04 Ad8602 Dis Unit 4
04 Ad8602 Dis Unit 4
04 Ad8602 Dis Unit 4
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AD8602- DATA AND
INFORMATION
SECURITY
DEPT: AI-DS
BATCH / YEAR: 2020-24 / III
CREATED BY: Ms. MARY SELVAN
Table of Contents
2. Course Objectives 6
6. CO-PO/PSO Mapping 14
16
Lecture Plan (S.No., Topic, No. of Periods, Proposed date, Actual
7.
Lecture Date, pertaining CO, Taxonomy level, Mode of Delivery)
• To understand and evaluate the need for the different security aspects in real
time applications
K6 Evaluation
K5 Synthesis
K4 Analysis
K3 Application
K2 Comprehension
K1 Knowledge
CO – PO/PSO Mapping
CO – PO /PSO Mapping Matrix
CO1 3 3 3 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 2 1
CO2 3 3 3 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 2 1
CO3 3 2 3 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 2 1
CO4 3 2 3 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 2 1
CO5 3 2 3 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 2 1
Firewall Characteristics
• All traffic from inside to outside, and vice versa, must pass through the firewall.
• Only authorized traffic, as defined by the local security policy, will be allowed to pass.
• The firewall itself is immune to penetration.
Limitations of Firewall
• The firewall cannot protect against attacks that bypass the firewall.
• The firewall does not protect against internal threats, such as a disgruntled employee
or an employee who unwittingly cooperates with an external attacker.
• The firewall cannot protect against the transfer of virus-infected programs or files.
Types of Firewalls
1. packet filters
2. application-level gateways
3. circuit-level gateways
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Packet-Filtering Router
A packet-filtering router applies a set of rules to each incoming and outgoing IP packet
and then forwards or discards the packet. Filtering rules are based on information
contained in a network packet like Source IP address , Destination IP address , Source
and destination transport-level address , IP protocol field and Interface.
The packet filter is typically set up as a list of rules based on matches to fields in the IP
or TCP header. If there is a match to one of the rules, that rule is invoked to determine
whether to forward or discard the packet. If there is no match to any rule, then a default
action is taken.
IP address spoofing
The intruder transmits packets from the outside with a source IP address field containing
an address of an internal host (spoofed address). The countermeasure is to discard
packets with an inside source address if the packet arrives on an external interface.
The source station specifies the route that a packet should take as it crosses the
Internet, in the hopes that this will bypass security measures that do not analyze the
source routing information. The countermeasure is to discard all packets that use this
option.
The intruder uses the IP fragmentation option to create extremely small fragments and
force the TCP header information into a separate packet fragment. Typically, a packet
filter will make a filtering decision on the first fragment of a packet. All subsequent
fragments of that packet are filtered out solely on the basis that they are part of the
packet whose first fragment was rejected.
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Circuit-Level Gateway
A third type of firewall is the circuit-level gateway. A circuit-level gateway does not permit
an end-to-end TCP connection; instead, the gateway sets up two TCP connections,
Once the two connections are established, the gateway typically relays TCP segments
from one connection to the other without examining the contents. A typical use of circuit-
level gateways is a situation in which the system administrator trusts the internal users.
The gateway can be configured to support application-level or proxy service on inbound
connections and circuit-level functions for outbound connections. The gateway incurs the
processing overhead of examining incoming application data for forbidden functions but
does not incur that overhead on outgoing data.
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Bastion Host
A bastion host is a system identified by the firewall administrator as a critical strong point
in the network's security. Typically, the bastion host serves as a platform for an
application-level or circuit level gateway.
Common characteristics
• The bastion host hardware platform executes a secure version of its operating system,
making it a trusted system.
• Only the services like Telnet, DNS, FTP, SMTP, and user authentication that the
network administrator considers essential are installed on the bastion host.
• The bastion host may require additional authentication before a user is allowed access
to the proxy services.
• Each proxy is configured to allow access only to specific host systems. This means that
the limited command/feature set may be applied only to a subset of systems on the
protected network.
• Each proxy maintains detailed audit information by logging all traffic, each connection,
and the duration of each connection. The audit log is an essential tool for discovering
and terminating intruder attacks.
• Each proxy module is a very small software package specifically designed for network
security. Because of its relative simplicity, it is easier to check such modules for security
flaws. For example, a typical UNIX mail application may contain over 20,000 lines of
code, while a mail proxy may contain fewer than 1000.
