Chapter 1

Overview

Computer Security Overview

The NIST Computer Security Handbook defines the term Computer Security as:
The protection afforded to an automated information system in order to attain the applicable objectives of preserving the integrity, availability and confidentiality of information system resources (includes hardware, software, firmware, information/data, and telecommunications).

The CIA Triad

Confidentiality
- data confidentiality - privacy

Integrity
- data integrity - system integrity

Availability

Key Security Concepts

Confidentiality
preserving authorized restrictions on information access and disclosure, including means for protecting personal privacy and proprietary information

Integrity
guarding against improper information modification or destruction, including ensuring information nonrepudiation and authenticity

Availability
ensuring timely and reliable access to and use of information

Computer Security Challenges

computer security is not as attackers only need to find a

simple as it might first appear to the novice potential attacks on the security features must be considered procedures used to provide particular services are often counterintuitive physical and logical placement needs to be determined additional algorithms or protocols may be involved

single weakness, the developer needs to find all weaknesses users and system managers tend to not see the benefits of security until a failure occurs security requires regular and constant monitoring is often an afterthought to be incorporated into a system after the design is complete thought of as an impediment to efficient and user-friendly operation

Table 1.1
Computer Security Terminology
RFC 2828, Internet Security Glossary, May 2000

Figure 1.2 Security Concepts and Relationships

Vulnerabilities, Threats and Attacks

categories of vulnerabilities
corrupted (loss of integrity)
leaky (loss of confidentiality) unavailable or very slow (loss of availability)

threats
capable of exploiting vulnerabilities represent potential security harm to an asset

attacks (threats carried out)

passive does not affect system resources
active attempt to alter system resources or affect their operation insider initiated by an entity inside the security parameter outsider initiated from outside the perimeter

Countermeasures
means used to deal with security attacks may introduce new vulnerabilities residual vulnerabilities may remain
prevent detect recover

goal is to minimize residual level of risk to the assets

Table 1.2
Threat Consequences

Figure 1.3 Scope of Computer Security

Table 1.3 Computer and Network Assets Examples of Threats

Table 1.3 Computer and Network Assets, with Examples of Threats.

Passive and Active Attacks

Passive attacks attempt to learn or make use of information from the system but does not affect system resources eavesdropping/monitoring transmissions difficult to detect emphasis is on prevention rather than detection two types:
release of message contents traffic analysis

Active attacks involve modification of the data stream goal is to detect them and then recover four categories:

masquerade replay modification of messages denial of service

S e c t u y r i

R e q u i r

e m e n t s

Security Functional Requirements

functional areas that primarily require computer security technical measures include: access control; identification & authentication; system & communication protection; and system & information integrity functional areas that primarily require management controls and procedures include: awareness & training; audit & accountability; certification, accreditation, & security assessments; contingency planning; maintenance; physical & environmental protection; planning; personnel security; risk assessment; and systems & services acquisition functional areas that overlap computer security technical measures and management controls include: configuration management; incident response; and media protection

Security Architecture For Open Systems

ITU-T Recommendation X.800, Security Architecture for

OSI
systematic way of defining the requirements for security and

characterizing the approaches to satisfying them was developed as an international standard focuses on:
security attacks action that compromises the security of

information owned by an organization security mechanism designed to detect, prevent, or recover from a security attack security service intended to counter security attacks

Security Services
X.800
defines a security service

RFC 2828
defines a security service

as a service that is provided by a protocol layer of communicating open systems and ensures adequate security of the systems or of data transfers

as a processing or communication service that is provided by a system to give a specific kind of protection to system resources; security services implement security policies and are implemented by security mechanisms

Table 1.5 Security Services

Source: From X.800, Security Architecture for OSI

Authentication Service

Data Origin Authentication provides for the corroboration of the source of a data unit does not provide protection against the duplication or modification of data units this type of service supports applications like email where there are no prior interactions between the communicating entities
Peer Entity Authentication provides for the corroboration of the identity of a peer entity in an association provided for use at the establishment of, or at times during the data transfer phase of, a connection attempts to provide confidence that an entity is not performing either a masquerade or an unauthorized replay of a previous connection

concerned with assuring that a

communication is from the source that it claims to be from

must assure that the connection

is not interfered with by a third party masquerading as one of the two legitimate parties

