most users, unless otherwise noted in the RSA Archer Release
Notes.

Extended Support

Platform versions listed as Extended Support are not tested in any way
by RSA before release, but are still considered viable Platforms. Most
of the Platform features have been validated in previous releases on
those these versions and are considered stable, unless otherwise noted
in the RSA Archer Release Notes. The Platform should function
reasonably well, but certain functional areas might not be fully
compatible with newer technologies.
Note: Issues logged against Extended Support environments are
triaged. RSA makes every effort to resolve these issues. If the issue is
a result of legacy technology, customers might need to upgrade their
environment to the newer releases.

Unsupported

Platform versions listed as Unsupported are not tested in any way by
RSA before release. RSA makes no assumptions surrounding the
behavior of the Platform on these versions, and might not provide
support to customers who are still running on legacy systems.
Customers that require support in these situations might be charged for
the service.

Future

Platform versions listed as Future provide insight into RSA plans for
supporting upcoming vendor releases. RSA does not provide actual
Platform release numbers for these releases due to changing vendor
schedules.

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File Repository Path
RSA Archer uses a folder on the file system for storing files. The default location is
C:\ArcherFiles\Repository.
RSA recommends that you define the location of the repository folder in RSA Archer to be a share
that uses a UNC path outside of any web and services servers. Doing so eliminates the possibility of
denial of service attacks and large file creation.
For instructions on setting the repository path, see "Designate the File Repository Path" in the RSA
Archer Online Documentation. For configuration and permission details for the repository folder, see
the RSA Archer Platform Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Restrict Permissions on Repository Files
RSA recommends that you restrict permissions on the repository folder (default location
C:\ArcherFiles\Repository) to read, write, and modify for the account that the IIS processes are
running as and for the account that the Job Engine service is running as.
1. Log on to Windows servers.
2. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Services.
For the Job Engine, the Log On As column identifies the account the service runs as.
3. Change each account as needed.
Note: The Microsoft IIS process account is configured in Microsoft IIS.

Keyword Index Files
RSA Archer uses a folder on the file system for storing keyword index files. The default location is
C:\ArcherFiles\Indexes.
RSA recommends that you do the following:
l

l

Restrict the permissions on the keyword index files folder to read, write, and modify for the
account that the Queuing service is running as.
Define the location of the indexes folder in RSA Archer to be a path set to off of any web server
(avoid using a UNC path if possible to avoid performance impacts). The path can be a local path
if the RSA Archer installation includes a dedicated Services server.

Company Files Path
RSA Archer uses the company_files folder to store company images and icons for the web
application. The location of the folder is set during the initial installation and defaults to
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\RSAArcher\company_files.

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RSA recommends that you define the location of the company_files folder in RSA Archer to use a
UNC path outside of any web servers, which eliminates the possibility of denial of service attacks
and large file creation.
For configuration and permission details for the company_files folder, see the RSA Archer Platform
Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Building Global iViews
iViews are configurable according to the specific iView type.
For example, for a Report iView, you can include one or many reports, determine the selection order
of the reports in the iView and identify the report that is initially displayed to the user. Additionally,
you can allow horizontal scrolling for any of the selected reports to extend the report contents
beyond the width of the iView.
iView types
iView
Type

Description

Canvas

Displays predefined templates with various presentations for content and graphics.

Custom

Displays custom text, HTML, or Flash presentations or to execute custom scripts,
such as JavaScript.
RSA recommends that only trusted Administrators have permission to create and edit
custom iViews.

Embedded Embeds entire web pages directly in an iView.
URL
Global
Search

Displays search criteria options in an iView for the user to search records across
applications.

Links List

Displays links to websites, intranet sites, and frequently used internal application
pages in a single iView.

Report

Displays global reports in a single iView. In addition, you can display charts
generated through a statistics search.

RSS Feed

Displays data from an RSS feed. RSS feeds contain headlines and summary
information from articles on websites supporting RSS.

Video

Embeds video directly in an iView using HTML.

Before you begin

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1. Build a workspace.
2. Build a dashboard.
Build a global iView
1. Go to the Manage Global iViews page.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Workspaces and Dashboards, click Global iViews.
2. Click Add New and do one of the following:
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To create a new iView, select Create a new Global iView from scratch.
a. Select the type of global iView you wish to create.
b. Click OK.

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To create a global iView from an existing iView, click Copy an existing Global iView, and
then select the Global iView you want to copy.

3. Click OK.
4. Complete the setup for your iView.
Build a canvas iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the Canvas Style field, click
Layout Template dialog box.

to select a layout in the Selected

d. Select the layout you want, and click OK.
e. Enter a name in the Title field.
f. Enter the content in the Content field.
g. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build a custom iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the Custom Content field, enter the content.

