Lecture 1 : Introduction to Network Security

Text Book: Stallings, William. (2011) 4th Ed., Network Security Essentials: Applications and Standards, Prentice Hall.

Unit Topics
Weeks 1 2: Introduction of Network Security, Symmetric Encryption and Message Confidentiality Weeks 3 5: Public and private key cryptography; Methods of authentication; Digital signatures Weeks 6 8: Transport-Level Security, Electronic Mail Security, IP Security

Weeks 9 11: Intruders, Malicious Software, Firewalls

Week 12: Review
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Assessment Tasks
Assessment Task Release Date Due Date Weighting Task type Presentation Week 2 Week 5 (17/04/12) During lab time Week 6 (24/04/12) During lecture time Week 9 (15/05/12) 3PM Week 12 (05/06/12) 3PM 10% A

Mid Semester Test

Week 6

10%

Group Assignment 1

Week 4

10%

Group Assignment 2

Week 6

10%

Laboratory participation

Each week in lab

Each week in lab

10%

Exam (3 hours)

End of semester

50 %

Lecture 1 Topics
Standard organisations Computer Security Concepts
Definition and Examples of Computer Security The Challenges of Computer Security

The OSI Security Architecture

Security Attacks Security Services Security Mechanisms

A Model for Network Security

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Introduction
Information security
primarily by physical and administrative means Ex: use of filing cabinets with a combination lock for storing sensitive documents

Computer security
automated tools for protecting files and other information stored on the computer

Network security (internet security)

distributed systems and the use of networks and communications facilities for carrying data between terminal user and computer and between computer and computer

Computer and Network security terms are interchangeable.

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Definition of Computer security

The protection afforded to an automated information system in order to attain the applicable objectives of preserving the

integrity, availability, and confidentiality

of information system resources (includes hardware, software, firmware, information/ data, and telecommunications).

CIA Confidentiality Integrity Availability

Confidentiality: This term covers two related concepts:
Data confidentiality: Assures that private or confidential information is not made available or disclosed to unauthorized individuals. Privacy: Assures that individuals control or influence what information related to them may be collected and stored and by whom and to whom that information may be disclosed.

Integrity: This term covers two related concepts:

Data integrity: Assures that information and programs are changed only in a specified and authorized manner. System integrity: Assures that a system performs its intended function in an unimpaired manner, free from deliberate or inadvertent unauthorized manipulation of the system.

Availability: Assures that systems work promptly and service is not denied to authorized users.
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The Security Requirements Triad

Three levels of impact

on organizations or individuals in breach of security Low: limited adverse effect, for ex:
(i) cause a degradation in mission capability to an extent and duration that the organization is able to perform its primary functions, but the effectiveness of the functions is noticeably reduced; (ii) result in minor damage to organizational assets; (iii) result in minor financial loss; or (iv) result in minor harm to individuals.
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Moderate
serious adverse effect, for example, the loss might
(i) cause a significant degradation in mission (ii) result in significant damage to organizational assets; (iii) result in significant financial loss; or (iv) result in significant harm to individuals that does not involve loss of life or serious, life-threatening injuries.
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High
severe or catastrophic adverse effect: the loss might
(i) cause a severe degradation in or loss of mission capability to an extent and duration that the organization is not able to perform one or more of its primary functions; (ii) result in major damage to organizational assets; (iii) result in major financial loss; or (iv) result in severe or catastrophic harm to individuals involving loss of life or serious, lifethreatening injuries.
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Examples
Confidentiality: Student grade information (high), Student enrollment information (moderate), lists of students, faculty, or departmental lists (low) INTEGRITY: hospital patients allergy information stored in a database. The doctor should be able to trust that the information is correct and current (high), Web site that offers a forum to registered users to discuss some specific topic (moderate), anonymous online poll (low) AVAILABILITY: authentication services (high), public Web site for a university (Moderate), An online telephone directory (low)
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The Challenges of Computer Security

Mechanisms for understanding can be quite complex Exploiting an unexpected weakness in the mechanism Procedures used to provide particular services Where to use security mechanisms User friendly creation, designing, maintain and monitoring mechanism Distribution and protection of secret information Designer or administrator skills and knowledge about all type of hackers
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OSI Model
Data unit Layer 7. Application Function Network process to application Data representation, encryption and decryption, convert machine dependent data to machine independent data

6. Presentation Data

Host layers
5. Session

Interhost communication, managing sessions between applications

End-to-end connections, reliability and flow control Path determination and logical addressing Physical addressing

Segments

4. Transport

Packet/Datagram Media layers Frame

3. Network 2. Data link

Bit

1. Physical

Media, signal and binary transmission

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Standard Organisation for Security

National Institute of Standards and Technology: NIST is a U.S. federal agency
that deals with measurement science, standards, and technology related to U.S. government use and to the promotion of U.S. privatesector innovation.

Despite its national scope, NIST Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Special Publications (SP) have a worldwide impact. Internet Society: is a professional membership society with worldwide
provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet and is responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). These organizations develop Internet standards and related specifications, all of which are published as Requests for Comments (RFCs).

