File integrity checking
- Authors: Motara, Yusuf Moosa
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Linux , Operating systems (Computers) , Database design , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4682 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007701 , Linux , Operating systems (Computers) , Database design , Computer security
- Description: This thesis looks at file execution as an attack vector that leads to the execution of unauthorized code. File integrity checking is examined as a means of removing this attack vector, and the design, implementation, and evaluation of a best-of-breed file integrity checker for the Linux operating system is undertaken. We conclude that the resultant file integrity checker does succeed in removing file execution as an attack vector, does so at a computational cost that is negligible, and displays innovative and useful features that are not currently found in any other Linux file integrity checker.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Motara, Yusuf Moosa
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Linux , Operating systems (Computers) , Database design , Computer security
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4682 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007701 , Linux , Operating systems (Computers) , Database design , Computer security
- Description: This thesis looks at file execution as an attack vector that leads to the execution of unauthorized code. File integrity checking is examined as a means of removing this attack vector, and the design, implementation, and evaluation of a best-of-breed file integrity checker for the Linux operating system is undertaken. We conclude that the resultant file integrity checker does succeed in removing file execution as an attack vector, does so at a computational cost that is negligible, and displays innovative and useful features that are not currently found in any other Linux file integrity checker.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The cost of free instant messaging: an attack modelling perspective
- Authors: Du Preez, Riekert
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Computer security , Instant messaging , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9797 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011921 , Computer security , Instant messaging , Data protection
- Description: Instant Messaging (IM) has grown tremendously over the last few years. Even though IM was originally developed as a social chat system, it has found a place in many companies, where it is being used as an essential business tool. However, many businesses rely on free IM and have not implemented a secure corporate IM solution. Most free IM clients were never intended for use in the workplace and, therefore, lack strong security features and administrative control. Consequently, free IM clients can provide attackers with an entry point for malicious code in an organization’s network that can ultimately lead to a company’s information assets being compromised. Therefore, even though free IM allows for better collaboration in the workplace, it comes at a cost, as the title of this dissertation suggests. This dissertation sets out to answer the question of how free IM can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. To answer the research question, the dissertation defines an IM attack model that models the ways in which an information system can be attacked when free IM is used within an organization. The IM attack model was created by categorising IM threats using the STRIDE threat classification scheme. The attacks that realize the categorised threats were then modelled using attack trees as the chosen attack modelling tool. Attack trees were chosen because of their ability to model the sequence of attacker actions during an attack. The author defined an enhanced graphical notation that was adopted for the attack trees used to create the IM attack model. The enhanced attack tree notation extends traditional attack trees to allow nodes in the trees to be of different classes and, therefore, allows attack trees to convey more information. During the process of defining the IM attack model, a number of experiments were conducted where IM vulnerabilities were exploited. Thereafter, a case study was constructed to document a simulated attack on an information system that involves the exploitation of IM vulnerabilities. The case study demonstrates how an attacker’s attack path relates to the IM attack model in a practical scenario. The IM attack model provides insight into how IM can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. The creation of the attack model for free IM lead to several realizations. The IM attack model revealed that even though the use of free IM clients may seem harmless, such IM clients can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. Furthermore, certain IM vulnerabilities may not pose a great risk by themselves, but when combined with the exploitation of other vulnerabilities, a much greater threat can be realized. These realizations hold true to what French playwright Jean Anouilh once said: “What you get free costs too much”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Du Preez, Riekert
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Computer security , Instant messaging , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9797 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011921 , Computer security , Instant messaging , Data protection