• Each proxy is independent of other proxies on the bastion host. If there is a problem
with the operation of any proxy, or if a future vulnerability is discovered, it can be
uninstalled without affecting the operation of the other proxy applications. Also, if the
user population requires support for a new service, the network administrator can
easily install the required proxy on the bastion host.
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• A proxy generally performs no disk access other than to read its initial configuration
file. Hence, the portions of the file system containing executable code can be made
read only. This makes it difficult for an intruder to install Trojan horse sniffers or other
dangerous files on the bastion host.
• Each proxy runs as a nonprivileged user in a private and secured directory on the
bastion host.
Firewall Location and Configurations
A firewall is positioned to provide a protective barrier between an external (potentially
untrusted) source of traffic and an internal network. With that general principle in mind, a
security administrator must decide on the location and on the number of firewalls needed
In addition to the use of simple configuration of a single system (single packet filtering
router or single gateway), more complex configurations are possible
There are three configurations like
1. screened host firewall, single-homed bastion configuration:
• Firewall consists of two systems:
A packet-filtering router
A bastion host
• Configuration for the packet-filtering router:
Only packets from and to the bastion host are allowed to pass through the router
• The bastion host performs authentication and proxy functions
• Greater security than single configurations because of two reasons:
This configuration implements both packet-level and application-level filtering
(allowing for flexibility in defining security policy)
An intruder must generally penetrate two separate systems
• This configuration also affords flexibility in providing direct Internet access (public
information server, e.g. Web server)
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2. screened host firewall, dual-homed bastion configuration:
Traffic between the Internet and other hosts on the private network has to flow
through the bastion host
Advantages:
• The outside router advertises only the existence of the screened subnet to the Internet
(internal network is invisible to the Internet)
• The inside router advertises only the existence of the screened subnet to the internal
network (the systems on the inside network cannot construct direct routes to the
Internet)
Most types of threats to computer systems are created by programs that are executed
with vulnerabilities.
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Malicious Programs
i. those that need a host program. Viruses, logic bombs, and backdoors are examples.
ii. those that are independent. Worms and zombie programs are examples.
i. software threats that do not replicate and programs or fragments of programs that
are activated by a trigger. Examples are logic bombs, backdoors, and zombie
programs.
ii. a program fragment or an independent program that, when executed, may produce
one or more copies of itself to be activated later on the same system or some other
system. Viruses and worms are examples.
Backdoor
A backdoor, also known as a trapdoor, allows users to gain access without passing
through the usual security access procedures. It can also be said as a secret entry point
into a program. Mainly this has been used by the programmers legitimately to debug and
to test the programs developed. This become as threat when unscrupulous programmers
use to gain unauthorized access. It is difficult to implement OS controls for backdoor.
Logic Bomb
One of the oldest types of program threat, predating viruses and worms, is the logic
bomb. Code is embedded in legitimate program which explodes when certain conditions
are met. Embedded code is termed as logic bomb. Triggers can be presence or absence
of certain files, a particular day of the week or date, or a particular user running the
application. Once any of the condition (trigger) specified is satisfied, a bomb may alter or
delete data or entire files, cause a machine halt, or do some other damage.
Trojan Horses
A Trojan horse is a useful, program which contains hidden code that, when invoked,
performs some unwanted or harmful function. Trojan horse programs can be used to
perform functions indirectly that an unauthorized user could not perform directly.
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For example, to gain access to the files of another user on a shared system, a user
could create a Trojan horse program that, when executed, changed the invoking user's
file permissions so that the files are readable by any user. An example of a Trojan horse
program that would be difficult to detect is a compiler that has been modified to insert
additional code into certain programs as they are compiled, such as a system login
program. The code creates a backdoor in the login program that permits the author to
log on to the system using a special password. This Trojan horse can never be
discovered by reading the source code of the login program. Another common motivation
for the Trojan horse is data destruction. The program appears to be performing a useful
function (e.g., a calculator program), but it may also be quietly deleting the user's files.
Zombie
A zombie is a program that secretly takes over another Internet-attached computer and
then uses that computer to launch attacks that are difficult to trace to the zombie's
creator. Zombies are used in denial of-service attacks, typically against targeted Web
sites. The zombie is planted on hundreds of computers belonging to unsuspecting third
parties, and then used to overwhelm the target Web site by launching an overwhelming
onslaught of Internet traffic.
