Introduction to computer Security: 5 hr

•Basic components of security (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability).

•Security threats (Snooping, Modification, Masquerading, repudiation of

origin, denial of receipt, Delay, Denial of service).

•Issues with security (Operational issues, human issues),

•Security Policies, Type of security policy.

•Access control, Type of access control (Introduction to MAC, DAC,

Originator Controlled Access Control, Role Based Access Control)

•Overview of the Bell-LaPadula Model and Biba integrity model.

 Computer Security
• Computer security is the protection of computer systems (hardware,
software , information ) from theft and damage as well as from
disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.

• It prevent unauthorized users from accessing computer system and

ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.

Basic component of security:

– Confidentiality
– Integrity
– Availability
CIA Triad
CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) are the building blocks of information
security.
Confidentiality ( Is systems protected from outside,
unauthorized access?)

Confidentiality means something that is secret and not supposed to be

disclosed to the unintended people. As well as What information to collect,
who should collect and store the information and to whom the information
may be disclosed.

Confidentiality can be leak through.

Packet Sniffing,
social engineering,
wiretapping (key logger),
phishing etc.
Example of confidential information
Bank account statement
Health Report
Any personal Information

Way to ensure confidentiality.

Username and Password
Implementation of act (Like GDPR act)
Biometric Verification
Two-factor Authentication, encryption
Integrity: Is my data corrupted, tampered with or impacted by
outside threat actors?

• It Assures that information and programs are changed only in a specified

and authorized manner and performs its intended function in appropriate
manner, free from unauthorized manipulation.

• For example if sender send message “Hi” receiver should also receive only
“Hi”. (Any addition, subtraction or modification of data should not occur)

• Attack that affect integrity:

– Session Hijacking
– Salami Attack
– Man in middle Attack
– Data diddling attack
Availability: Are my systems and data readily accessible for
everyday use and approved operations?

Assures that systems work normally and service is not denied to authorized
users. Ensuring timely and reliable access to intended users.

A disaster recovery plan must be implemented to make data available in any

unpredictable event.

Extra security equipment (firewall, proxy), distributed database should be

maintain.

Attack that affect availabity:

DOS attack and DDOS attack
Physical attack on server.
SYN flood attack.
Security Threats
Security Threat is defined as a risk that which can potentially harm computer
systems and organization. The cause could be physical and non-physical such
as someone stealing a computer that contains vital data or attack on software
or information.

Some Security Threats are:

• Snooping.
• Modification.
• Masquerading or spoofing.
• Repudiation of origin.
• Denial of receipt.
• Delay
• Denial of service.
Snooping:
• It is the unauthorized interception of information and disclosure.
• Passively listening(or reading) to communications or browsing through
files or system information.
• e.g. passive wiretapping-a form of snooping in which a network is
monitored.

Modification or alteration:
• Unauthorized change of information.
• E.g. Man-in-the-middle attack in which intruder reads messages from
sender and sends modified data to the receiver without knowing the
changes.
Spoofing:
• One entity pretends to be a different entity.
• If a user tries to read a file, but an attacker has arranged for the user to be
given a different file.

Repudiation of origin.
• A false denial that an entity sent or created something.
• A customer sends a letter to a vendor agreeing to pay a large amount of
money for a product. The vendor ships the product and then demands
payment. The customer denies having ordered the product.

Denial of receipt.
• A false denial that an entity received some information or message.

.
Delay
• Usually delivery of a message or service requires some time. If an attacker
can force the delivery to take more time.
• This involves manipulation of system control structures, such as network
components or server components which is a form of attack.

Denial of service
• The attacker prevents a server from providing a service.

• The denial may occur at the source (by preventing the server from
obtaining the resources), at the destination (by blocking the
communications from the server) or along the intermediate path (by
discarding messages from either the client or the server, or both).
Issues with security (Operational issues, Human issues)

• The requirements for providing security (confidentiality, authentication,

integrity) are quite complex, and understanding them involves complex
reasoning.

• In developing a particular security mechanism or algorithm, potential

attacks should be considered. But unexpected attacks may occur.

• The security mechanisms should be updated regularly to adapt to the

changes.

• To implement computer security mechanism in any organization along

with the technical skills we should be aware of soft skills (where and how)
to implement those skills.

• Security implementation is regular process which start along with system

design and continue after it’s completion too.
Operational Issue

• Any security policy and mechanism must balance the benefits and risk
minimization by the mechanism against the cost of designing,
implementing and using the mechanism.

Cost-Benefit Analysis:
• Balance between benefits of the protection and the cost of designing,
implementing and using the mechanism.
• If the data or resources cost less than their protection, adding security
mechanisms or procedures is not cost effective.
– For example : number of student in JMC college.

Risk analysis:
• Priority should be given to the tasks that have higher importance.
• Potential threats and possible effects of attack should be analyzed.
• Risk of any system changes with time.
Human Issue
• Implementing any computer security is complex. Regardless of the
strength of the technical controls, if nontechnical considerations affect
their implementation and use, the effect on security can be severe.

• If security is used incorrectly, even the best security control is useless.

Human issue can be sub categorized into:

Organization Problems:
• Many organization (management) hesitate to invest on security due to
little benefits until a security failure occurs. Furthermore, security
controls often add complexity to simple operations and decrease
productivity. For example, it is easy to login any system without using of
credentials.

• Losses might occur after implementation of security measures, there will

be always comparison between loss caused due to security attack and
financial loss due to added security mechanisms.
People Problem:
People are the heart of any security system. Regardless of the strength of the
technical controls, if people do not operate it in proper way all the strength
will be useless.

For example: If an authorized user tells another person his secret code, the
unauthorized user can masquerade as the authorized user with significantly
less likelihood of detection.

