
between network and application security and discusses when
each level of security might be useful. The remaining sections
recommend specific security protocols and mechanisms for
both network and application security needs.
5. Threats and Countermeasures
5.1 This section covers the principal threats to a system. In
some cases, security services can prevent an attack; in other
cases, they merely detect an attack.
5.1.1 Masquerade occurs when an entity successfully pre-
tends to be another entity. This includes impersonation of users
or system components, as well as falsely claiming origination
or acknowledging receipt of a message or transaction.
5.1.2 Modification of information can include modification
of message or data content, as well as destruction of messages,
data, or management information. This includes message
sequencing threats, which occur when the order of messages is
altered.
5.1.3 Unauthorized disclosure threats include revealing
message contents or other data, as well as information derived
from observing traffic flow, as well as revealing information
held in storage on an open system.
5.1.4 Repudiation occurs when a user or the system denies
having performed some action, such as origination or reception
of a message.
5.1.5 Denial of service threats prevent the system from
performing its functions. This may be accomplished by attacks
on the underlying communications infrastructure, attacks on
the underlying applications, or by flooding the system with
extra traffic.
5.2 The following services protect against the threats de-
scribed in 5.1.1-5.1.5.
5.2.1 Peer entity authentication provides proof of the iden-
tity of communicating parties. Various types of authentication
exchanges have been discussed in the literature; most are based
on digital signatures or other cryptographic mechanisms.
5.2.2 Data origin authentication counters the threat of
masquerade and is provided using digital signatures or other
cryptographic integrity mechanisms.
5.2.3 Access control counters the threat of unauthorized
disclosure or modification of data. This is particularly appro-
priate on an end system. A variety of access control strategies
can be found in the standards, including access control lists and
security labels. Since access control is typically provided on an
end system, it is not discussed further in this guide.
5.2.4 Confidentiality counters the threat of unauthorized
disclosure, particularly during the transfer of information.
Confidentiality can be applied to entire messages or other data
units or to selected fields. Encryption is used to provide this
service.
5.2.5 Integrity counters the threat of unauthorized modifi-
cation of data. This can be provided with various types of
integrity check values. To protect against deliberate modifica-
tion, a cryptographic check value or digital signature should be
used. This also provides the service of data origin authentica-
tion. As with confidentiality, this service may be applied to
entire messages or selected fields. One particularly useful
application of selective field integrity is message sequence
integrity, in which the integrity service is applied to a sequence
number or other sequencing information.
5.2.6 Non–repudiation of origin and delivery protect against
an originator or recipient falsely denying originating or receiv-
ing a message. This service provides proof (to a third party) of
origin or receipt, and is provided using digital signatures.
6. Cryptography Overview
6.1 Cryptography is the art or science of keeping data secure
from disclosure, modification, and forgery. It is particularly
appropriate in today’s computing environment, given the
increasing use of networks to connect systems (implying more,
possibly unknown users may access data), the increasing
amount of sensitive data being conveyed on these networks,
legal requirements for protection of data, and the ease and low
cost of network attack.
6.2 Encryption can be used to provide confidentiality and
integrity services. Following are two types of encryption
systems:
6.2.1 In symmetric (conventional) cryptography, the sender
and recipient share a secret key. This key is used by the
originator to encrypt a message and by the recipient to decrypt
a message. The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is an example
of a symmetric cryptosystem. Confidentiality is provided by
encrypting the message under a shared key. Integrity and
authentication are supported by computing a cryptographic
checkvalue, or authenticator, over the message, using a key
shared by the originator and recipient.
6.2.2 In asymmetric (public key) cryptography, different
keys are used to encrypt and decrypt a message. Each user is
associated with a pair of keys. One key (the public key)is
publicly known and is used to encrypt messages destined for
that user. The private key is known only to the user and is used
to decrypt incoming messages. RSA (named after the inven-
tors’ initials) is the most well-known asymmetric algorithm.
6.3 Some asymmetric algorithms, such as RSA, can also
provide authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation when
used as follows:
6.3.1 To sign a data unit, the user encrypts it under his
private key.
6.3.2 To verify the data unit, the recipient decrypts it with
the originator’s public key.
6.3.3 If the message is successfully decrypted, it must have
been encrypted by the originator, who is the only entity that
knows the corresponding private key.
6.3.4 A digital signature is, then, a piece of data appended
to a message, generated from the message and the signer’s
private key, which allows the recipient to prove the origin of
the message and to protect against modification and forgery.
6.4 Note the digital signature can be used to provide
non–repudiation services. Unlike the authenticator discussed in
6.2, the private key used to sign a message is known only by
the signer. This prevents the signer from claiming that another
party (for example, the recipient) generated a given digital
signature.
7. Network and Application Security
7.1 Network Security:
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