1.

Introduction to Computer Security

Prof. Bharat Bhargava

Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University
August 2006

In collaboration with:
Prof. Leszek T. Lilien, Western Michigan University

Slides based on Security in Computing. Third Edition by Pfleeger and Pfleeger.

© by Bharat Bhargava, 2006

Requests to use original slides for non-profit purposes will be gladly granted upon a written request.
 Introduction to Security
Outline
1. Examples – Security in Practice
2. What is „Security?”
3. Pillars of Security:
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
(CIA)
4. Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Controls
5. Attackers
6. How to React to an Exploit?
7. Methods of Defense
8. Principles of Computer Security
2
 2. What is a “Secure” Computer System?
 To decide whether a computer system is “secure”, you must
first decide what “secure” means to you, then identify the
threats you care about.

You Will Never Own a Perfectly Secure System!

 Threats - examples
 Viruses, trojan horses, etc.
 Denial of Service
 Stolen Customer Data
 Modified Databases
 Identity Theft and other threats to personal privacy
 Equipment Theft
 Espionage in cyberspace
 Hack-tivism
 Cyberterrorism
 …
3
 3. Basic Components of Security:
Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (CIA)
 CIA
 Confidentiality: Who is authorized to use data? C I
 Integrity: Is data „good?” S
 Availability: Can access data whenever need it?
A

S = Secure
 CIA or CIAAAN… 
(other security components added to CIA)
 Authentication
 Authorization
 Non-repudiation
 …

4
 Need to Balance

CIA
Example 1: C vs. I+A
 Disconnect computer from Internet to increase confidentiality
 Availability suffers, integrity suffers due to lost updates

 Example 2: I vs. C+A

 Have extensive data checks by different people/systems to
increase integrity
 Confidentiality suffers as more people see data, availability
suffers due to locks on data under verification)

5
 Confidentiality
 “Need to know” basis for data access
 How do we know who needs what data?
Approach: access control specifies who can access
what
 How do we know a user is the person she claims to be?
Need her identity and need to verify this identity
Approach: identification and authentication
 “Need to access/use” basis for physical assets
 E.g., access to a computer room, use of a desktop
 Confidentiality is:
 difficult to ensure
 easiest to assess in terms of success (binary in nature:
6
Yes / No)
 Integrity
 Integrity vs. Confidentiality
 Concerned with unauthorized modification of assets (=
resources)
Confidentiality - concered with access to assets
 Integrity is more difficult to measure than confidentiality
Not binary – degrees of integrity
Context-dependent - means different things in different
contexts
Could mean any subset of these asset properties:
{ precision / accuracy / currency / consistency /
meaningfulness / usefulness / ...}
 Types of integrity—an example
 Quote from a politician
 Preserve the quote (data integrity) but misattribute (origin
integrity)
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 Availability (1)
 Not understood very well yet
„[F]ull implementation of availability is security’s next
challenge”
E.g. Full implemenation of availability for Internet users
(with ensuring security)

 Complex
Context-dependent
Could mean any subset of these asset (data or service)
properties :
{ usefulness / sufficient capacity /
progressing at a proper pace /
completed in an acceptable period of time / ...}
[Pfleeger & Pfleeger]
8
 Availability (2)

 We can say that an asset (resource) is

available if:
 Timely request response
 Fair allocation of resources (no starvation!)
 Fault tolerant (no total breakdown)
 Easy to use in the intended way
 Provides controlled concurrency (concurrency
control, deadlock control, ...)
[Pfleeger &
Pfleeger]
9
 4. Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Controls
 Understanding Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Controls
 Vulnerability = a weakness in a security system
 Threat = circumstances that have a potential to cause harm
 Controls = means and ways to block a threat, which tries to
exploit one or more vulnerabilities
 Most of the class discusses various controls and their effectiveness
[Pfleeger & Pfleeger]
 Example - New Orleans disaster (Hurricane Katrina)
 Q: What were city vulnerabilities, threats, and controls?
 A: Vulnerabilities: location below water level, geographical location in
hurricane area, …
Threats: hurricane, dam damage, terrorist attack, …
Controls: dams and other civil infrastructures, emergency
response
plan, …
10
  Attack (materialization of a vulnerability/threat combination)
 = exploitation of one or more vulnerabilities by a threat; tries to defeat
controls
 Attack may be:

 Successful (a.k.a. an exploit)

 resulting in a breach of security, a system penetration, etc.