- Description: Instant Messaging (IM) has grown tremendously over the last few years. Even though IM was originally developed as a social chat system, it has found a place in many companies, where it is being used as an essential business tool. However, many businesses rely on free IM and have not implemented a secure corporate IM solution. Most free IM clients were never intended for use in the workplace and, therefore, lack strong security features and administrative control. Consequently, free IM clients can provide attackers with an entry point for malicious code in an organization’s network that can ultimately lead to a company’s information assets being compromised. Therefore, even though free IM allows for better collaboration in the workplace, it comes at a cost, as the title of this dissertation suggests. This dissertation sets out to answer the question of how free IM can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. To answer the research question, the dissertation defines an IM attack model that models the ways in which an information system can be attacked when free IM is used within an organization. The IM attack model was created by categorising IM threats using the STRIDE threat classification scheme. The attacks that realize the categorised threats were then modelled using attack trees as the chosen attack modelling tool. Attack trees were chosen because of their ability to model the sequence of attacker actions during an attack. The author defined an enhanced graphical notation that was adopted for the attack trees used to create the IM attack model. The enhanced attack tree notation extends traditional attack trees to allow nodes in the trees to be of different classes and, therefore, allows attack trees to convey more information. During the process of defining the IM attack model, a number of experiments were conducted where IM vulnerabilities were exploited. Thereafter, a case study was constructed to document a simulated attack on an information system that involves the exploitation of IM vulnerabilities. The case study demonstrates how an attacker’s attack path relates to the IM attack model in a practical scenario. The IM attack model provides insight into how IM can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. The creation of the attack model for free IM lead to several realizations. The IM attack model revealed that even though the use of free IM clients may seem harmless, such IM clients can facilitate an attack on a company’s information assets. Furthermore, certain IM vulnerabilities may not pose a great risk by themselves, but when combined with the exploitation of other vulnerabilities, a much greater threat can be realized. These realizations hold true to what French playwright Jean Anouilh once said: “What you get free costs too much”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Applying a framework for IT governance in South African higher education institutions
- Authors: Viljoen, Stephen
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Universities and colleges -- Computer networks -- Security measures -- South Africa , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9739 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/416 , Computer security , Universities and colleges -- Computer networks -- Security measures -- South Africa , Data protection
- Description: Background: Higher Education (HE), through HE Institutions, plays a very important role in society. There is thus a need for this sector to be well managed, especially with regards to planning, organising, and controlling. Corporate Governance has received a lot of attention in recent times, especially to engender trust on the part of the stakeholders. There are many similarities, but also significant differences in the governance of HE institutions and public companies. Information Technology (IT) plays an extremely important role in the modern organisation, creating huge opportunities, but also increasing the risk to the organisation. Therefore, effective governance of IT in HE Institutions is of great importance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Viljoen, Stephen
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Universities and colleges -- Computer networks -- Security measures -- South Africa , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9739 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/416 , Computer security , Universities and colleges -- Computer networks -- Security measures -- South Africa , Data protection
- Description: Background: Higher Education (HE), through HE Institutions, plays a very important role in society. There is thus a need for this sector to be well managed, especially with regards to planning, organising, and controlling. Corporate Governance has received a lot of attention in recent times, especially to engender trust on the part of the stakeholders. There are many similarities, but also significant differences in the governance of HE institutions and public companies. Information Technology (IT) plays an extremely important role in the modern organisation, creating huge opportunities, but also increasing the risk to the organisation. Therefore, effective governance of IT in HE Institutions is of great importance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Establishing an information security culture in organizations : an outcomes based education approach
- Van Niekerk, Johannes Frederick
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Johannes Frederick
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Management information systems -- Security measures , Competency-based education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9742 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/164 , Computer security , Management information systems -- Security measures , Competency-based education
- Description: Information security is crucial to the continuous well-being of modern orga- nizations. Humans play a signfiicant role in the processes needed to secure an organization's information resources. Without an adequate level of user co-operation and knowledge, many security techniques are liable to be misused or misinterpreted by users. This may result in an adequate security measure becoming inadequate. It is therefor necessary to educate the orga- nization's employees regarding information security and also to establish a corporate sub-culture of information security in the organization, which will ensure that the employees have the correct attitude towards their security responsibilities. Current information security education programs fails to pay su±cient attention to the behavioral sciences. There also exist a lack of knowledge regarding the principles, and processes, that would be needed for the establishment of an corporate sub-culture, specific to information security. Without both the necessary knowledge, and the desired attitude amongst the employee, it will be impossible to guarantee that the organi- zation's information resources are secure. It would therefor make sense to address both these dimensions to the human factor in information security, using a single integrated, holistic approach. This dissertation presents such an approach, which is based on an integration of sound behavioral theories.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Establishing an information security culture in organizations : an outcomes based education approach