The Nature of Viruses
A piece of software infects other program by modifying the program is termed as virus.
Modification is that a copy of the virus program is attached with legitimate program
which affects the system or other programs. A computer virus carries in its instructional
code the recipe for making perfect copies of itself. A virus can do anything that other
programs do. The typical virus becomes embedded in a program on a computer. Then,
whenever the infected computer comes into contact with an uninfected piece of
software, a fresh copy of the virus passes into the new program. The only difference is
that it attaches itself to another program and executes secretly when the host program is
run. Once a virus is executing, it can perform any function, such as erasing files and
programs. Thus, the infection can be spread from computer to computer by unsuspecting
users who send programs to one another over a network. In a network environment, the
ability to access applications and system services on other computers provides a perfect
culture for the spread of a virus.
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A typical virus goes through the following four phases:
Dormant phase
In this phase, virus is idle. It will be activated by some event like date or presence of a
file etc., Not all viruses have this stage.
Propagation phase
In this phase the virus places an identical copy of itself into other programs. Each
infected program will contain a copy of the virus (clone), which will itself enter a
propagation phase.
Triggering phase: The virus is activated to perform the function for which it was
intended. As with the dormant phase, the triggering phase can be caused by a variety of
system events, including a count of the number of times that this copy of the virus has
made copies of itself.
Execution phase: The function is performed. The function may be harmless, such as a
message on the screen, or damaging, such as the destruction of programs and data files.
Virus Structure
2. The second line is a special marker that is used by the virus to determine whether or
not a potential victim program has already been infected with this virus.
3. When the program is invoked, control is immediately transferred to the main virus
program.
4. The virus program may first seek out uninfected executable files and infect them.
5. Next, the virus may perform some action, usually detrimental to the system.
6. This action could be performed every time the program is invoked, or it could be a
logic bomb that triggers only under certain conditions.
7. Finally, the virus transfers control to the original program. If the infection phase of the
program is reasonably rapid, a user is unlikely to notice any difference between the
execution of an infected and an uninfected program.
A virus is easily detected because an infected version of a program is longer than the
corresponding uninfected one. A way to thwart such a simple means of detecting a virus
is to compress the executable file so that both the infected and uninfected versions are
of identical length.
Types of Viruses
Parasitic virus
The traditional and still most common form of virus. A parasitic virus attaches itself to
executable files and replicates, when the infected program is executed, by finding other
executable files to infect.
Memory-resident virus
Lodges in main memory as part of a resident system program. From that point on, the
virus infects every program that executes.
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Boot sector virus
Infects a master boot record or boot record and spreads when a system is booted from
the disk containing the virus.
Stealth virus
A form of virus explicitly designed to hide itself from detection by antivirus software.
Polymorphic virus
A virus that mutates with every infection, making detection by the "signature" of the
virus impossible.
Metamorphic virus
As with a polymorphic virus, a metamorphic virus mutates with every infection. The
difference is that a metamorphic virus rewrites itself completely at each iteration,
increasing the difficulty of detection. Metamorphic viruses may change their behavior as
well as their appearance.
Macro Viruses
A macro virus is platform independent. Macro viruses are easily spread. Virtually all of
the macro viruses infect Microsoft Word documents. Macro viruses infect documents, not
executable portions of code. Most of the information introduced onto a computer system
is in the form of a document rather than a program. Macro viruses take advantage of a
feature found in Word and other office applications such as Microsoft Excel, namely the
macro.
E-mail Virus
A more recent development in malicious software is the e-mail virus. The first rapidly
spreading e-mail viruses, such as Melissa, made use of a Microsoft Word macro
embedded in an attachment. If the recipient opens the e-mail attachment, the Word
macro is activated. Then the e-mail virus sends itself to everyone on the mailing list in
the user's e-mail package. The virus does local damage. A new virus which can be
activated merely by opening an e-mail that contains the virus rather than opening an
attachment. The virus uses the Visual Basic scripting language supported by the e-mail
package.
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Worm
A worm is a program that can replicate itself and send copies from computer to computer
across network connections. Upon arrival, the worm may be activated to replicate and
propagate again. In addition to propagation, the worm usually performs some unwanted
function. A worm actively seeks out more machines to infect and each machine that is
infected serves as an automated launching pad for attacks on other machines.