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d. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build an embedded URL
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the URL filed, enter the URL you wish to embed.
d. (Optional) Select an option from the Refresh Rate list.
e. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build a global search iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the column Display field, chose One Column or Two Columns.
d. (Optional) In the Description field, select Embed the iView description in the iView to
display the description in the iView.
e. (Optional)In the Search Button field click Add to add a search button.
i. In the Files to Upload section, Click Add New.
ii. Select the file you wish to add and click OK.
iii. In the Available Graphics section, Click Add New.
iv. Click OK again.
f. (Optional) In the Applications section. click Add New to define the applications for the
search.
i. From the Application Name list, select the application that you want to associate the
iView to.
ii. Make selections from the Visibility field and Defaulted Behavior field.
g. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build a links list iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.

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c. In the Options section, in the Layout field, select one of the following:
l

l

Simple List: In the Configuration section that appears, do one of the following.
o

Select a link from the Available Links field by double clicking it.

o

Type in your own link and click Add.

Descriptive list: In the Configuration section that appears, do the following:
i. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
ii. Insert a link in one of two ways:
o

Select a link from the Available Links field by double clicking a link.

o

Type in your own link and click Add.

iii. (Optional) In the Primary Graphic field, Add a graphic:
1. Click Add.
2. In the Available Graphics section, Click Add New.
3. In the Files to Upload section, Click Add New.
4. Select the file you wish to add and click OK.
5. Click OK again.
iv. Click OK.
d. In the Options section, in the Column Display field, select One Column or Two Columns.
e. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build a report iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the Reports field, select the report or reports that you want
displayed in the iView from the Available Reports list.
d. To determine the selection order of the reports in the iView, highlight the report title and use
to arrange the reports in the preferred order.
Note: The first report listed is the report that is initially displayed to the user.
e. Select Enable Scrolling for each report that you want to allow horizontal scrolling.
f. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.

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Build an RSS feed iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Options section, in the URL field, select an address from the URL list and enter the
URL address.
d. In the Feed Elements field, select the display options that you want.
e. In the Articles Displayed field, select the number of articles that you want displayed.
f. In the Refresh Rate field, select how often you want the feed refreshed.
g. In the Authentication field, select your authentication preferences.
h. In the Days Displayed field, select the number of days to display the feed.
i. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
Build a video iView
a. In the General Information section, enter the name and a description.
b. In the Folder field, select or create a folder.
c. In the Embedded Video HTML field, enter the embedded HTML or the URL.
Important: For proper formatting guidelines, see Formatting iView Videos.
d. (Optional) In the Documentation section, click Add New to add documentation to your
iView.
5. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

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Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Create a new folder for a Global iView
1. Go to the General Tab of the iView that you want to modify.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Workspaces and Dashboards, click Global iViews.
c. Select the global iView.

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2. In the General Information Section, in the Folder field, click Edit.
3. In the Manage Folders window, click Add New.
4. Enter the name of the folder, and click OK.
5. In the Folder list, ensure the correct folder is selected.
6. Click Save or Apply.
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Click Save to save and exit.

l

Click Apply to apply the changes and continue working.

Update an iView display
1. In the iView title bar, click

and select Edit Properties.

2. In the Options section, edit the iView display as needed, and click OK.
Note: The list of available menu options depends on the type of iView that you are viewing and
the access rights assigned to you by your administrator.
3. (Optional) To resize the iView, click, hold and drag the arrow in the bottom right corner of the
iView, and click Save Changes.
4. (Optional) To move the iView, click and hold the title bar of the iView and drag and drop the
iView to the new location, and click Save Changes.
Delete a global iView
This permanently purges the dashboard from the database. Only administrators can delete global
iViews.
Important: If you delete an iView, it cannot be recovered.
1. Go to the Manage Global iViews page.
a. From the menu bar, click

.

b. Under Workspaces and Dashboards, click Global iViews.
2. In the Actions column of the iView you want to delete, click

.

3. Click OK.

Formatting iView Videos
You can embed videos into an RSA Archer iView from both external or internal sources.

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Embedding From an External Source
If you are embedding a video from an external source, such as YouTube, you must take the embed
code provided by YouTube and add ?wmode=transparent to the end of the URL. For example:
Sample YouTube source embed code:


Add ?wmode=transparent to the end of the URL:

Important: If you do not add ?mode=transparent to the end of the URL, the video displays
improperly.

Embedding From an Internal Source
If you are embedding a video that is being hosted locally, use the 

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