Computer security is an application of information security to both theoretical and actual computer systems. For sake of simplicity, issues regarding privacy should be handled under the subject of information privacy rights. For the purpose of this article, Computer security is a branch of computer science that addresses enforcement of 'secure' behavior on the operation of computers. The definition of 'secure' varies by application, and is typically defined implicitly or explicitly by a security policy that addresses confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic information that is processed by or stored on computer systems.
The traditional approach is to create a trusted security kernel that exploits special-purpose hardware mechanisms in the microprocessor to constrain the operating system and the application programs to conform to the security policy. These systems can isolate processes and data to specific domains and restrict access and privileges of users. This approach avoids trusting most of the operating system and applications.
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The technologies of computer security are based on logic. There is no universal standard notion of what secure behavior is. "Security" is a concept that is unique to each situation. Security is extraneous to the function of a computer application, rather than ancillary to it, thus security necessarily imposes restrictions on the application's behavior.
Terms used in Computer Security
The following terms used in engineering secure systems are explained below.
Automated theorem proving and other verification tools can enable critical algorithms and code used in secure systems to be mathematically proven to meet their specifications.
Thus simple microkernels can be written so that we can be sure they don't contain any bugs: eg EROS and Coyotos. A bigger OS, capable of providing a standard API like POSIX, can be built on a microkernel using small API servers running as normal programs. If one of these API servers has a bug, the kernel and the other servers are not affected: e.g. Hurd.
Cryptographic techniques can be used to defend data in transit between systems, reducing the probability that data exchanged between systems can be intercepted or modified.
Strong authentication techniques can be used to ensure that communication end-points are who they say they are. Secure cryptoprocessors can be used to leverage physical security techniques into protecting the security of the computer system.
Chain of trust techniques can be used to attempt to ensure that all software loaded has been certified as authentic by the system's designers.
Mandatory access control can be used to ensure that privileged access is withdrawn when privileges are revoked. For example, deleting a user account should also stop any processes that are running with that user's privileges.
Capability and access control list techniques can be used to ensure privilege separation and mandatory access control. The next sections discuss their use.
Some of the following items may belong to the computer insecurity article:
Do not run an application with known security flaws. Either leave it turned off until it can be patched or otherwise fixed, or delete it and replace it with some other application. Publicly known flaws are the main entry used by worms to automatically break into a system and then spread to other systems connected to it. The security website Secunia provides a search tool for unpatched known flaws in popular products.
Backups are a way of securing information; they are another copy of all the important computer files kept in another location. These files are kept on hard disks, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and tapes. Suggested locations for backups are a fireproof, waterproof, and heat proof safe, or in a separate, offsite location than that in which the original files are contained. Some individuals and companies also keep their backups in safe deposit boxes inside bank vaults. There is also a fourth option, which involves using one of the file hosting services that backs up files over the Internet for both business and individuals.
Backups are also important for reasons other than security. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes, may strike the building where the computer is located. The building can be on fire, or an explosion may occur. There needs to be a recent backup at an alternate secure location, in case of such kind of disaster. The backup needs to be moved between the geographic sites in a secure manner, so as to prevent it from being stolen.
Anti-virus software consists of computer programs that attempt to identify, thwart and eliminate computer viruses and other malicious software (malware).
Firewalls are systems which help protect computers and computer networks from attack and subsequent intrusion by restricting the network traffic which can pass through them, based on a set of system administrator defined rules.
Access authorization restricts access to a computer to group of users through the use of authentication systems. These systems can protect either the whole computer - such as through an interactive logon screen - or individual services, such as an FTP server. There are many methods for identifying and authenticating users, such as passwords, identification cards, and, more recently, smart cards and biometric systems.
Encryption is used to protect the message from the eyes of others. It can be done in several ways by switching the characters around, replacing characters with others, and even removing characters from the message. These have to be used in combination to make the encryption secure enough, that is to say, sufficiently difficult to crack. Public key encryption is a refined and practical way of doing encryption. It allows for example anyone to write a message for a list of recipients, and only those recipients will be able to read that message.
Intrusion-detection systems can scan a network for people that are on the network but who should not be there or are doing things that they should not be doing, for example trying a lot of passwords to gain access to the network.
Social engineering awareness - Keeping employees aware of the dangers of social engineering and/or having a policy in place to prevent social engineering can reduce successful breaches of the network and servers.
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