Virus Countermeasures
Antivirus Approaches
The ideal solution to the threat of viruses is prevention. Otherwise these steps can be
done
Detection
Once the infection has occurred, determine that it has occurred and locate the virus.
Identification
Once detection has been achieved, identify the specific virus that has infected a program.
Removal
Once the specific virus has been identified, remove all traces of the virus from the
infected program and restore it to its original state. Remove the virus from all infected
systems so that the disease cannot spread further.
RANSOMEWARE:
Ransomware is a form of malware that locks the user out of their files or their device,
then demands a payment to restore access. Ransomware attackers hit businesses,
organizations, and individuals alike.
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KEYLOGGER:
Keyloggers, or keystroke loggers, are tools that record what a person types on a device.
While there are legitimate and legal uses for keyloggers, many uses for keyloggers are
malicious. In a keylogger attack, the keylogger software records every keystroke on the
victim's device and sends it to the attacker.
GREYWARE:
Grayware, unwanted applications or files that are not classified as malware, but can
worsen the performance of computers and cause security risks.
INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM:
• It is defined as the tools, methods, and resources to help identify, assess, and report
unauthorized or unapproved network activity.
• An IDS detects activity in traffic that may or may not be an intrusion.
• IDSes can detect and deal with insider attacks, as well as, external attacks, and are
often very useful in detecting violations of corporate security policy and other internal
threats.
Host Based Intrusion Detection
• Are usually installed on servers and are more focused on analyzing the specific
operating systems and applications, resource utilization and other system activity
residing on the Host-based IDS host.
• It will log any activities it discovers to a secure database and check to see whether the
events match any malicious event record listed in the knowledge base.
• Host-based IDS are often critical in detecting internal attacks directed towards an
organization’s servers such as DNS, Mail, and Web Servers.
Network Based Intrusion Detection
• Are dedicated network devices distributed within networks that monitor and inspect
network traffic flowing through the device.
• Instead of analyzing information that originates and resides on a host, Network-based
IDS uses packet sniffing techniques to pull data from TCP/IP packets or other protocols
that are traveling along the network.
• Most Network-based IDS log their activities and report or alarm on questionable events.
• Network-based IDS work best when located on the DMZ, on any subnets containing
mission critical servers and just inside the firewall.
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• Host Based • Network Based
• Narrow in scope (watches only • Broad in scope (watches all network
specific host activities) activities)
• More complex setup • Easier setup
• Better for detecting attacks from the • Better for detecting attacks from the
inside outside
• More expensive to implement • Less expensive to implement
• Detection is based on what any single • Detection is based on what can be
host can record recorded on the entire network
• Does not see packet headers • Examines packet headers
• Usually only responds after a • Near real-time response
suspicious log entry has been made
• OS-independent
• OS-specific
• Detects network attacks as payload is
• Detects local attacks before they hit analyzed
the network
• Detects unsuccessful attack attempts
• Verifies success or failure of attacks
Are systems that combine both Host-based IDS, which monitors events occurring on the
host system and Network-based IDS, which monitors network traffic, functionality on the
same security platform.
A Hybrid IDS, can monitor system and application events and verify a file system’s
integrity like a Host-based IDS, but only serves to analyze network traffic destined for the
device itself.
Denial of service is a form of attack on the availability of some service. In the context of
computer and communications security, the focus is generally on network services that
are attacked over their network connection. We distinguish this form of attack on
availability from other attacks, such as the classic acts of god, that cause damage or
destruction of IT infrastructure and consequent loss of service.
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NIST SP 800-61 (Computer Security Incident Handling Guide , August 2012) defines denial-
of-service (DoS) attack as follows:
A denial of service (DoS) is an action that prevents or impairs the authorized use of
networks, systems, or applications by exhausting resources such as central processing
units (CPU), memory, bandwidth, and disk space.
Attacker uses a
Large collections of
flaw in operating
such systems
system or in a
Use of multiple under the control
common
systems to of one attacker’s
application to gain
generate attacks control can be
access and installs
created, forming a
their program on it
botnet
(zombie)
While the attacker could command each zombie individually, more generally a
control hierarchy is used. A small number of systems act as handlers controlling a much
larger number of agent systems, as shown in Figure 7.4 . There are a number of
advantages to this arrangement. The attacker can send a single command to a handler,
which then automatically forwards it to all the agents under its control. Automated
infection tools can also be used to scan for and compromise suitable zombie systems. Once
the agent software is uploaded to a newly compromised system, it can contact one or more
handlers to automatically notify them of its availability. By this means, the attacker can
automatically grow suitable botnets.