Lack of technical and soft skills (ethics and manner) in employee will leads to
measure security breach in future.
Security Policies:
A security policy is a written document in an organization outlining how to protect
the organization from threats, including computer security threats, and how to
handle situations when they do occur.

Types of Security Policies:

Military Security Policy or Governmental Security Policy
• Developed primarily to provide confidentiality. It is one of the primary
concerns in governmental agencies.

Commercial Security Policy

• It is a type of security policy developed primarily to provide integrity.
• If the confidentiality of a bank’s computer is compromised, a customer’s
account balance may be revealed.
• But, if the integrity of the computer holding the accounts is compromised,
the balances in the customers’ accounts could be altered, which has
vulnerable effects.
Confidentiality policy:
• A confidentiality policy is a security policy dealing only with
confidentiality.
• It is as Military policy, However, a confidentiality policy does not deal with
integrity at all whereas a military policy may.

Integrity Policy:
• An integrity policy is a security policy dealing only with integrity.
• Commercial policy may deal with confidentiality also but integrity policy
does not
Access Control
• Access control is a security technique that can be used to regulate the use
of a particular resources by a particular entity.
• Access control is a way of limiting access to a system or to physical or
virtual resources.

• Type of access control

– Discretionary Access Control (DAC)
– Mandatory Access Control (MAC)
– Originator Controlled Access Control
– Role based Access Control
Discretionary Access Control
• It is access control in which the owner of a resource grants permission on
that resource to another person or group of person.

• DACs are discretionary because the subject (owner) can transfer

authenticated objects or information access to other users.

• A typical example of DAC is Unix file mode, where when owner create a
file, owner decide what access privileges you want to give to other users.
Mandatory Access Control (MAC) or Rule Based Access Control
• Operating system provides users with access based on data confidentiality
and user clearance levels. In this model, access is granted on a need to
know basis: users have to prove a need for information before gaining
access.

• Access rules are manually defined by system administrators and strictly

enforced by the operating system or security kernel.

• When a person or device tries

to access a specific resource,
the OS checks the entity's
credentials to determine
whether access will be granted.
For example admin, editor,
viewer type user.
Originator Controlled Access Control (ORCON)

• This security access control is the combination of MAC and DAC.

• Information is controlled by originator or creator of information not
owner.
• Sometimes creator may be owner too. In that case, it is similar to
discretionary access control.
• Control the dissemination of Objects through several entities, in a
decentralized manner.
• Prevent re-dissemination from authorized subjects to unauthorized
entities or subjects
– Creator must always give permission
• Authorized subjects must be able to write to the object, but Not to change
Original Permissions
Role Based Access Control

• Role-based access control is a method of regulating access to computer or

network resources based on the roles of individual users within an
enterprise.
• In this context, access is the ability of an individual user to perform a
specific task, such as view, create, or modify a file.

• Roles are defined according to job competency, authority, and

responsibility within the enterprise.

• In RBAC, roles can be easily created, changed, or discontinued as the

needs of the enterprise evolve.
Bell-LaPadula Model (Focus on confidentiality and develop
for DOD : Department of Defense)
• It focuses on data confidentiality and controlled access to
classified information. While it has low focus on integrity
and availability.

• This model is the combination of Mandatory Access Control

and Discretionary Access Control.

• The bell-lapadula model stands on the basis of 3 properties.

– Simple Security Property: No Read up

– Simple * (star security) property: No Write down
– Strong * property : Same Level
Simple Security Property: No Read up
• This is a property which says an associate cannot read any documents
prepared by his/her higher officials. The documents are highly confidential
or may be strategic and cannot be disclosed to lower level officials.

No write-down (* property)
• A user is not allowed write (alter) access to object with lower security
level than the current security level of subject.

Strong * property : Same Level

• User is allowed to write and read to objects with only a matching security
level.

Tranquility Principle:
• This principle states that the classification of a subject or object does not
change while it is being referenced.
Limitations:
• Addresses confidentiality but limits integrity.
• Tranquility principle limits the applicability of the model where
security levels do not change dynamically.
• The overall process may take more time due to the transitions
between the states.
Biba Inetgrity Model

It is invented by Kenneth J. Biba, who created the model in the

late 1970s to supplement the Bell–LaPadula security model.

It focus mainly on integrity rather than confidentiality.

• Biba Integrity Model is a computer security policy that
describes a set of access control rules designed to ensure data
integrity.
• Data and subjects are grouped into ordered levels of integrity.
• The levels of integrity are Untrusted, Slightly trusted, Trusted,
Highly trusted and Unimpeachable.
• The model is designed so that subjects may not (Write Up)
corrupt data in a level ranked higher than the subject, or be
(Read down) data from a lower level than the subject.
The Biba model defines a set of security rules, the first two of which
are similar to the Bell–LaPadula model but reverse in nature.

• The Simple Integrity Property states that a subject at a given level of

integrity must not read data at a lower integrity level (read up).

• The * (star) Integrity Property states that a subject at a given level

of integrity must not write to data at a higher level of integrity
(write down)

Strong * property : Same Level

• User is allowed to write and read to objects with only a matching security
level.
Assignment
1. Define Masquerading.
2. How originator Controlled Access Control differs from Discretionary Access Control?

3. Classify each of the following a violation of confidentiality, of integrity, of availability

or of some combination there of.

4. Ram Copies Hari’s answer sheet.

– Sita crashes Rawan’s system
– Puru changes the amount of Ram’s check from 10,000 to Rs 100,000.
– XYZ resgisters the domain name tu.edu.np and refuse to let the TU buy or use that
domain name.
– Henry spoofs Julie IP address to gain access of her computer.

5. What do you mean by message digest.

6. Explain the impact of various security threats on the component of security with
examples. Differentiate between Bell-LaPadula Model and Biba Integrity model.