Security Basics and Course

Overview
Introduction and overview
 What is computer/network security? Why is it
important?
 Course philosophy and goals
 Course organization and information
 High-level overview of topics

 A broad perspective on “computer security”

“Security”
 Most of computer science is concerned with
achieving desired behavior
 Security is concerned with preventing undesired
behavior
– Different way of thinking!
– An enemy/opponent/hacker/adversary who is actively
and maliciously trying to circumvent any protective
measures you put in place
One illustration of the difference
 Software testing determines whether a given
program implements a desired functionality
– Test I/O characteristics
– Q/A
 How do you test whether a program does not
allow for undesired functionality?
– Penetration testing helps, but only up to a point
Security is interdisciplinary
 Draws on all areas of CS
– Theory (especially cryptography)
– Networking
– Operating systems
– Databases
– AI/learning theory
– Computer architecture/hardware
– Programming languages/compilers
– HCI, psychology
Fortunately, we are winning the
security battle

 Strong cryptography
 Firewalls, intrusion detection, virus scanners
 Buffer overflow detection/prevention
 User education
Really??!
Security incidents (reported)
Philosophy of this course
 We are not going to be able to cover everything
– We are not going to be able to even mention everything
 Main
Yougoals
will not be a security expert after this class
– A sampling
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why it
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– The security dangerous to think you are)
“mindset”
– Become familiar with basic acronyms (RSA, SSL, PGP,
etc.), and “buzzwords” (phishing, …)
You should have a better appreciation of security
– Become an educated security
issues after this consumer
class
– Try to keep it interesting with real-world examples and
“hacking” projects
Course Organization
Administrative
 Me
 TA
 Contact information, office hours, listed on course
webpage
Course webpage
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~jkatz/security/f09
 Syllabus
– Subject to change…
– Slides will be posted for convenience, but they are not
a substitute for attending lecture
– Assigned readings
 Homeworks distributed from the course webpage
 Check frequently for announcements
Course blog
http://cmsc414.wordpress.com
 I will post after each lecture
– Students can post questions/comments about the lecture
– Today: post a “hello” message, and answer the
question: “What do you hope to get from the course?”
 I will post for each homework
– Students can post questions
 I will post links to interesting news articles,
papers, etc.
Textbook
 Recommended text:
– “Network Security…” by Kaufman, Perlman, and
Speciner (most recent edition)
Class participation and readings
 Research papers and news articles will be posted
on the course webpage
– Read these before class and come prepared to discuss
 Material from these readings is fair game for the
exams, even if not covered in class

 Several readings already assigned

Syllabus (tentative)
Module I
 Introduction…
– Is security achievable…?
– A broad perspective on security
 Cryptography
– The basics (take CMSC 456 or read my book for more)
• If you took 456 with me, you can skip
– Cryptography is not the whole solution…
– …but it is an important part of the solution
– Along the way, we will see why cryptography can’t
solve all security problems
Module II
 System security
– General principles
– Security policies
– Access control
– OS security
– “Trusted computing”
 Programming language security
– Buffer overflows, input validation errors
– Viruses/worms
Module III
 Network security
– Identity, PKI
– Authentication and key exchange protocols
– Password and biometric authentication
– Anonymity and pseudonymity
– Privacy
– Some real-world protocols (IPSec/SSL)
– Attacks on network infrastructure (routing, DNS,
DDos)
– Wireless security
Module IV
 Miscellaneous
– Database security
– Web security
– Other topics (spam, …)
A High-Level Introduction
to Computer Security
A naïve view
 Computer security is about CIA:
– Confidentiality, integrity, and availability

 These are important, but security is about much

more…
A naïve view

password
In reality…
 Where does security end?

password

forgot password?
One good attack
 Use public records to figure out someone’s
password
– Or, e.g., their SSN, so can answer security question…
 The problem is not (necessarily) that SSNs are
public
 The problem is that we “overload” SSNs, and use
them for more than they were intended

 Note: “the system” here is not just the computer,

nor is it just the network…
A naïve view
 Achieve “absolute” security
In reality…
 Absolute security is easy to achieve!
– How…?

 Absolute security is impossible to achieve!

– Why…?

 Good security is about risk management

Security as a trade-off
 The goal is not (usually) “to make the system as
secure as possible”…
 …but instead, “to make the system as secure as
possible within certain constraints” (cost,
usability, convenience)
 Must understand the existing constraints
– E.g., passwords…
Cost-benefit analysis
 Important to evaluate what level of security is
necessary/appropriate
– Cost of mounting a particular attack vs. value of attack
to an adversary
– Cost of damages from an attack vs. cost of defending
against the attack
– Likelihood of a particular attack

 Sometimes the best security is to make sure you

are not the easiest target for an attacker…
“More” security not always better
 “No point in putting a higher post in the ground
when the enemy can go around it”
 Need to identify the weakest link
– Security of a system is only as good as the security at
its weakest point…
 Security is not a “magic bullet”
 Security is a process, not a product
Computer security is not just about
security
 Detection, response, audit
– How do you know when you are being attacked?
– How quickly can you stop the attack?
– Can you identify the attacker(s)?
– Can you prevent the attack from recurring?
 Recovery
– Can be much more important than prevention
 Economics, insurance, risk management…
 Offensive techniques
 Security is a process, not a product…
Computer security is not just about
computers
 What is “the system”?
 Physical security
 Social engineering
– Bribes for passwords
– Phishing
 “External” means of getting information
– Legal records
– Trash cans
 Security is a process, not a product…(!)
Security mindset
 Learn to think with a “security mindset” in general
– What is “the system”?
– How could this system be attacked?
• What is the weakest point of attack?
– How could this system be defended?
• What threats am I trying to address?
• How effective will a given countermeasure be?
• What is the trade-off between security, cost, and usability?
An example: airline security
 Ask: what is the cost (economic and otherwise) of
current airline security?
 Ask: do existing rules (e.g., banning liquids) make
sense?
 Ask: are the tradeoffs worth it?
– (Why do we not apply the same rules to train travel?)
– (Would spending money elsewhere be more effective?)
 Ask: how would you get on a plane if you were on
the no-fly list?
– (I will not give you the answer – you can find it online)
– This is a thought experiment only!
Summary
 “The system” is not just a computer or a network
 Prevention is not the only goal
– Cost-benefit analysis
– Detection, response, recovery

 Nevertheless…in this course, we will focus on

computer security, and primarily on prevention
– If you want to be a security expert, you need to keep the
rest in mind
Why is computer security so hard?
 Computer networks are “systems of systems”
– Your system may be secure, but then the surrounding environment
changes
 Too many things dependent on a small number of systems
 Society is unwilling to trade off features for security
 Ease of attacks
– Cheap
– Distributed, automated
– Anonymous
– Insider threats
 Security not built in from the beginning
 Humans in the loop…
 Computers ubiquitous…
Computers are everywhere…
 …and can always be attacked
 Electronic banking, social networks, e-voting
 iPods, iPhones, PDAs, RFID transponders
 Automobiles
 Appliances, TVs
 (Implantable) medical devices
 Cameras, picture frames(!)
– See http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11499
 “Trusting trust”
(or: how hard is security?)
“Trusting trust”
 Consider a compiler that embeds a trapdoor into
anything it compiles
 How to catch?
– Read source code? (What if replaced?)
– Re-compile compiler?
 What if the compiler embeds the trojan code
whenever it compiles a compiler?
– (That’s nasty…)
“Trusting trust”
 Whom do you trust?
 Does one really need to be this paranoid??
– Probably not
– Sometimes, yes
 Shows that security is complex…and essentially
impossible
 Comes back to risk/benefit trade-off