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Johannes Frederick
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Management information systems -- Security measures , Competency-based education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9742 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/164 , Computer security , Management information systems -- Security measures , Competency-based education
- Description: Information security is crucial to the continuous well-being of modern orga- nizations. Humans play a signfiicant role in the processes needed to secure an organization's information resources. Without an adequate level of user co-operation and knowledge, many security techniques are liable to be misused or misinterpreted by users. This may result in an adequate security measure becoming inadequate. It is therefor necessary to educate the orga- nization's employees regarding information security and also to establish a corporate sub-culture of information security in the organization, which will ensure that the employees have the correct attitude towards their security responsibilities. Current information security education programs fails to pay su±cient attention to the behavioral sciences. There also exist a lack of knowledge regarding the principles, and processes, that would be needed for the establishment of an corporate sub-culture, specific to information security. Without both the necessary knowledge, and the desired attitude amongst the employee, it will be impossible to guarantee that the organi- zation's information resources are secure. It would therefor make sense to address both these dimensions to the human factor in information security, using a single integrated, holistic approach. This dissertation presents such an approach, which is based on an integration of sound behavioral theories.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Implementing the CoSaWoE models in a commercial workflow product
- Authors: Erwee, Carmen
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computers -- Access control , Workflow , Computer security , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9732 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/169 , Computers -- Access control , Workflow , Computer security , Data protection
- Description: Workflow systems have gained popularity not only as a research topic, but also as a key component of Enterprize Resource Planning packages and e- business. Comprehensive workflow products that automate intra- as well inter-organizational information flow are now available for commercial use. Standardization efforts have centered mostly around the interoperability of these systems, however a standard access control model have yet to be adopted. The research community has developed several models for access control to be included as part of workflow functionality. Commercial systems, however, are still implementing access control functionality in a proprietary manner. This dissertation investigates whether a comprehensive model for gain- ing context-sensitive access control, namely CoSAWoE, can be purposefully implemented in a commercial workflow product. Using methods such as an exploratory prototype, various aspects of the model was implemented to gain an understanding of the di±culties developers face when attempting to map the model to existing proprietary software. Oracle Workflow was chosen as an example of a commercial workflow product. An investigtion of the features of this product, together with the prototype, revealed the ability to affect access control in a similar manner to the model: by specifying access control constraints during administration and design, and then enforcing those constraints dynamically during run-time. However, only certain components within these two aspects of the model directly effected the commercial workflow product. It was argued that the first two requirements of context-sensitive access control, order of events and strict least privilege, addressed by the object design, role engineering and session control components of the model, can be simulated if such capabilities are not pertinently available as part of the product. As such, guidelines were provided for how this can be achieved in Oracle Workflow. However, most of the implementation effort focussed on the last requirement of context-sensitive access control, namely separation of duties. The CoSAWoE model proposes SoD administration steps that includes expressing various business rules through a set of conflicting entities which are maintained outside the scope of the workflow system. This component was implemented easily enough through tables which were created with a relational database. Evaluating these conflicts during run-time to control worklist generation proved more di±cult. First, a thorough understanding of the way in which workflow history is maintained was necessary. A re-usable function was developed to prune user lists according to user involvement in previous tasks in the workflow and the conflicts specified for those users and tasks. However, due to the lack of a central access control service, this re- usable function must be included in the appropriate places in the workflow process model. Furthermore, the dissertation utilized a practical example to develop a prototype. This prototype served a dual purpose: firstly, to aid the author's understanding of the features and principles involved, and secondly, to illustrate and explore the implementation of the model as described in the previous paragraphs. In conclusion the dissertation summarized the CoSAWoE model's compo- nents which were found to be product agnostic, directly or indirectly imple- mentable, or not implemented in the chosen workflow product. The lessons learnt and issues surrounding the implementation effort were also discussed before further research in terms of XML documents as data containers for the workfow process were suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Erwee, Carmen