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One of the earliest and best-known DDoS tools is Tribe Flood Network (TFN),
written by the hacker known as Mixter. The original variant from the 1990s exploited Sun
Solaris systems. It was later rewritten as Tribe Flood Network 2000 (TFN2K) and could
run on UNIX, Solaris, and Windows NT systems. TFN and TFN2K use a version of the two-
layer command hierarchy shown in Figure 7.4. The agent was a Trojan program that was
copied to and run on compromised, zombie systems. It was capable of implementing
ICMP flood, SYN flood, UDP flood, and ICMP amplification forms of DoS attacks. TFN did
not spoof source addresses in the attack packets. Rather it relied on a large number of
compromised systems, and the layered command structure, to obscure the path back to
the attacker.
Communications between the handler and its agents was encrypted and could be
intermixed with a number of decoy packets. This hindered attempts to monitor and
analyze the control traffic. Both these communications and the attacks themselves could
be sent via randomized TCP, UDP, and ICMP packets. This tool demonstrates the typical
capabilities of a DDoS attack system.
Many other DDoS tools have been developed since. Instead of using dedicated
handler programs, many now use an IRC or similar instant messaging server program, or
web-based HTTP servers, to manage communications with the agents.
Establish a session
• Agree on algorithms
• Share secrets
• Perform authentication
Transfer application data
Ensure privacy and integrity
Architecture:
• Record Protocol to transfer application and TLS information
• A session is established using a Handshake Protocol
Handshake
Negotiate Cipher-Suite Algorithms
Symmetric cipher to use
Key exchange method
Message digest function
Establish and share master secret
Optionally authenticate server and/or client
Handshake phases:
• Hello messages
• Certificate and Key Exchange messages
• Change CipherSpec and Finished messages
SSL Messages
SSL session
o an association between client & server
o created by the Handshake Protocol
o define a set of cryptographic parameters
o may be shared by multiple SSL connections
SSL connection
o a transient, peer-to-peer, communications link
o associated with 1 SSL session
During the TLS handshake, the user's device and the web server:
• Specify which version of TLS (TLS 1.0, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) they will use
• Decide on which cipher suites (see below) they will use
• Authenticate the identity of the server using the server's TLS certificate
• Generate session keys for encrypting messages between them after the handshake is
complete
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The TLS handshake establishes a cipher suite for each communication session.
The cipher suite is a set of algorithms that specifies details such as which shared
encryption keys, or session keys, will be used for that particular session. TLS is able to set
the matching session keys over an unencrypted channel thanks to a technology known as
public key cryptography.
The handshake also handles authentication, which usually consists of the server
proving its identity to the client. This is done using public keys. Public keys are encryption
keys that use one-way encryption, meaning that anyone with the public key can
unscramble the data encrypted with the server's private key to ensure its authenticity, but
only the original sender can encrypt data with the private key. The server's public key is
part of its TLS certificate.
IPsec provides the capability to secure communication across a LAN, across private and
public WANs and across the internet. Example of its use includes the following.
Secure branch office connectivity over the Internet: A company can build a secure
virtual private network over the Internet or over a public WAN. This enables a business to
rely heavily on the Internet and reduce its need for private networks, saving costs and
network management overhead.
Secure remote access over the Internet: An end user whose system is equipped with
IP security protocols can make a local call to an Internet service provider (ISP) and gain
secure access to a company network. This reduces the cost of toll charges for traveling
employees and telecommuters.
Establishing extranet and intranet connectivity with partners: IPSec can be used
to secure communication with other organizations, ensuring authentication and
confidentiality and providing a key exchange mechanism.
Enhancing electronic commerce security: Even though some Web and electronic
commerce applications have built-in security protocols, the use of IPSec enhances that
secure.
Benefits of IPsec
• When IPsec is implemented in a firewall or router, it provides strong security that can be
applied to all traffic crossing the perimeter.
• IPsec in a firewall is resistant to bypass if all traffic from the outside must use IP.
• IPsec is below the transport layer and so it is transparent to applications.
