The NSA's Security-Enhanced Linux (fwd)
A message that is not in the archive (sent off-list or not yet received): [email protected]
Quoted 2 lines · Mike A. Harris
Anyone looked into this?
It's an implementation of Domain Enforcement, ported from the flask project. It is a prototype.
Persons looking for backdoors, tricks, traps, snares, or ice are going to be disappointed. It's just code like everone else produces. Much of the work was done by employees of the NSA. They should be applauded for the effort they put in just to be allowed to make this available.
Signature · 7 lines
Casey Schaufler Manager, Trust Technology, SGI [email protected] voice: 650.933.1634 [email protected] Pager: 888.220.0607 - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected] Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 7 lines · Casey Schaufler
Quoted 2 lines · Mike A. Harris
Anyone looked into this?
It's an implementation of Domain Enforcement, ported from the flask project. It is a prototype.
These folks are good at what they do and the code is GPL. It is worth starting to consider whether this code, or code from one of the other security-enhancement projects, should be included in the standard kernel for 2.6 or 3.0.
A more secure Linux would be great for a lot of people, but we need to look at the trade-offs. Does the approach damage usability? Are there better ways? ... ?
Quoted 2 lines
Persons looking for backdoors, tricks, traps, snares, or ice are going to be disappointed.
That won't, and shouldn't, stop anyone having a good look.
Quoted 1 line
It's just code like everone else produces.
So people looking at it may find bugs and vulnerabilities the implementers hadn't considered. Great.
Quoted 4 lines
Much of the work was done
by employees of the NSA. They should be applauded for the effort they put in just to be allowed to make this available.
<applause intensity=loud>
Bravo!
Quoted 1 line
/applause>
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected]
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 4 lines
These folks are good at what they do and the code is GPL. It is worth starting to consider whether this code, or code from one of the other security-enhancement projects, should be included in the standard kernel for 2.6 or 3.0.
I think this is a good point. Its actually a nice testimonial for free software that its finally got the NSA contributing code in a way that everyone benefits from and which may help cut down computer crime beyond government. (and which of course actually is part of the NSA's real job)
Quoted 4 lines
Quoted 1 line
It's just code like everone else produces.
So people looking at it may find bugs and vulnerabilities the implementers hadn't considered. Great.
Yep. Im sure all sorts of people will be finding bugs in it because they are looking for secret NSA backdoors so why discourage them 8)
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected]
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 10 lines · Alan Cox
Quoted 4 lines
These folks are good at what they do and the code is GPL. It is worth starting to consider whether this code, or code from one of the other security-enhancement projects, should be included in the standard kernel for 2.6 or 3.0.
I think this is a good point. Its actually a nice testimonial for free software that its finally got the NSA contributing code in a way that everyone benefits from and which may help cut down computer crime beyond government. (and which of course actually is part of the NSA's real job)
Quoted 7 lines
Quoted 4 lines
Quoted 1 line
It's just code like everone else produces.
So people looking at it may find bugs and vulnerabilities the implementers hadn't considered. Great.
Yep. Im sure all sorts of people will be finding bugs in it because they are looking for secret NSA backdoors so why discourage them 8)
Now that's a real damn good point that I hadn't thought of.
With everyone so paranoid about what backdoors they may have left (like they would be that crazy to put them in and put it out in plain view for everyone) that the code should end up getting a real good review for bugs as well. :-) Such a deal. :-)
Mike
Signature · 9 lines
Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | [email protected] (The Mad Wizard) | (678) 463-0932 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/ NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it! - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected] Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 5 lines · Alan Cox
I think this is a good point. Its actually a nice testimonial for free software that its finally got the NSA contributing code in a way that everyone benefits from and which may help cut down computer crime beyond government. (and which of course actually is part of the NSA's real job)
I often wonder how many people know that a whole bunch of the Linux networking code is Copyrighted by the NSA. I'm always waiting to hear someone come up with a conspiracy theory about it on slashdot, but I have never heard anyone mention it.
Jim
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected]
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 5 lines · James Lewis Nance
Quoted 2 lines
benefits from and which may help cut down computer crime beyond government. (and which of course actually is part of the NSA's real job)
I often wonder how many people know that a whole bunch of the Linux networking code is Copyrighted by the NSA.
