The SCAP v2 Community has created several targeted working groups to approach different sections of the SCAP v2 effort. This working group, titled the Endpoint Data Collection Working Group, is focusing on a few core topics:
- Support for event-driven data collection,
- Characterization of endpoints so data requests are commensurate with devices' capabilities,
- Appropriate standardization of how devices are integrated into a collection process, including device enrollment and support for subscriptions, and
- Characterization and normalization of collected data so it can be stored in a CMDB in a way that makes it usable by other tools.
The group needs to consider is to what degree standardization is beneficial. Given that enterprise networks include a wide variety of devices with differing abilities, over-standardization could preclude some device types from participating in a standardized collection scheme. Similarly, the group recognizes that numerous existing products exist that collect data from endpoints and standards that are at odds with the current practices of most tools are unlikely to see significant adoption. Thus, a significant part of the group's early work will be to identify what aspects of endpoint data collection are candidates for standardization.
Toward that end, initial work will focus on the problem of endpoint data collection at a high level, including identification of relevant actions in the process, overall architectures, and sequence diagrams. This work will provide an indication of the best opportunities to introduce standardization to greatest impact. The work group will consider these opportunities to identify specific work items on which to collaborate.