Os security issues

1. Operating system
A system having basic kernel functions of process
and memory management ,file, i/o device and
network management functions and many other
functions.
Protection of memory and resources from any
unauthorized into the PCB or resource ,or mix up of
access of one by another becomes imperative.

2. Introduction to OS security
issues
 The OS security issue is a critical issue.
 Each process determines whether it has a control
of a system resoure exclusively or whether it is
isolated from the other processes or whether it
shares a resource common to a set of processes.
 The OS then configures when a resource is
isolated from from one process and a resource is
shared with a defined with a define set of
processes.

3.  The OS should also have the flexibility to change
this configuration when needed, to full fill the
requirements all the process.
 For example, a process has 32 memory blocks at
an instance and the OS configures the system
accordingly.
 The OS should provide protection mechanism
and implement a system administration(s) –
defined security policy.
 An application software programmer can find a
hole in the protection mechanism and an
unauthorized access.

4. Important security issues
 Protection mechanism
 Flexibility to of change.
Control resource sharing
 Confinement mechanism
 Security policy (strategy).
 Authentication mechanism.
 Authorization.
 Encryption

5. Protection Mechanism
 OS should provide protection mechanisms
and implement a system administrator (s)
defined security

6. Flexibility to of change
 when needed to fulfill the need
requirements of all the processes.
 For example, a process has control of 32
memory blocks at an instance and the OS
configured the system accordingly. t
 Later when more processes are created, this
can be reconfigured.

7. Controlled resource sharing
 Controlling read and write of the resources
and parameters by user processes.
 For example, some resources write only for
a process and some read only for a set of
processes
 Another example, memory buffer to which
one process writes at an instant till that
buffer is emptied by other process

8. Confinement Mechanism
 Mechanism that restricts sharing of
parameters to a set of processes only .

9. Security Policy (Strategy)
 Rules for authorizing access to the OS,
system and information.
 A policy example is that a communication
system may having a policy of peer-to-peer
communication (connection establishment
preceding the data packets flow).

10. Authentication Mechanism
 External authentication mechanism for the user
and a mechanism meant to prevent an
application run unless the user registers and the
system administrator (software) authorizes
 Internal authentication for the process, and the
process should not appear (impersonate) as some
like other processes.
 User authentication can become difficult if the
user disseminates password passwords or other
authentication methods

11. Authorization
 User or process (s) allowed to use the
system resources as per the security policy

12. Encryption
 A tool to change information to make it
unusable by any other user or process unless
without the appropriate key is used for
deciphering it.

13. CONCLUSION
 OS security issues are important
considerations.
 Protection of memory and resources from
any unauthorized and without explicit
authorization write into the PCB or
resource
 Mix up of accesses of one by
another, becomes imperative from an OS
security and protection mechanism