Not exactly by NSA itself. A bunch of files have in copyright comment:
---8<---
Written 1992-94 by Donald Becker.
Copyright 1993 United States Government as represented by the Director, National Security Agency.
This software may be used and distributed according to the terms of the GNU Public License, incorporated herein by reference.
The author may be reached as [email protected], or C/O Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences
Code 930.5, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD 20771
--->8---
...so this is the result of Becker's employment at NASA and government's
legal weirdness (no, I have no idea, why of all possible choices "Director, National Security Agency" must represent US government for copyright purpose).
Quoted 3 lines
I'm always waiting to
hear someone come up with a conspiracy theory about it on slashdot, but I have never heard anyone mention it.
Actually I have seen it mentioned there today -- maybe conspiracy
theory is being developed right now ;-)
Signature · 6 lines
Alex - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected] Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Quoted 4 lines · Alex Belits
...so this is the result of Becker's employment at NASA and government's
legal weirdness (no, I have no idea, why of all possible choices "Director, National Security Agency" must represent US government for copyright purpose).
Director is just under "The Office Inspector General of NSA". Basically a division head that reports only to the OIG.
Trust that I know what I am talking about. ;-)
Cheers,
Andre Hedrick
CTO Timpanogas Research Group
EVP Linux Development, TRG
Linux ATA Development
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected]
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Hi,
Quoted 9 lines · Alan Cox
Quoted 4 lines
These folks are good at what they do and the code is GPL. It is worth starting to consider whether this code, or code from one of the other security-enhancement projects, should be included in the standard kernel for 2.6 or 3.0.
I think this is a good point. Its actually a nice testimonial for free software that its finally got the NSA contributing code in a way that everyone benefits from and which may help cut down computer crime beyond government. (and which of course actually is part of the NSA's real job)
I wonder how their approach compares to the RSBAC stuff, though. The RSBAC (by Amon Ott) has all the infrastructure available to have policy based access control; whenever an access decision has to be taken, a call via some interface is made to a module, which then takes the decision ... Just like PAM in userspace.
http://www.rsbac.org/
I think it's a good approach and I think, it has gone much further than the NSA stuff. I'd prefer to have RSBAC merged in 2.5.
Regards,
Signature · 3 lines
Kurt Garloff <[email protected]> Eindhoven, NL GPG key: See mail header, key servers Linux kernel development SuSE GmbH, Nuernberg, FRG SCSI, Security
Quoted 6 lines · Kurt Garloff
I wonder how their approach compares to the RSBAC stuff, though. The RSBAC (by Amon Ott) has all the infrastructure available to have policy based access control; whenever an access decision has to be taken, a call via some interface is made to a module, which then takes the decision ... Just like PAM in userspace.
http://www.rsbac.org/
The Security-Enhanced Linux has a well-defined architecture (named Flask) for flexible mandatory access controls that has been experimentally validated through several prototype systems (DTMach, DTOS, and Flask). The architecture provides clean separation of policy from enforcement, well-defined policy decision interfaces, flexibility in labeling and access decisions, support for policy changes, and fine-grained controls over the kernel abstractions. Detailed studies have been performed of the ability of the architecture to support a wide variety of security policies and are available on the DTOS and Flask web pages accessible via the Background page
(http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/background.html). A published paper about the Flask architecture is also available on the Background page. The architecture and its implementation in Linux are described in detail in the documentation (http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/docs.html).
RSBAC appears to have similar goals to the Security-Enhanced Linux. Like the Security-Enhanced Linux, it separates policy from enforcement and supports a variety of security policies. RSBAC uses a different architecture (the Generalized Framework for Access Control or GFAC) than the Security-Enhanced Linux, although the Flask paper notes that at the highest level of abstraction, the the Flask architecture is consistent with the GFAC. However, the GFAC does not seem to fully address the issue of policy changes and revocation, as discussed in the Flask paper. RSBAC also differs in the specifics of its policy interfaces and its controls, but a careful evaluation of the significance of these differences has not been performed.
--
Stephen D. Smalley, NAI Labs
[email protected]
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected]
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/