• IPsec can be transparent to the end users.
• It can provide security for individual users if needed. IPsec can play a vital role in the
routing architecture required for internetworking. IPsec can assure that
• A router advertisement comes from an authorized router.
• A neighbor advertisement comes from an authorized router.
• A redirect message comes from the router to which the initial packet was sent.
• A routing update is not forged.
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IP security architecture
Encapsulating Security Payload: Covers the packet format and issues related to
encryption
Domain of Interpretation (DOI): contains values that are needed for other documents
to relate to each other.
IPsec services
IPsec provides security services at the IP layer by enabling a system to select required
security protocols, determine the algorithms to use for the services and put in place any
cryptographic keys required to provide the requested services. Two protocols are used to
provide security:
The services are as follows: access control, connectionless integrity, data origin
authentication, rejection of replayed packets, confidentiality and limited traffic flow
confidentiality.
Security associations
A key concept that appears in both the AH and ESP mechanisms for IP is the security
association (SA). An association is a one-way relationship between a sender and a receiver
that afford security services to the traffic carried on it.
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A security association is uniquely identified by 3 parameters:
Security Parameter Index (SPI) – a bit string assigned to this SA and has local
significance only.
IP destination address – this is the address of the destination end point of the SA,
which may be an end user system or a network system such as a firewall or router.
SA parameters
Sequence number counter – a 32-bit value used to generate the sequence number
field in AH or ESP headers.
The below figure shows the format of an ESP packet. It contains the following fields:
Padding (0–255 bytes): May be required if the encryption algorithm requires the
plaintext to be a multiple of some number of octets.
Pad Length (8 bits): Indicates the number of pad bytes immediately preceding this field.
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Next Header (8 bits): Identifies the type of data contained in the Payload Data field by
identifying the first header in that payload (e.g., an extension header in IPv6, or an upper-
layer protocol such as TCP).
Integrity Check Value (variable): A variable-length field (must be an integral number
of 32-bit words) that contains the integrity check value computed over the ESP packet
minus the Authentication Data field.
The first critical step in securing a system is to secure the base operating system
upon which all other applications and services rely. A good security foundation needs a
properly installed, patched, and configured operating system. Unfortunately, the default
configuration for many operating systems often maximizes ease of use and functionality,
rather than security. Further, since every organization has its own security needs, the
appropriate security profile, and hence configuration, will also differ.
While the details of how to secure each specific operating system differ, the
broad approach is similar. Appropriate security configuration guides and checklists exist for
most common operating systems, and these should be consulted, though always informed
by the specific needs of each organization and their systems. In some cases, automated
tools may be available to further assist in securing the system configuration.
[SCAR08] suggests the following basic steps that should be used to secure an operating
system:
• Install and patch the operating system.
• Harden and configure the operating system to adequately address the
identified security needs of the system by:
• Removing unnecessary services, applications, and protocols.
• Configuring users, groups, and permissions.
• Configuring resource controls.
• Install and configure additional security controls, such as anti-virus, host-
based firewalls, and intrusion detection systems (IDS), if needed.
• Test the security of the basic operating system to ensure that the steps taken
adequately address its security needs.
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Install and patch the operating system:
The default configuration for most distributed systems is set to maximize ease of
use and functionality, rather than security. When performing the initial installation, the
supplied defaults should not be used, but rather the installation should be customized so
that only the required packages are installed. If additional packages are needed later,
they can be installed when they are required.
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Configure Users, Groups, and Authentication:
Not all users with access to a system will have the same access to all data and
resources on that system. Some systems may provide role-based or mandatory access
control mechanisms as well.
The system planning process should consider the categories of users on the
system, the privileges they have, the types of information they can access, and how and
where they are defined and authenticated. Some users will have elevated privileges to
administer the system; others will be normal users, sharing appropriate access to files and
other data as required; and there may even be guest accounts with very limited access.
The third of the four key ASD mitigation strategies is to restrict elevated privileges to only
those users that require them.
Further, it is highly desirable that such users only access elevated privileges
when needed to perform some task that requires them, and to otherwise access the
system as a normal user. This improves security by providing a smaller window of
opportunity for an attacker to exploit the actions of such privileged users.
Some operating systems provide special tools or access mechanisms to assist
administrative users to elevate their privileges only when necessary, and to appropriately
log these actions.