 Unsuccessful
 when controls block a threat trying to exploit a vulnerability
[Pfleeger & Pfleeger]

11
 Threat Spectrum
 Local threats
 Recreational hackers
 Institutional hackers
 Shared threats
 Organized crime
 Industrial espionage
 Terrorism
 National security threats
 National intelligence
 Info warriors

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 Kinds of Threats
 Kinds of threats:
 Interception
 an unauthorized party (human or not) gains access to

an asset
 Interruption
 an asset becomes lost, unavailable, or unusable

 Modification
 an unauthorized party changes the state of an asset

 Fabrication
 an unauthorized party counterfeits an asset

[Pfleeger & Pfleeger]

 Examples?

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 Levels of Vulnerabilities / Threats

(reversed order to illustrate interdependencies)

 D) for other assets (resources)

 including. people using data, s/w, h/w
 C) for data
 „on top” of s/w, since used by s/w
 B) for software
 „on top” of h/w, since run on h/w
 A) for hardware
[Pfleeger & Pfleeger]

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 A) Hardware Level of Vulnerabilities /
Threats
 Add / remove a h/w device
 Ex: Snooping, wiretapping
Snoop = to look around a place secretly in order to discover things
about it or the people connected with it. [Cambridge Dictionary of
American English]
 Ex: Modification, alteration of a system
 ...
 Physical attacks on h/w => need physical security: locks and
guards
 Accidental (dropped PC box) or voluntary (bombing a
computer room)
 Theft / destruction
 Damage the machine (spilled coffe, mice, real bugs)

 Steal the machine

 „Machinicide:” Axe / hammer the machine

 ...
15
 Example of Snooping:
Wardriving / Warwalking, Warchalking,
 Wardriving/warwalking -- driving/walking
around with a wireless-enabled notebook looking
for unsecured wireless LANs

 Warchalking -- using chalk markings to show the

presence and vulnerabilities of wireless networks
nearby
 E.g., a circled "W” -- indicates a WLAN

protected by Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

encryption

[Barbara Edicott-Popovsky and Deborah Frincke, CSSE592/492, U. Washington]

16
 B) Software Level of Vulnerabilities /
Threats
 Software Deletion
 Easy to delete needed software by mistake
 To prevent this: use configuration management
software
 Software Modification
 Trojan Horses, , Viruses, Logic Bombs,
Trapdoors, Information Leaks (via covert
channels), ...
 Software Theft
 Unauthorized copying
 via P2P, etc.
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 Types of Malicious Code
Rootkit - A specialized form of malware that is more advanced than a virus. Rootkits are
particularly dangerous because they are designed to hide their presence on your device.
Logic bomb - Malicious [program] logic that activates when specified conditions are met.
Usually intended to cause a denial of service or otherwise damage system resources.
Trapdoor - A hidden computer flaw known to an intruder, or a hidden computer mechanism
(usually software) installed by an intruder, who can activate the trap door to gain access to the
computer without being blocked by security services or mechanisms.
Trojan horse - A computer program that appears to have a useful function, but also has a
hidden and potentially malicious function that evades security mechanisms, sometimes by
exploiting legitimate authorizations of a system entity that invokes the program.
Virus - A hidden, self-replicating section of computer software, usually malicious logic, that
propagates by infecting (i.e., inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of) another
program. A virus cannot run by itself; it requires that its host program be run to make the virus
active.
Worm - A computer program that can run independently, can propagate a complete working
version of itself onto other hosts on a network and may consume computer resources
destructively.
More types of malicious code exist… [cf. http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2828.txt]

18
 C) Data Level of Vulnerabilities / Threats

 How valuable is your data?

