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CS 621 - Trusted Systems

Course Outline

©1998 Charles Abzug

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1. Perspectives on the Role of Technical and System Flaws in the INFOSEC Vulnerabilities Spectrum
2. What is a "Trusted System"?
   1. A system that someone trusts
   2. A system built to meet a set of rigorously defined criteria
3. Technical System Vulnerabilities 
4. Trust Issues in System Design
   1. Processor/System States
   2. The Security Kernel: isolation of security functionality
   3. The Reference Monitor
   4. Structure and Function of every line of code
   5. Integrity of the Compiler
   6. Layering vs. Hierarchical design of the Operating System
5. The Multilevel Security Problem: Subject-to-Object Access Control
   1. Objects
   2. The Object Reuse problem
   3. Subjects
   4. Function and Ubiquity of the Reference Monitor
   5. Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
   6. The Military Model
   7. The Bell-:LaPadula Model
   8. Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
   9. Lattice Model
   10. The Biba Integrity Model
   11. The Take-Grant Model
   12. Role-based Access Control
   13. The Chinese Wall Model
   14. Other models
6. Prologue to Database Security: "Database 101"
   1. What is a database?
   2. Relational Database Concepts
   3. Query and Update: reading from and writing to the database
   4. Normalization: reduction of redundancy
   5. The Join Operation: the price paid for normalization
   6. Actual Data and Meta-Data
7.  Issues in Database Security
   1. The Inference Problem
   2. Micro-Objects and their Granularity
   3. Multi-Level Security in s Micro-Object Environment 
8. Techniques to Provide Database Security
   1. Statistical Rules for Sub-Query Responses to Confound Inference
   2. Encryption
   3. Partitioning
   4. Integrity Lock
   5. Trusted Front-End
   6. Polyinstantiation and its problems
9. The Covert Channel Problem
   1. Storage channels
   2. Timing Channels
10. Miscellaneous Security Issues
    1. Inter-Process Isolation
    2. Domain and Type Enforcement
    3. Trusted Path
11.  Assurance and Formal Specification
    1. Code Correspondence Proofs
    2. Mathematical Verification
    3. Validation
    4. Compiler Integrity
12.  Trusted Systems Standards
    1. The NCSC’s Rainbow Series
    2. ITSEC and CTCPEC
    3. The Common Criteria
13. Application of Standards
    1. Evaluation
    2. Certification
    3. Accreditation
14. The Wiley Hacker
15. Evaluating, Enhancing, and Maintaining the Security Configuration of a System
    1. Checking the System Configuration
    2. Enhancing the Security of the System
    3. Continual Monitoring of Security Effectiveness
       
16. Prolog to Network Security: Data Networks 101
    1. Protocol Basics
    2. The ISO-OSI "Seven-Layer" Communications Model
    3. Targets for Attack in the ISO-OSI Model
17.  Issues in Security in a Networked Environment
    1. Communications Security: cryptography and cryptographic protocols (VERY brief overview only)
    2. Authentication of the User in a distributed environment
    3. Transfer of information between Trusted Systems of different accreditation range
    4. Security in the Internet Environment
    5. Firewalls
    6. Sample Network Attacks
    7. Network Security Tools: Practical Security Surveying and Monitoring
18.  The challenge of Distributed Systems
    1. Available Services: use or ignore
19.  Coming Back Down to Earth:
    1. "Trusting a System" vs. a "Trusted System"
    2. Product Availability , Product Performance, and Price
20.  Hands-On Experience in the Administration of Systems for Trustworthiness
21.  Summary and Conclusions