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THE OSI SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) ITU-T Recommendation X.800, Security Architecture for OSI, defines a systematic approach in Request For Comments (RFC)2828. The OSI security architecture focuses on security attacks, mechanisms, and services.
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Attack, mechanism and service

Security attack: Any action that compromises the security of information owned by an organization. Security mechanism: A process (or a device incorporating such a process) that is designed to detect, prevent, or recover from a security attack. Security service: A processing or communication service that enhances the security of the data processing systems and the information transfers of an organization. The services are intended to counter security attacks, and use of one or more security mechanisms to provide the service.
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SECURITY ATTACKS
Passive attacks and active attacks A passive attack: attempts to learn or make use of information from the system but does not affect system resources. An active attack: attempts to alter system resources or affect their operation

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Passive Network Security Attacks

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Passive attacks
The release of message contents is easily understood. A telephone conversation, an electronic mail message, and a transferred file may contain sensitive or confidential information. Traffic analysis: encryption can be used to mask contents. An opponent still might be able to observe the pattern of these messages Passive attacks are very difficult to detect, because they do not involve any alteration of the data, therefore passive attacks is on prevention rather than detection
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Active Attacks
Active attacks involve some modification of the data stream or the creation of a false stream and can be subdivided into four categories:
Masquerade replay, modification of messages, and denial of service

It is quite difficult to prevent active attacks because of the wide variety of potential physical, software, and network vulnerabilities. Instead, the goal is to detect active attacks and to recover from any disruption or delays caused by them.

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Masquerade

takes place when one entity pretends to be a different entity. For example, authentication sequences can be captured and replayed after a valid authentication sequence has taken place, thus enabling an authorized entity with few privileges to obtain extra privileges by impersonating an entity that has those privileges.
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Replay

involves the passive capture of a data unit and its subsequent retransmission to produce an unauthorized effect
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Modification of messages

some portion of a legitimate message is altered, or that messages are delayed or reordered For example, a message meaning
Allow John Smith to read confidential file accounts is modified to Allow Fred Brown to read confidential file accounts.
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Denial of service

prevents or inhibits the normal use or management of communications facilities for example, an entity may suppress all messages directed to a particular destination or disruption of an entire network
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SECURITY SERVICES
X.800 defines a security service RFC 2828, which provides the following definition:
A processing or communication service that is provided by a system to give a specific kind of protection to system resources; security services implement security policies and are implemented by security mechanisms

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Security Services (X.800)

X.800 divides these services into five categories and fourteen specific services
Authentication Access control Data confidentiality Data integrity Nonrepudiation

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14 Security Services
Authentication
Peer Entity Authentication Data-Origin Authentication

Access control
Access Control

Data confidentiality
Connection Confidentiality Connectionless Confidentiality Selective-Field Confidentiality Traffic-Flow Confidentiality Connection Integrity with Recovery Connection Integrity without Recovery Selective-Field Connection Integrity Connectionless Integrity Selective-Field Connectionless Integrity

Data integrity

Nonrepudiation
Nonrepudiation, Origin Nonrepudiation, Destination
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Authentication
service is concerned with assuring that a communication is authentic Two types
Peer entity authentication: Two entities are considered peers Data origin authentication: Provides for the validation of the source of a data unit, ex: email

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Access Control & Data Confidentiality

Access control is the ability to limit and control the access to host systems and applications via communications links Confidentiality is the protection of transmitted data from passive attacks

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Data Integrity & Nonrepudiation

Integrity can apply to a stream of messages, a single message, or selected fields within a message Nonrepudiation prevents either sender or receiver from denying a transmitted message

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Security Mechanisms
Security mechanism are divided into
Specific Security Mechanism and Pervasive Security Mechanisms

Specific security mechanism are: Encipherment The use of mathematical algorithms to transform data into a form that is not readily intelligible. The transformation and subsequent recovery of the data depend on an algorithm and zero or more encryption keys. Digital Signature Data appended to, or a cryptographic transformation of, a data unit that allows a recipient of the data unit to prove the source and integrity of the data unit and protect against forgery (e.g., by the recipient). Access Control A variety of mechanisms that enforce access rights to resources.
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Specific Security Mechanism

Data Integrity
A variety of mechanisms used to assure the integrity of a data unit or stream of data units.

Authentication Exchange
A mechanism intended to ensure the identity of an entity by means of information exchange.

Traffic Padding
The insertion of bits into gaps in a data stream to frustrate traffic analysis attempts.

Routing Control
Enables selection of particular physically secure routes for certain data and allows routing changes, especially when a breach of security is suspected.

Notarization
The use of a trusted third party to assure certain properties of a data exchange.

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Pervasive Security Mechanisms

Mechanisms that are not specific to any particular OSI security service or protocol layer. Trusted Functionality
That which is perceived to be correct with respect to some criteria (e.g., as established by a security policy).

Security Label
The marking bound to a resource (which may be a data unit) that names or designates the security attributes of that resource.

Event Detection
Detection of security-relevant events.

Security Audit Trail

Data collected and potentially used to facilitate a security audit, which is an independent review and examination of system records and activities.

Security Recovery
Deals with requests from mechanisms, such as event handling and management functions, and takes recovery actions. service.
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Relationship Between Security Services and Mechanisms

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A Model For Network Security

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4 Basic Tasks In Designing A Particular Security Service

1. Design an algorithm for performing the securityrelated transformation.
The algorithm should be such that an opponent cannot defeat its purpose.

2. Generate the secret information to be used with the algorithm. 3. Develop methods for the distribution and sharing of the secret information. 4. Specify a protocol to be used by the two principals that makes use of the security
algorithm and the secret information to achieve a particular security service.
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Two Kinds Of Threats

Another type of unwanted access is the placement in a computer system of logic that exploits vulnerabilities (weakness) in the system and that can affect application programs as well as utility programs, such as editors and compilers. Programs can present two kinds of threats: 1. Information access threats: Intercept or modify data on behalf of users who should not have access to that data. 2. Service threats: Exploit service flaws in computers to inhibit use by legitimate users.
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Network Access Security Model

1. Security login details

2. Internal control
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Summary
Standard organisations Computer Security Concepts
Definition and Examples of Computer Security The Challenges of Computer Security

The OSI Security Architecture

Security Attacks Security Services Security Mechanisms

A Model for Network Security

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