 Credit card info vs. your home phone number
 Source code
 Visible data vs. context
 „2345” -> Phone extension or a part of SSN?

 Adequate protection
 Cryptography
 Good if intractable for a long time

 Threat of Identity Theft

 Cf. Federal Trade Commission: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ \

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 Types of Attacks on Data CIA

 Disclosure
 Attack on data confidentiality
 Unauthorized modification / deception
 E.g., providing wrong data (attack on data integrity)
 Disruption
 DoS (attack on data availability)
 Usurpation
 Unauthorized use of services (attack on data confidentiality, integrity
or availability)

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 Ways of Attacking Data CIA
 Examples of Attacks on Data Confidentiality
 Tapping / snooping
 Examples of Attacks on Data Integrity
 Modification: salami attack -> little bits add up
 E.g/ „shave off” the fractions of cents after interest calculations
 Fabrication: replay data -> send the same thing again
 E.g., a computer criminal replays a salary deposit to his account
 Examples of Attacks on Data Availability
 Delay vs. „full” DoS
 Examples of Repudiation Attacks on Data:
 Data origin repudiation: „I never sent it”

Repudiation = refusal to acknowledge or pay a debt or honor a contract

(especially by public authorities).
[http://www.onelook.com]

 Data receipt repudiation: „I never got it”

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D) Vulnerab./Threats at Other Exposure
Points
 Network vulnerabilities / threats
 Networks multiply vulnerabilties and threats, due to:
 their complexity => easier to make design/implem./usage

mistakes
 „bringing close” physically distant attackers

 Esp. wireless (sub)networks

 Access vulnerabilities / threats
 Stealing cycles, bandwidth
 Malicious physical access
 Denial of access to legitimate users
 People vulnerabilities / threats
 Crucial weak points in security
 too often, the weakest links in a security chain

 Honest insiders subjected to skillful social engineering

 Disgruntled employees
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 5. Attackers
 Attackers need MOM
 Method
Skill, knowledge, tools, etc. with which to pull off an attack
 Opportunity
Time and access to accomplish an attack
 Motive
Reason to perform an attack

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 Types of Attackers
 Types of Attackers - Classification 1
 Amateurs
 Opportunistic attackers (use a password they found)
 Script kiddies
 Hackers - nonmalicious
 In broad use beyond security community: also malicious
 Crackers – malicious
 Career criminals
 State-supported spies and information warriors

 Types of Attackers - Classification 2 (cf. before)

 Recreational hackers / Institutional hackers
 Organized criminals / Industrial spies / Terrorists
 National intelligence gatherers / Info warriors

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 New Internet
Attacks
High Packet Forging & Spoofing

Stealth Diagnotics

DDOS Sophistication of
Hacker Tools
Sweepers Sniffers

Hijacking Sessions

Back Doors

Self-Replicating Code Technical Knowledge

Required
Password Cracking

Password Guessing

Time
[Barbara Edicott-Popovsky and Deborah Frincke, CSSE592/492, U. Washington]
25
 6. Reacting to an Exploit

Exploit = successful attack

 Report to the vendor first?

 Report it to the public?

 What will be public relations effects if you do/do not?

 Include source code / not include source code?

 Etc.

26
 “To Report or Not To Report:”
Tension between Personal Privacy
and Public Responsibility
An info tech company will typically lose between
ten and one hundred times more money from
shaken consumer confidence than the hack attack
itself represents if they decide to prosecute the
case.