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computers -- Access control , Workflow , Computer security , Data protection
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9732 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/169 , Computers -- Access control , Workflow , Computer security , Data protection
- Description: Workflow systems have gained popularity not only as a research topic, but also as a key component of Enterprize Resource Planning packages and e- business. Comprehensive workflow products that automate intra- as well inter-organizational information flow are now available for commercial use. Standardization efforts have centered mostly around the interoperability of these systems, however a standard access control model have yet to be adopted. The research community has developed several models for access control to be included as part of workflow functionality. Commercial systems, however, are still implementing access control functionality in a proprietary manner. This dissertation investigates whether a comprehensive model for gain- ing context-sensitive access control, namely CoSAWoE, can be purposefully implemented in a commercial workflow product. Using methods such as an exploratory prototype, various aspects of the model was implemented to gain an understanding of the di±culties developers face when attempting to map the model to existing proprietary software. Oracle Workflow was chosen as an example of a commercial workflow product. An investigtion of the features of this product, together with the prototype, revealed the ability to affect access control in a similar manner to the model: by specifying access control constraints during administration and design, and then enforcing those constraints dynamically during run-time. However, only certain components within these two aspects of the model directly effected the commercial workflow product. It was argued that the first two requirements of context-sensitive access control, order of events and strict least privilege, addressed by the object design, role engineering and session control components of the model, can be simulated if such capabilities are not pertinently available as part of the product. As such, guidelines were provided for how this can be achieved in Oracle Workflow. However, most of the implementation effort focussed on the last requirement of context-sensitive access control, namely separation of duties. The CoSAWoE model proposes SoD administration steps that includes expressing various business rules through a set of conflicting entities which are maintained outside the scope of the workflow system. This component was implemented easily enough through tables which were created with a relational database. Evaluating these conflicts during run-time to control worklist generation proved more di±cult. First, a thorough understanding of the way in which workflow history is maintained was necessary. A re-usable function was developed to prune user lists according to user involvement in previous tasks in the workflow and the conflicts specified for those users and tasks. However, due to the lack of a central access control service, this re- usable function must be included in the appropriate places in the workflow process model. Furthermore, the dissertation utilized a practical example to develop a prototype. This prototype served a dual purpose: firstly, to aid the author's understanding of the features and principles involved, and secondly, to illustrate and explore the implementation of the model as described in the previous paragraphs. In conclusion the dissertation summarized the CoSAWoE model's compo- nents which were found to be product agnostic, directly or indirectly imple- mentable, or not implemented in the chosen workflow product. The lessons learnt and issues surrounding the implementation effort were also discussed before further research in terms of XML documents as data containers for the workfow process were suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Introducing hippocratic log files for personal privacy control
- Authors: Rutherford, Andrew
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Internet -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9743 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/171 , Computer security , Internet -- Security measures
- Description: The rapid growth of the Internet has served to intensify existing privacy concerns of the individual, to the point that privacy is the number one concern amongst Internet users today. Tools exist that can provide users with a choice of anonymity or pseudonymity. However, many Web transactions require the release of personally identifying information, thus rendering such tools infeasible in many instances. Since it is then a given that users are often required to release personal information, which could be recorded, it follows that they require a greater degree of control over the information they release. Hippocratic databases, designed by Agrawal, Kiernan, Srikant, and Xu (2002), aim to give users greater control over information stored in a data- base. Their design was inspired by the medical Hippocratic oath, and makes data privacy protection a fundamental responsibility of the database itself. To achieve the privacy of data, Hippocratic databases are governed by 10 key privacy principles. This dissertation argues, that asides from a few challenges, the 10 prin- ciples of Hippocratic databases can be applied to log ¯les. This argument is supported by presenting a high-level functional view of a Hippocratic log file architecture. This architecture focuses on issues that highlight the con- trol users gain over their personal information that is collected in log files. By presenting a layered view of the aforementioned architecture, it was, fur- thermore, possible to provide greater insight into the major processes that would be at work in a Hippocratic log file implementation. An exploratory prototype served to understand and demonstrate certain of the architectural components of Hippocratic log files. This dissertation, thus, makes a contribution to the ideal of providing users with greater control over their personal information, by proposing the use of Hippocratic logfiles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Rutherford, Andrew
