Security Configuration Research Articles

Dynamic security reconfiguration for the semantic web

There is a plethora of security standards for protecting network services, specified by numerous standards consortia. These standards support different security requirements and use various syntaxes to represent the security information for different software infrastructures and applications. Open systems often require a more sophisticated security analysis and configuration to safeguard distributed services. A security framework constituting both semantic and meta-reasoning models is investigated in order to reason about the security requirements and security operation of interacting entities within open service environments. Security requirements are defined using security profiles that describe the interlinking of security policies to instances of services. Meta-reasoning refers to the reflection at a conceptual level at which the domain knowledge (ontology) is separated from the control knowledge (profiles): systems can manage and reconfigure themselves without affecting their underlying implementation. Such reasoning is particularly useful within open service infrastructures as it enables us to detect, analyse and resolve multiple-policy conflicts, to decide if a change in the environment necessitates a security reconfiguration, and to decide if a suitable level of security interoperability between heterogeneous systems is achievable. This paper describes a meta-reasoning model for semantic open service environments, an application and an evaluation of the framework and its performance.

The Overall Situation in the South China Sea in the New Millennium: Before and After the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

This contribution reviews the overall situation in the South China Sea (SCS) between 2000 and June 2002. A number of important new developments and policy events have occurred during this period, including: the expansion of India's military presence from the Indian Ocean into the SCS; the efforts taken by Japan to promote cooperation in the SCS to deal with maritime security issues; the increase of military exercises conducted by both the claimants and nonclaimants in the SCS; the improvement of diplomatic relationships among the claimants, in particular, between China and the member states of ASEAN; the election of George W. Bush as U.S. President; the EP-3 incident and the September 11 terrorist attacks. These developments and events have the potential to affect peace and stability in the SCS. The changing security configuration of the SCS and possible responses of the claimants to the new strategic framework after the September 11 terrorist attacks, as well as their implications for managing potential conflicts in the SCS, are discussed.­

Distributed security services in Microsoft Windows 2000 (Windows NT 5.0: Protecting data in the enterprise

Abstract Windows 2000 provides a number of security features that make the protection of data within the Enterprise a simpler task: • ⊎ The Security Configuration Manager — provides a single, easy to use graphical interface for configuring and analyzing system security policy. • ⊎ Encrypting File System — implements a further layer of services on top of NTFS, providing public key encryption of files and directories. EFS provides a useful tool for protecting data on workstations and servers. This article discusses the Windows 2000 (Windows NT 5.0) Distributed Security Services. Microsoft recently delivered Beta 2 of Windows 2000.

Miro: visual specification of security

Miro is a set of languages and tools that support the visual specification of file system security. Two visual languages are presented: the instance language, which allows specification of file system access, and the constraint language, which allows specification of security policies. Miro visual languages and tools are used to specify security configurations. A visual language is one whose entities are graphical, such as boxes and arrows, specifying means stating independently of any implementation the desired properties of a system. Security means file system protection: ensuring that files are protected from unauthorized access and granting privileges to some users, but not others. Tools implemented and examples of how these languages can be applied to real security specification problems are described.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Risk Analysis of Terrorist Attacks

A quantitative probabilistic/systems analysis model is described which is useful for allocating resources to safeguard valuable documents or materials in either a fixed‐site facility or a moving convoy against an overt terrorist attack. The model is also useful for ranking the sensitive areas at a site according to their survivability of a given hypothesized terrorist attempt. To compare various defense strategies and security configurations, the probability of a successful terrorist activity is computed based on event tree models of the site/security configuration. This calculation incorporates a realistic engagement model (in the event a guard force engages the terrorists prior to completion of their objective) and information on barrier penetration times (for example, distribution of the time to defeat a chain link fence or vault door, traverse an open area, and so forth). Two security analyses are described to illustrate the methodology. One example considers a terrorist attack on a convoy transporting a missile from a storage to a launch facility. The second example involves an attack on a munitions storage facility.

A Systematic Methodology for Analyzing Security Threats to Interprocess Communication in a Distributed System

It is observed that a direct mapping exists between a distributed system's physical configuration and the security threats that can be mounted against interprocess communication in that system. A systematic methodology is presented which implements that mapping for a large class of distributed systems. The methodology includes a model of threats to interprocess communication as well as a model of distributed system security configurations. This methodology is useful in situations where certain major characteristics of the distributed system physical configuration will remain stable over a long time.

System maintenance, problems, and enhancements

The procedures required for software and hardware maintenance of a pharmacy computer system, and methods of dealing with operational and administrative problems of such systems, are described. Maintenance of software and hardware purchased from a vendor is usually provided by the vendor under contract. Repair maintenance is required for programs that do not run, produce incorrect results, or run too slowly. Update and revision maintenance is required when user requirements exceed the limits and design of the original program. Typical problems encountered with computer systems include slow computer response time, performance of maintenance personnel, turnover in user personnel, legal liabilities and restrictions, reliability of hardware and software, downtime, security, and changing configuration of equipment. Successful management of predictable and unpredictable problems with computer systems is accomplished through systematic review of the potential problem area and prospective planning.