One key decision is whether the users, the groups they belong to, and
their authentication methods are specified locally on the system or will use a
centralized authentication server. Whichever is chosen, the appropriate details are now
configured on the system.
Also at this stage, any default accounts included as part of the system
installation should be secured. Those which are not required should be either removed or
at least disabled. System accounts that manage services on the system should be set so
they cannot be used for interactive logins. And any passwords installed by default should
be changed to new values with appropriate security.
Any policy that applies to authentication credentials, and especially to password
security, is also configured. This includes details of which authentication methods are
accepted for different methods of account access. And it includes details of the required
length, complexity, and age allowed for passwords.
UNIT IV - SECURITY
Configure Resource Controls
Once the users and their associated groups are defined, appropriate permissions
can be set on data and resources to match the specified policy. This may be to limit which
users can execute some programs, especially those that modify the system state. Or it may
be to limit which users can read or write data in certain directory trees. Many of the
security hardening guides provide lists of recommended changes to the default access
configuration to improve security.
Install Additional Security Controls
Further security improvement may be possible by installing and configuring
additional security tools such as anti-virus software, host-based firewalls, IDS or IPS
software, or application white-listing. Some of these may be supplied as part of the
operating systems installation, but not configured and enabled by default. Others are third-
party products that are acquired and used.
Host-based firewalls, IDS, and IPS software also may improve security by limiting
remote network access to services on the system.
Test the System Security
The final step in the process of initially securing the base operating system is security
testing. The goal is to ensure that the previous security configuration steps are correctly
implemented, and to identify any possible vulnerabilities that must be corrected or
managed.
Suitable checklists are included in many security hardening guides. There are also
programs specifically designed to review a system to ensure that a system meets the basic
security requirements, and to scan for known vulnerabilities and poor configuration
practices. This should be done following the initial hardening of the system, and then
repeated periodically as part of the security maintenance process.
APPLICATION SECURITY
Once the base operating system is installed and appropriately secured, the required
services and applications must next be installed and configured. The steps for this very
much mirror the list already given in the previous section. The concern, as with the base
operating system, is to only install software on the system that is required to meet its
desired functionality, in order to reduce the number of places vulnerabilities may be found.
Software that provides remote access or service is of particular concern, since an attacker
may be able to exploit this to gain remote access to the system. Hence any such software
needs to be carefully selected and configured, and updated to the most recent version
available.
UNIT IV - SECURITY
Application Configuration
Any application specific configuration is then performed. This may include
creating and specifying appropriate data storage areas for the application, and making
appropriate changes to the application or service default configuration details.
As part of the configuration process, careful consideration should be given to the
access rights granted to the application. Again, this is of particular concern with remotely
accessed services, such as Web and file transfer services.
Encryption Technology
Encryption is a key enabling technology that may be used to secure data both in
transit and when stored. If such technologies are required for the system, then they must
be configured, and appropriate cryptographic keys created, signed, and secured.
If secure network services are provided, most likely using either TLS or IPsec,
then suitable public and private keys must be generated for each of them. Then X.509
certificates are created and signed by a suitable certificate authority, linking each service
identity with the public key in use.
SECURITY MAINTENANCE
Once the system is appropriately built, secured, and deployed, the process of maintaining
security is continuous. This results from the constantly changing environment, the
discovery of new vulnerabilities, and hence exposure to new threats.
[SCAR08] suggests that this process of security maintenance includes the following
additional steps:
• Monitoring and analyzing logging information
• Performing regular backups
• Recovering from security compromises
• Regularly testing system security
• Using appropriate software maintenance processes to patch and update all
critical software, and to monitor and revise configuration as needed.
Logging
[SCAR08] notes that “logging is a cornerstone of a sound security posture.” Logging is a
reactive control that can only inform you about bad things that have already happened
UNIT IV - SECURITY
Data Backup and Archive:
Backup is the process of making copies of data at regular intervals, allowing the
recovery of lost or corrupted data over relatively short time periods of a few hours to some
weeks.
Archive is the process of retaining copies of data over extended periods of time,
being months or years, in order to meet legal and operational requirements to access past
data. These processes are often linked and managed together, although they do address
distinct needs.