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Computer security , Internet -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9743 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/171 , Computer security , Internet -- Security measures
- Description: The rapid growth of the Internet has served to intensify existing privacy concerns of the individual, to the point that privacy is the number one concern amongst Internet users today. Tools exist that can provide users with a choice of anonymity or pseudonymity. However, many Web transactions require the release of personally identifying information, thus rendering such tools infeasible in many instances. Since it is then a given that users are often required to release personal information, which could be recorded, it follows that they require a greater degree of control over the information they release. Hippocratic databases, designed by Agrawal, Kiernan, Srikant, and Xu (2002), aim to give users greater control over information stored in a data- base. Their design was inspired by the medical Hippocratic oath, and makes data privacy protection a fundamental responsibility of the database itself. To achieve the privacy of data, Hippocratic databases are governed by 10 key privacy principles. This dissertation argues, that asides from a few challenges, the 10 prin- ciples of Hippocratic databases can be applied to log ¯les. This argument is supported by presenting a high-level functional view of a Hippocratic log file architecture. This architecture focuses on issues that highlight the con- trol users gain over their personal information that is collected in log files. By presenting a layered view of the aforementioned architecture, it was, fur- thermore, possible to provide greater insight into the major processes that would be at work in a Hippocratic log file implementation. An exploratory prototype served to understand and demonstrate certain of the architectural components of Hippocratic log files. This dissertation, thus, makes a contribution to the ideal of providing users with greater control over their personal information, by proposing the use of Hippocratic logfiles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
NeGPAIM : a model for the proactive detection of information security intrusions, utilizing fuzzy logic and neural network techniques
- Authors: Botha, Martin
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Computer security , Fuzzy logic , Neural networks (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech (Computer Studies)
- Identifier: vital:10792 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/142 , Computer security , Fuzzy logic , Neural networks (Computer science)
- Description: “Information is the lifeblood of any organisation and everything an organisation does involves using information in some way” (Peppard, 1993, p.5). Therefore, it can be argued that information is an organisation’s most precious asset and as with all other assets, like equipment, money, personnel, and so on, this asset needs to be protected properly at all times (Whitman & Mattord, 2003, pp.1-14). The introduction of modern technologies, such as e-commerce, will not only increase the value of information, but will also increase security requirements of those organizations that are intending to utilize such technologies. Evidence of these requirements can be observed in the 2001 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey (Power, 2001). According to this source, the annual financial losses caused through security breaches in 2001 have increased by 277% when compared to the results from 1997. The 2002 and 2003 Computer Crime and Security Survey confirms this by stating that the threat of computer crime and other related information security breaches continues unabated and that the financial toll is mounting (Richardson, 2003). Information is normally protected by means of a process of identifying, implementing, managing and maintaining a set of information security controls, countermeasures or safeguards (GMITS, 1998). In the rest of this thesis, the term security controls will be utilized when referring to information protection mechanisms or procedures. These security controls can be of a physical (for example, door locks), a technical (for example, passwords) and/or a procedural nature (for example, to make back-up copies of critical files)(Pfleeger, 2003, pp.22-23; Stallings, 1995, p.1). The effective identification, implementation, management and maintenance of this set of security controls are usually integrated into an Information Security Management Program, the objective of which is to ensure an acceptable level of information confidentiality, integrity and availability within the organisation at all times (Pfleeger, 2003, pp.10-12; Whitman & Mattord, 2003, pp.1-14; Von Solms, 1993). Once the most effective security controls have been identified and implemented, it is important that this level of security be maintained through a process of continued control. For this reason, it is important that proper change management, measurement, audit, monitoring and detection be implemented (Bruce & Dempsey, 1997). Monitoring and detection are important functions and refer to the ability to identify and detect situations where information security policies have been compromised and/or breached or security violations have taken place (BS 7799, 1999; GMITS, 1998; Von Solms, 1993). The Information Security Officer is usually the person responsible for most of the operational tasks in the control process within an Information Security Management Program (Von Solms, 1993). In practice, these tasks could also be performed by a system administrator, network administrator, etc. In the rest of the thesis the person responsible for these tasks will be referred to as system administrator. These tasks have proved to be very challenging and demanding. The main reason for this is the rapid advancement of technology in the discipline of Information Technology, for example, the modern distributed computing environment, the Internet, the “freedom” of end-users, the introduction of e-commerce, and etc. (Whitman & Mattord, 2003, p.9; Sundaram, 2000, p.1; Moses, 2001, p.6; Allen, 2001, p.1). As a result of the importance