IT 21 - Information Assurance and Security Module 3

Polytechnic Institute of Tabaco
100 Panal, Tabaco City, Albay
COURSE TITLE : IAS

COURSE CODE : IT 17
COURSE CREDIT : 3 UNITS
PROGRAM : BSIT
YEAR LEVEL/SEM :
PROFESSOR : MARNEIL ALLEN G. SANCHEZ
TOPIC : SECURITY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN (MODULE 3)
I. Introduction
Security Architecture and Design describes fundamental logical hardware, operating

system, and software security components, and how to use those components to
design, architect, and evaluate secure computer systems. Understanding these
fundamental issues is critical for an information security professional.
Security Architecture and Design is a three-part domain. The first part covers
the hardware and software required to have a secure computer system. The second
part covers the logical models required to keep the system secure, and the third part
covers evaluation models that quantify how secure the system really is.
II. Objectives
After reading this chapter and completing the exercises, you will be able to do the
following:
• Secure System Design Concepts

• Secure Hardware Architecture
• Secure Operating System and Software Architecture
• System Vulnerabilities, Threats and Countermeasures
• Security Models
• Evaluation Methods, Certification and Accreditation
III. Content
SECURE SYSTEM DESIGN CONCEPTS

Secure system design transcends specific hardware and software implementations
and represents universal best practices.
Layering
Layering separates hardware and software functionality into modular tiers. The
complexity of an issue such as reading a sector from a disk drive is contained to
one layer (the hardware layer in this case). One layer (such as the application layer)
is not directly affected by a change to another. Changing from an IDE (Integrated
Drive Electronics) disk drive to a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) drive
has no effect on an application which saves a file. Those details are contained
within one layer, and may affect the adjoining layer only.
The OSI model (discussed in Chapter 8, Domain 7: Telecommunications and
Network Security) is an example of network layering. Unlike the OSI model, the
layers of security architecture do not have standard names that are universal across
all architectures. A generic list of security architecture layers is as follows:
1. Hardware
2. Kernel and device drivers
3. Operating System
4. Applications
In our previous IDE ! SCSI drive example, the disk drive in the hardware layer
has changed from IDE to SCSI. The device drivers in the adjacent layer will also
change. Other layers, such as the applications layer, remain unchanged.
Abstraction
Abstraction hides unnecessary details from the user. Complexity is the enemy of
security: the more complex a process is, the less secure it is. That said, computers
are tremendously complex machines. Abstraction provides a way to manage that
complexity.
A user double-clicks on an MP3 file containing music, and the music plays via
the computer speakers. Behind the scenes, tremendously complex actions are taking
place: the operating system opens the MP3 file, looks up the application associated with
it, and sends the bits to a media player. The bits are decoded by a
media player, which converts the information into a digital stream, and sends
the stream to the computer’s sound card. The sound card converts the stream into
sound, sent to the speaker output device. Finally, the speakers play sound.
Millions of calculations are occurring as the sound plays, while low-level devices
are accessed.
Abstraction means the user simply presses play and hears music.
Domain 5: Security architecture and design

Security Domains
A security domain is the list of objects a subject is allowed to access. More broadly
defined, domains are groups of subjects and objects with similar security requirements.
Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret are three security domains used by
the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), for example. With respect to kernels,
two domains are user mode and kernel mode.
Kernel mode (also known as supervisor mode) is where the kernel lives, allowing low-
level access to memory, CPU, disk, etc. It is the most trusted and powerful
part of the system. User mode is where user accounts and their processes live. The
two domains are separated: an error or security lapse in user mode should not
affect the kernel. Most modern operating systems use both modes; some simpler
(such as embedded) and older (such as Microsoft DOS) operating systems run
entirely in kernel mode.
he Ring Model
The ring model is a form of CPU hardware layering that separates and protects
domains (such as kernel mode and user mode) from each other. Many CPUs, such
as the Intel 86 family, have four rings, ranging from ring 0 (kernel) to ring 3
(user), shown in Figure 6.1. The innermost ring is the most trusted, and each
successive outer ring is less trusted.
The rings are (theoretically) used as follows:
• Ring 0: Kernel
• Ring 1: Other OS components that do not fit into Ring 0
• Ring 2: Device drivers
• Ring 3: User applications
Ring 0
Kernel
Ring 1
Ring 2
Ring 3
User
FIGURE 6.1
The Ring model.
Secure system design concepts 167
Processes communicate between the rings via system calls, which allow processes to
communicate with the kernel and provide a window between the rings. A user running a
word processor in ring 3 presses “save”: a system call is made into ring 0, asking the
kernel to save the file. The kernel does so, and reports the file is saved.
System calls are slow (compared to performing work within one ring), but provide
security. The ring model also provides abstraction: the nitty-gritty details of saving
the file are hidden from the user, who simply presses the “save file” button.
While 86 CPUs have four rings and can be used as described above, this
usage is considered theoretical because most 86 operating systems, including
Linux and Windows, use rings 0 and 3 only. Using our “save file” example with
four rings, a call would be made from ring 3 to ring 2, then from ring 2 to ring
1, and finally from ring 1 to ring 0. This is secure, but complex and slow, so most
modern operating systems opt for simplicity and speed.
A new mode called hypervisor mode (and informally called “ring 1”) allows
virtual guests to operate in ring 0, controlled by the hypervisor one ring “below.”
The Intel VT (Intel Virtualization Technology, aka “Vanderpool”) and AMD-V
(AMD Virtualization, aka “Pacifica”) CPUs support a hypervisor.
Open and Closed Systems
An open system uses open hardware and standards, using standard components
from a variety of vendors. An IBM-compatible PC is an open system, using a standard
motherboard, memory, BIOS, CPU, etc. You may build an IBM-compatible
PC by purchasing components from a multitude of vendors. A closed system uses
proprietary hardware or software.
NOTE
“Open System” is not the same as “Open Source.” An open system uses standard
hardware
and software. Open Source software makes source code publicly available.
SECURE HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE
Secure Hardware Architecture focuses on the physical computer hardware required
to have a secure system. The hardware must provide confidentiality, integrity, and
availability for processes, data, and users.
The System Unit and Motherboard
The system unit is the computer’s case: it contains all of the internal electronic
computer components, including motherboard, internal disk drives, power supply,
etc. The motherboard contains hardware including the CPU, memory slots, firmware,
and peripheral slots such as PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots.
The keyboard unit is the external keyboard.
168 CHAPTER 6 Domain 5: Security architecture and design
The Computer Bus
A computer bus, shown in Figure 6.2, is the primary communication channel on
a computer system. Communication between the CPU, memory, and input/output
devices such as keyboard, mouse, display, etc., occur via the bus.
IV. Activities
V. References
Schou,C Hernandez, S: Information Assurance Handbook, Mc Graw Hill 2015

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Polytechnic Institute of Tabaco

100 Panal, Tabaco City, Albay

COURSE TITLE : IAS

Security Architecture and Design describes fundamental logical hardware, operating

• Secure System Design Concepts

SECURE SYSTEM DESIGN CONCEPTS

Domain 5: Security architecture and design

Schou,C Hernandez, S: Information Assurance Handbook, Mc Graw Hill 2015

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