Mike Rasch, VP Global Security, testimony before the

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, February 2000
reported in The Register and online testimony transcript

[Barbara Edicott-Popovsky and Deborah Frincke, CSSE592/492, U. Washington]

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7. Methods of Defense
 Five basic approaches to defense of
computing systems
 Prevent attack
 Block attack / Close vulnerability

 Deter attack
 Make attack harder (can’t make it impossible )
 Deflect attack
 Make another target more attractive than this

target
 Detect attack
 During or after

 Recover from attack

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 A) Controls
 Castle in Middle Ages  Computers Today
 Location with natural  Encryption
obstacles  Software controls
 Surrounding moat  Hardware controls
 Drawbridge  Policies and procedures
 Heavy walls 
Physical controls
 Arrow slits

 Crenellations

 Strong gate
 Tower

 Guards / passwords

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 A.1) Controls: Encryption
 Primary controls!

 Cleartext scambled into ciphertext (enciphered text)

 Protects CIA:
 confidentiality – by „masking” data
 integrity – by preventing data updates
 e.g., checksums included
 availability – by using encryption-based protocols
 e.g., protocols ensure availablity of resources for
different users

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 A.2) Controls: Software Controls
 Secondary controls – second only to encryption
 Software/program controls include:
 OS and network controls
 E.g. OS: sandbox / virtual machine

 Logs/firewalls, OS/net virus scans, recorders

 independent control programs (whole programs)

 E.g. password checker, virus scanner, IDS (intrusion detection

system)
 internal program controls (part of a program)
 E.g. read/write controls in DBMSs

 development controls
 E.g. quality standards followed by developers

 incl. testing

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  Considerations for Software Controls:
 Impact on user’s interface and workflow
 E.g. Asking for a password too often?

32
 A.3) Controls: Hardware Controls

 Hardware devices to provide higher degree of security

 Locks and cables (for notebooks)
 Smart cards, dongles, hadware keys, ...
 ...

33
 A.4) Controls: Policies and Procedures

 Policy vs. Procedure

 Policy: What is/what is not allowed
 Procedure: How you enforce policy
 Advantages of policy/procedure controls:
 Can replace hardware/software controls
 Can be least expensive
 Be careful to consider all costs
 E.g. help desk costs often ignored for for passwords (=> look cheap
but migh be expensive)

34
  Policy - must consider:
 Alignment with users’ legal and ethical standards
 Probability of use (e.g. due to inconvenience)
Inconvenient: 200 character password,
change password every week
(Can be) good: biometrics replacing passwords
 Periodic reviews
 As people and systems, as well as their goals, change

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 A.5) Controls: Physical Controls

 Walls, locks
 Guards, security cameras
 Backup copies and archives
 Cables an locks (e.g., for notebooks)
 Natural and man-made disaster protection
 Fire, flood, and earthquake protection
 Accident and terrorism protection
 ...

36
 B) Effectiveness of Controls
 Awareness of problem
 People convined of the need for these controls

 Likelihood of use
 Too complex/intrusive security tools are often disabled

 Overlapping controls
 >1 control for a given vulnerability
 To provide layered defense – the next layer compensates for a

failure of the previous layer

 Periodic reviews
 A given control usually becomess less effective with time
 Need to replace ineffective/inefficient controls with better ones

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 8. Principles of Computer Security
[Pfleeger and Pfleeger]

 Principle of Easiest Penetration (p.5)

An intruder must be expected to use any available
means of penetration.
The penetration may not necessarily be by the most obvious
means, nor is it necessarily the one against which the most
solid defense has been installed.

 Principle of Adequate Protection (p.16)

Computer items must be protected to a degree
consistent with their value and only until they lose
their value. [modified by LL]

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  Principle of Effectiveness (p.26)
Controls must be used—and used properly—to be
effective.
They must be efficient, easy to use, and appropriate.

 Principle of Weakest Link (p.27)

Security can be no stronger than its weakest link.
Whether it is the power supply that powers the firewall or
the operating system under the security application or the
human, who plans, implements, and administers controls, a
failure of any control can lead to a security failure.
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End of Section 1:
Introduction