of this control process, and especially the monitoring and detection tasks, it is vital that the system administrator has proper tools at his/her disposal to perform this task effectively. Many of the tools that are currently available to the system administrator, utilize technical controls, such as, audit logs and user profiles. Audit logs are normally used to record all events executed on a system. These logs are simply files that record security and non-security related events that take place on a computer system within an organisation. For this reason, these logs can be used by these tools to gain valuable information on security violations, such as intrusions and, therefore, are able to monitor the current actions of each user (Microsoft, 2002; Smith, 1989, pp. 116-117). User profiles are files that contain information about users` desktop operating environments and are used by the operating system to structure each user environment so that it is the same each time a user logs onto the system (Microsoft, 2002; Block, 1994, p.54). Thus, a user profile is used to indicate which actions the user is allowed to perform on the system. Both technical controls (audit logs and user profiles) are frequently available in most computer environments (such as, UNIX, Firewalls, Windows, etc.) (Cooper et al, 1995, p.129). Therefore, seeing that the audit logs record most events taking place on an information system and the user profile indicates the authorized actions of each user, the system administrator could most probably utilise these controls in a more proactive manner.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Botha, Martin
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Computer security , Fuzzy logic , Neural networks (Computer science)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DTech (Computer Studies)
- Identifier: vital:10792 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/142 , Computer security , Fuzzy logic , Neural networks (Computer science)
- Description: “Information is the lifeblood of any organisation and everything an organisation does involves using information in some way” (Peppard, 1993, p.5). Therefore, it can be argued that information is an organisation’s most precious asset and as with all other assets, like equipment, money, personnel, and so on, this asset needs to be protected properly at all times (Whitman & Mattord, 2003, pp.1-14). The introduction of modern technologies, such as e-commerce, will not only increase the value of information, but will also increase security requirements of those organizations that are intending to utilize such technologies. Evidence of these requirements can be observed in the 2001 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey (Power, 2001). According to this source, the annual financial losses caused through security breaches in 2001 have increased by 277% when compared to the results from 1997. The 2002 and 2003 Computer Crime and Security Survey confirms this by stating that the threat of computer crime and other related information security breaches continues unabated and that the financial toll is mounting (Richardson, 2003). Information is normally protected by means of a process of identifying, implementing, managing and maintaining a set of information security controls, countermeasures or safeguards (GMITS, 1998). In the rest of this thesis, the term security controls will be utilized when referring to information protection mechanisms or procedures. These security controls can be of a physical (for example, door locks), a technical (for example, passwords) and/or a procedural nature (for example, to make back-up copies of critical files)(Pfleeger, 2003, pp.22-23; Stallings, 1995, p.1). The effective identification, implementation, management and maintenance of this set of security controls are usually integrated into an Information Security Management Program, the objective of which is to ensure an acceptable level of information confidentiality, integrity and availability within the organisation at all times (Pfleeger, 2003, pp.10-12; Whitman & Mattord, 2003, pp.1-14; Von Solms, 1993). Once the most effective security controls have been identified and implemented, it is important that this level of security be maintained through a process of continued control. For this reason, it is important that proper change management, measurement, audit, monitoring and detection be implemented (Bruce & Dempsey, 1997). Monitoring and detection are important functions and refer to the ability to identify and detect situations where information security policies have been compromised and/or breached or security violations have taken place (BS 7799, 1999; GMITS, 1998; Von Solms, 1993). The Information Security Officer is usually the person responsible for most of the operational tasks in the control process within an Information Security Management Program (Von Solms, 1993). In practice, these tasks could also be performed by a system administrator, network administrator, etc. In the rest of the thesis the person responsible for these tasks will be referred to as system administrator. These tasks have proved to be very challenging and demanding. The main reason for this is the rapid advancement of technology in the discipline of Information Technology, for example, the modern distributed computing environment, the Internet, the “freedom” of end-users, the introduction of e-commerce, and etc. (Whitman & Mattord, 2003, p.9; Sundaram, 2000, p.1; Moses, 2001, p.6; Allen, 2001, p.1). As a result of the importance of this control process, and especially the monitoring and detection tasks, it is vital that the system administrator has proper tools at his/her disposal to perform this task effectively. Many of the tools that are currently available to the system administrator, utilize technical controls, such as, audit logs and user profiles. Audit logs are normally used to record all events executed on a system. These logs are simply files that record security and non-security related events that take place on a computer system within an organisation. For this reason, these logs can be used by these tools to gain valuable information on security violations, such as intrusions and, therefore, are able to monitor the current actions of each user (Microsoft, 2002; Smith, 1989, pp. 116-117). User profiles are files that contain information about users` desktop operating environments and are used by the operating system to structure each user environment so that it is the same each time a user logs onto the system (Microsoft, 2002; Block, 1994, p.54). Thus, a user profile is used to indicate which actions the user is allowed to perform on the system. Both technical controls (audit logs and user profiles) are frequently available in most computer environments (such as, UNIX, Firewalls, Windows, etc.) (Cooper et al, 1995, p.129). Therefore, seeing that the audit logs record most events taking place on an information system and the user profile indicates the authorized actions of each user, the system administrator could most probably utilise these controls in a more proactive manner.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