LINUX/UNIX SECURITY:
There are a large range of resources available to assist administrators of these
systems, including many texts, for example [NEME10], online resources such as the “Linux
Documentation Project,” and specific system hardening guides such as those provided by
the “NSA—Security Configuration Guides.” These resources should be used as part of the
system security planning process in order to incorporate procedures appropriate to the
security requirements identified for the system.
Patch Management
Ensuring that system and application code is kept up to date with security
patches is a widely recognized and critical control for maintaining security.
keeping security patches up to date is a widely recognized and critical control for
maintaining security.
Application and Service Configuration
– most commonly implemented using separate text files for each application and service
– generally located either in the /etc directory or in the installation tree for a specific
application
– individual user configurations that can override the system defaults are located in hidden
“dot” files in each user’s home directory
– most important changes needed to improve system security are to disable services and
applications that are not required
UNIT IV - SECURITY
Users, Groups, and Permissions
– access is specified as granting read, write, and execute permissions to each of owner,
group, and others for each resource
– guides recommend changing the access permissions for critical directories and files
– local exploit
• software vulnerability that can be exploited by an attacker to gain elevated
privileges
– remote exploit
• software vulnerability in a network server that could be triggered by a remote
attacker
Remote Access Controls
• several host firewall programs may be used
• most systems provide an administrative utility to select which services will be
permitted to access the system
Security Testing
The system hardening guides such as those provided by the “NSA—Security
Configuration Guides” include security checklists for a number of Unix and Linux
distributions that may be followed. There are also a number of commercial and open-
source tools available to perform system security scanning and vulnerability testing.
UNIT IV - SECURITY
WINDOWS SECURITY:
patch management
• “Windows Update” and “Windows Server Update Service” assist with regular
maintenance and should be used.
• third party applications also provide automatic update support.
users administration and access controls
• systems implement discretionary access controls resources
• Vista and later systems include mandatory integrity controls
• objects are labeled as being of low, medium, high, or system integrity level
• system ensures the subject’s integrity is equal or higher than the object’s level
• implements a form of the Biba Integrity model
VIRTUALIZATION SECURITY:
• Virtualization refers to a technology that provides an abstraction of the computing
resources used by some software, which thus runs in a simulated environment called a
virtual machine (VM).
• benefits include better efficiency in the use of the physical system resources
• provides support for multiple distinct operating systems and associated applications on
one physical system
• raises additional security concerns
1. Assess security risks, threats and vulnerabilities to the organization and implement
appropriate information security protection mechanisms by analyzing requirements,
plans and IT security policies.
2. Perform Firewall setup along with its configuration.
Part A – Q & A
Unit - IV
PART-A
1. Do firewalls protect against worms?
Not only does a firewall block unwanted traffic, it also helps block malicious software and
worms from infecting a computer. Many computer operating systems include a software
firewall to protect against such threats.
5. What's a Greyware?
Grayware, unwanted applications or files that are not classified as malware, but can worsen
the performance of computers and cause security risks.
9. What is a firewall?
A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic
and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set of security
rules.
PART-A
10. Why TLS is still called SSL?
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the successor protocol to SSL. TLS is an improved version
of SSL. It works in much the same way as the SSL, using encryption to protect the transfer
of data and information. The two terms are often used interchangeably in the industry
although SSL is still widely used.
Q. Questions CO K Level
No. Level
1 Explain System security issues in detail. CO4 K3
The SSL Handshake Protocol authenticates each end of the connection (server
and client), with the second or client authentication being optional. In phase 1,
the client requests the server's certificate and its cipher preferences. When the
client receives this information, it generates a master key and encrypts it with
the server's public key, then sends the encrypted master key to the server. The
server decrypts the master key with its private key, then authenticates itself to
the client by returning a message encrypted with the master key. Following
data is encrypted with keys derived from the master key. Phase 2, client
authentication, is optional. The server challenges the client, and the client
responds by returning the client's digital signature on the challenge with its
public-key certificate.
SSL uses the RSA public-key cryptosystem for the authentication steps. After the
exchange of keys, a number of different cryptosystems are used, including RC2,
RC4, IDEA, DES and triple-DES.
Content Beyond
Syllabus
Contents beyond the Syllabus
Anonymous Remailers
GnuPrivacy Guard (GPG)
Assessment Schedule
(Proposed Date &
Actual Date)
Assessment Schedule
Assessment II
Model
Prescribed Text Books
& Reference
Prescribed Text & Reference
Books
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