Access Control Service

Nonrepudiation Service

the ability to limit and control the

prevents either sender or

access to host systems and applications via communications links

each entity trying to gain access

receiver from denying a transmitted message

receiver can prove that the

must first be identified, or authenticated, so that access rights can be tailored to the individual

alleged sender in fact sent the message

the sender can prove that

the alleged receiver in fact received the message

 protects the traffic flow from

Data Confidentiality Service

analysis
this requires that an attacker not be

able to observe the source and destination, frequency, length, or other characteristics of the traffic on a communications facility

connectionless confidentiality protection of all user data in a single data block the protection of transmitted selective-field confidentiality confidentiality of selected fields within the user data on a connection or a single data block traffic-flow confidentiality protection of the information that might be derived from observation of traffic flows

data from passive attacks

the broadest service protects all

user data transmitted between two users over a period of time

connection confidentiality the protection of all user data on a connection

 a connection-oriented integrity

Data Integrity Service

service assures that messages are received as sent, with no duplication, insertion modification, reordering, or replays
destruction of data is also

covered under this service addresses both message stream modification and denial of service can apply to a stream of

messages, a single message, or selected fields within a message

a connectionless integrity

need to make a distinction

between the service with and without recovery

concerned with detection

service generally provides protection against message modification only

rather than prevention the incorporation of automated recovery mechanisms is the more attractive alternative

 a variety of attacks can result in

the loss of or reduction in availability

Availability Service

some of these attacks are

amenable to authentication and encryption some attacks require a physical action to prevent or recover from loss of availability

X.800 treats availability as a

a service that protects a

system to ensure its availability

defined as the property of a

property to be associated with various security services

addresses the security

system or a system resource being accessible and usable upon demand by an authorized system entity, according to performance specifications of the system

concerns raised by denial-ofservice attacks

depends on proper

management and control of system resources

Table 1.6

X.800 Security Mechanisms

Figure 1.4 Security Trends

Figure 1.5 Security Technologies Used

Computer Security Strategy

specification/policy

implementation/mechanisms

correctness/assurance

what is the security scheme supposed to do?

how does it do it?

does it really work?

Security Policy
formal statement of rules and practices that specify or

regulate how a system or organization provides security services to protect sensitive and critical system resources
factors to consider:
value of the assets being

trade-offs to consider:
ease of use versus security cost of security versus cost of

protected vulnerabilities of the system potential threats and the likelihood of attacks

failure and recovery

Security Implementation
prevention detection response response
secure encryption intrusion detection algorithms systems prevent detection of denial unauthorized of service access to attacks encryption keys upon detection, uponable to halt being detection, being able to an attack and halt an attack and prevent further prevent damage further damage

detection recovery

involves four complementary courses of action:

prevention involves four secure encryption complementary algorithms courses of prevent action: unauthorized
access to encryption keys

intrusion detection use of backup systems systems detection of denial of service attacks

Assurance and Evaluation

assurance the degree of confidence one has that the security measures work as intended to protect the system and the information it processes encompasses both system design and system implementation
evaluation process of examining a computer product or system with respect to certain criteria involves testing and formal analytic or mathematical techniques

Summary
security concepts CIA triad confidentiality preserving the disclosure of information integrity guarding against modification or destruction of information availability ensuring timely and reliable access to information terminology table 1.1 threats exploits vulnerabilities attack a threat carried out countermeasure means to deal with a security attack assets hardware, software, data, communication lines, networks
security architecture

security services enhances the security of systems and information transfers, table 1.5 security mechanisms mechanisms designed to detect, prevent, or recover from a security attack, table 1.6 security attack any action that compromises the security of information owned by an organization

security trends figure 1.4 security strategy policy, implementation, assurance and evaluation functional requirements

table 1.4