WSP3: a web service model for personal privacy protection
- Authors: Ophoff, Jacobus Albertus
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Data protection , Computer security , Privacy, Right of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Information Technology)
- Identifier: vital:10798 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/272 , Data protection , Computer security , Privacy, Right of
- Description: The prevalent use of the Internet not only brings with it numerous advantages, but also some drawbacks. The biggest of these problems is the threat to the individual’s personal privacy. This privacy issue is playing a growing role with respect to technological advancements. While new service-based technologies are considerably increasing the scope of information flow, the cost is a loss of control over personal information and therefore privacy. Existing privacy protection measures might fail to provide effective privacy protection in these new environments. This dissertation focuses on the use of new technologies to improve the levels of personal privacy. In this regard the WSP3 (Web Service Model for Personal Privacy Protection) model is formulated. This model proposes a privacy protection scheme using Web Services. Having received tremendous industry backing, Web Services is a very topical technology, promising much in the evolution of the Internet. In our society privacy is highly valued and a very important issue. Protecting personal privacy in environments using new technologies is crucial for their future success. These facts, combined with the detail that the WSP3 model focusses on Web Service environments, lead to the following realizations for the model: The WSP3 model provides users with control over their personal information and allows them to express their desired level of privacy. Parties requiring access to a user’s information are explicitly defined by the user, as well as the information available to them. The WSP3 model utilizes a Web Services architecture to provide privacy protection. In addition, it integrates security techniques, such as cryptography, into the architecture as required. The WSP3 model integrates with current standards to maintain their benefits. This allows the implementation of the model in any environment supporting these base technologies. In addition, the research involves the development of a prototype according to the model. This prototype serves to present a proof-of-concept by illustrating the WSP3 model and all the technologies involved. The WSP3 model gives users control over their privacy and allows everyone to decide their own level of protection. By incorporating Web Services, the model also shows how new technologies can be used to offer solutions to existing problem areas.
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- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Ophoff, Jacobus Albertus
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Data protection , Computer security , Privacy, Right of
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Information Technology)
- Identifier: vital:10798 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/272 , Data protection , Computer security , Privacy, Right of
- Description: The prevalent use of the Internet not only brings with it numerous advantages, but also some drawbacks. The biggest of these problems is the threat to the individual’s personal privacy. This privacy issue is playing a growing role with respect to technological advancements. While new service-based technologies are considerably increasing the scope of information flow, the cost is a loss of control over personal information and therefore privacy. Existing privacy protection measures might fail to provide effective privacy protection in these new environments. This dissertation focuses on the use of new technologies to improve the levels of personal privacy. In this regard the WSP3 (Web Service Model for Personal Privacy Protection) model is formulated. This model proposes a privacy protection scheme using Web Services. Having received tremendous industry backing, Web Services is a very topical technology, promising much in the evolution of the Internet. In our society privacy is highly valued and a very important issue. Protecting personal privacy in environments using new technologies is crucial for their future success. These facts, combined with the detail that the WSP3 model focusses on Web Service environments, lead to the following realizations for the model: The WSP3 model provides users with control over their personal information and allows them to express their desired level of privacy. Parties requiring access to a user’s information are explicitly defined by the user, as well as the information available to them. The WSP3 model utilizes a Web Services architecture to provide privacy protection. In addition, it integrates security techniques, such as cryptography, into the architecture as required. The WSP3 model integrates with current standards to maintain their benefits. This allows the implementation of the model in any environment supporting these base technologies. In addition, the research involves the development of a prototype according to the model. This prototype serves to present a proof-of-concept by illustrating the WSP3 model and all the technologies involved. The WSP3 model gives users control over their privacy and allows everyone to decide their own level of protection. By incorporating Web Services, the model also shows how new technologies can be used to offer solutions to existing problem areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
