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Protection of Operating Systems

Analysis of security measures for protecting operating systems.

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    Protection of Operating Systems Write a paper discussing the relative advantages and disadvantages of at least three different measures used to protect operating systems. The ease of implementation and the associated security management issues should also be addressed. Finally, the paper should include a ranking of the measures from best to worst with supporting rationale. Protection of Operating Systems Introduction The use of computer operating systems has increased significantly across a range of applications and utilizations within the last few years. These range from their utilization in all forms of business operation, but also in terms of system security, and all software applications. User have come to rely on the operating systems being used as a primary means of accessing both command line interfaces (CLI) and graphical user interfaces (GUI) which will serve as the way in which applications and data are accessed as well as providing all of the necessary information required for ongoing requirements (UMUC, 2011). Businesses themselves will count on operating systems as a primary means of addressing and providing the fundamental security elements of:  Confidentiality;  Integrity;  Availability;  Authenticity. While many operating systems have incorporated a wide range of controls by which it would be possible to mitigate and address these types of security concerns,

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    it is also apparent that there needs to be a range of additional measures which are taken in order to deliver the highest possible level of security and minimize the likelihood of any such issues being apparent. Accordingly, measures concerning identification and authentication in terms of their ensuing protection are fundamentally important. In advance of any user or even system administrator being able to connect to, and utilize a system, there needs to be a range of security measures implemented which ensures that the identity is checked and the user authenticated before any type of access is granted. This will, however, be designed as a first level of identification and authentication which is designed to provide them with the minimum possible level of access required in order to use the system accordingly. Various access control measures will be implemented which limits the extent to which other systems or applications, and related information can be accessed or viewed even by an authenticated user. Certain users will have elevated access – which may be contingent on them providing an additional login which is designed to support this specific requirement – with HR and IT users specifically being regularly used as an example of when such access would be required. External and internal communications should also be monitored accordingly, as the greater the level of communication allowed, then the correspondingly greater will be any potential surface area for an attack. As a result, there may be a requirement to limit certain user types from being able to engage in external communication if it is not part of their specific roles or responsibilities. Based on this underlying concept it is possible to evaluate ways in which network operating systems can be protected to facilitate their ongoing role within an

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    organization for example. As administrators have full control and access to these systems then they also have the ability to configure and implement a wide range of settings, including third party applications which will be designed to increase the protection of systems as well as increase the visibility of any potential issue or threat. Recent versions of the major operating system platforms have all sought to introduce a variety of additional features, such as advanced firewalls and network access protection so that they can be considered as relatively secure once deployed out of the box. However, this does not preclude any addition of third - party solutions for example. In order to determine the type of measures which would be most beneficial in security terms it is important to understand the different levels of impact which an issue could result in. It is possible to define each type of vulnerability with a specific level of severity and this can be used to prioritize the measures which are then implemented as a means of addressing them. For example, a high severity rating would be given to any issue whereby an attacker or intruder could gain administrative access to a s ystem housing critical data. Medium severity would relate in the ability to remotely access systems with standard or non - privileged credentials while low severity would relate to local access being achieved with standard or non - privileged credentials. As outlined in terms of standard procedures and best practices a summary of available measures and their need to be applied is defined in the below table (Zeltzer, 2005): Measure Rating Identification and Authentication protection measures High Badge Access Control System High Access Control High

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