Cybersecurity: reducing the attack surface
- Authors: Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
- Subjects: Computer security , Computer networks -- Security measures , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52885 , vital:44319
- Description: Almost 60% of the world’s population has access to the internet and most organisations today rely on internet connectivity to conduct business and carry out daily operations. Further to this, it is estimated that concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT) will facilitate the connections of over 125 billion ‘things’ by the year 2030. However, as people and devices are becoming more and more interconnected, and more data is being shared, the question that must be asked is – are we doing so securely? Each year, cybercriminals cost organisations and individuals millions of dollars, using techniques such as phishing, social engineering, malware and denial of service attacks. In particular, together with the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a so-called ‘cybercrime pandemic’. Threat actors adapted their techniques to target people with Covid-19-themed cyberattacks and phishing campaigns to exploit their stress and anxiety during the pandemic. Cybersecurity and cybercrime exist in a symbiotic relationship in cyberspace, where, as cybersecurity gets stronger, so the cybercriminals need to become stronger to overcome those defenses. And, as the cybercriminals become stronger, so too must the defenses. Further, this symbiotic relationship plays out on what is called the attack surface. Attack surfaces are the exposed areas of an organisation that make systems more vulnerable to attacks and, essentially, is all the gaps in an organisation’s security that could be compromised by a threat actor. This attack surface is increased through organisations incorporating things such as IoT technologies, migrating to the cloud and decentralising its workforce, as happened during the pandemic with many people working from home. It is essential that organisations reduce the digital attack surface, and the vulnerabilities introduced through devices connected to the internet, with technical strategies and solutions. However, the focus of cybersecurity is often on the digital attack surface and technical solutions, with less of a focus on the human aspects of cybersecurity. The human attack surface encompasses all the vulnerabilities introduced through the actions and activities of employees. These employees should be given the necessary cybersecurity awareness, training and education to reduce the human attack surface of organisations. However, it is not only employees of organisations who are online. All individuals who interact online should be cybersecurity aware and know how to reduce their own digital and human attack surfaces, or digital footprints. This paper emphasises the importance of utilising people as part of the cybersecurity defense through the cultivation of cybersecurity cultures in organisations and a cybersecurity conscious society.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Thomson, Kerry-Lynn
- Subjects: Computer security , Computer networks -- Security measures , f-sa
- Language: English
- Type: Lectures
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52885 , vital:44319
- Description: Almost 60% of the world’s population has access to the internet and most organisations today rely on internet connectivity to conduct business and carry out daily operations. Further to this, it is estimated that concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT) will facilitate the connections of over 125 billion ‘things’ by the year 2030. However, as people and devices are becoming more and more interconnected, and more data is being shared, the question that must be asked is – are we doing so securely? Each year, cybercriminals cost organisations and individuals millions of dollars, using techniques such as phishing, social engineering, malware and denial of service attacks. In particular, together with the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a so-called ‘cybercrime pandemic’. Threat actors adapted their techniques to target people with Covid-19-themed cyberattacks and phishing campaigns to exploit their stress and anxiety during the pandemic. Cybersecurity and cybercrime exist in a symbiotic relationship in cyberspace, where, as cybersecurity gets stronger, so the cybercriminals need to become stronger to overcome those defenses. And, as the cybercriminals become stronger, so too must the defenses. Further, this symbiotic relationship plays out on what is called the attack surface. Attack surfaces are the exposed areas of an organisation that make systems more vulnerable to attacks and, essentially, is all the gaps in an organisation’s security that could be compromised by a threat actor. This attack surface is increased through organisations incorporating things such as IoT technologies, migrating to the cloud and decentralising its workforce, as happened during the pandemic with many people working from home. It is essential that organisations reduce the digital attack surface, and the vulnerabilities introduced through devices connected to the internet, with technical strategies and solutions. However, the focus of cybersecurity is often on the digital attack surface and technical solutions, with less of a focus on the human aspects of cybersecurity. The human attack surface encompasses all the vulnerabilities introduced through the actions and activities of employees. These employees should be given the necessary cybersecurity awareness, training and education to reduce the human attack surface of organisations. However, it is not only employees of organisations who are online. All individuals who interact online should be cybersecurity aware and know how to reduce their own digital and human attack surfaces, or digital footprints. This paper emphasises the importance of utilising people as part of the cybersecurity defense through the cultivation of cybersecurity cultures in organisations and a cybersecurity conscious society.
- Full Text: