Common Criteria, the Rainbow Series and Windows 2k

A breakdown of the Common Criteria its connection with the "Orange Book" in the rainbow series and Microsoft. Super Security Geek stuff.

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General Cartwright on Netcentric

Commander from Stratcom talks about using his blog for netcentric collaboration. This is a good example of what netcentric is.

“The metric is what the person has to contribute, not the person’s rank, age, or level of experience. If they have the answer, I want the answer. When I post a question on my blog, I expect the person with the answer to post back. I do not expect the person with the answer to run it through you, your OIC, the branch chief, the exec, the Division Chief and then get the garbled answer back before he or she posts it for me. The Napoleonic Code and Netcentric Collaboration cannot exist in the same space and time. It’s YOUR job to make sure I get my answers and then if they get it wrong or they could have got it righter, then you guide them toward a better way…but do not get in their way.”
-- Gen. James Cartwright, USMC, talking about this Blog

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SSAA vs. ISP

I've done a few System Security Authorization Agreements (SSAA's) but I admit I'm doing Information Support Plans, ISPs (formerly C4ISPs) for the first time.

I used to think that the SSAA was a little bit too much information. Overtime I've learned that it make total sense. It forces the designers to answer important questions. Many times the questions it answers aren't important until much later (such as life cycle issues).

The ISP's puts the SSAA to shame in its sheer volume of information that needs to be gathered. This is because it includes the netcentric aspects of the system, the actual schedule and money involved, acquisitions issues and a bunch of other things that I, as a security guy, don't care about.

The ISP is a birds eye view of the target system where the SSAA is a microscope into all levels of security over the life of the system from cradle to the grave.

DIACAP Policy

**Update (2014):  DoD 8500 and 8510 have been updated.  DoD 8500, Information Assurance is now DoDD 8500, CyberSecurity & DoDI 8510, DIACAP is not DoDI 8510, Risk Management Framework for DoD IT.  - here is more on DoD RMF.

This is an overview of the DIACAP's final draft, paraphrased.

The DIACAP includes the same things that the DITSCAP has with two major differerences: netcentric environments and GIG standards. With these two (and MANY other changes) it seems that this evolution of the DITSCAP has to take place. So many major levels of Information Assurance in the DoD and abroad have changed that DITSCAP will have to embrace them to stay relevant.

The DIACAP policies will come from DoD Directive 8500.1/.2.

The DIACAP supports Information Systems transitioning to netcentric environments and GIG Standards by:

1. Ensuring uniformity of approach
2. Managing and disseminating Information Assurance Design, implementation, validation, sustainement and approach
3. Being able to handle differing system
4. facilitating a dynamic environment

Information Assurance will be implemented with Information Assurance Controls as defined by DoDI 8500.2 and maintained through a DoD wide configuration management process that considers the GiG architecture and risk assessments conducted at the DoD component level in accordance with FISMA.

The DIACAP will support the ongoing validation to maintain the Information Assurance posture of an Information System. DoD component IA Programs are the primary method of supporting the DoD Information Assurance Program.

Status of all systems in the DIACAP program will be available to all who have authorized access.

What the hell is Netcentricity?

"The power of digital networks to distribute information instantly and without borders. Characterized by global connectivity, real-time collaboration and rapid and continuous information exchange, netcentricity is a ubiquitous force reshaping every facet of our markets, organizational cultures, and personal lives at the dawn of the twenty-first century. " -Netcentricity Labs

Great links for more about Netcentricity:
Netcentric Supply Chain Labs
Network Centric Happiness
Network Centric Fun

SUBJECT: DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP)

The Department of Defense Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP) is replacing with the DoD Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP). More on DITSCAP can be found at the DOD's IASE website.

What is DIACAP?
The DIACAP is the DoD process for identifying, implementing, and validating information assurance controls, for authorizing the operation of DoD information systems, and for managing information assurance posture across DoD information systems consistent with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

What is so special about the DIACAP?
It will replace DoDI 5200.40 and DoD 8510.1-M
Guide for compliance with the Global Information Grid
Supports Netcentricity.

Follow this link to my interpretation of the DIACAP Policy.

What will we have to do differently with the DIACAP. (soon)

Computer Security

By: Mario Ramis

What is computer security?
Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.

Why should I care about computer security?
We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs. Although you may not consider your communications "top secret," you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored on your computer (such as financial statements).

Who would want to break into my computer at home?
Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.

Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.

Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data.

How easy is it to break into my computer?
Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities (informally called "holes") to exploit in computer software. The complexity of software makes it increasingly difficult to thoroughly test the security of computer systems.

When holes are discovered, computer vendors will usually develop patches to address the problem(s). However, it is up to you, the user, to obtain and install the patches, or correctly configure the software to operate more securely. Most of the incident reports of computer break-ins received at the CERT/CC could have been prevented if system administrators and users kept their computers up-to-date with patches and security fixes.

Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer unless you change the settings to be more secure. Examples include chat programs that let outsiders execute commands on your computer or web browsers that could allow someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them.

Technology
This section provides a basic introduction to the technologies that underlie the Internet. It was written with the novice end-user in mind and is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of all Internet-based technologies. Subsections provide a short overview of each topic. This section is a basic primer on the relevant technologies. For those who desire a deeper understanding of the concepts covered here, we include links to additional information.

What does broadband mean?
"Broadband" is the general term used to refer to high-speed network connections. In this context, Internet connections via cable modem and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) are frequently referred to as broadband Internet connections. "Bandwidth" is the term used to describe the relative speed of a network connection -- for example, most current dial-up modems can support a bandwidth of 56 kbps (thousand bits per second). There is no set bandwidth threshold required for a connection to be referred to as "broadband", but it is typical for connections in excess of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) to be so named.

What is cable modem access?
A cable modem allows a single computer (or network of computers) to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem usually has an Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network) connection to the computer, and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps.

Typical speeds tend to be lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers turn entire neighborhoods into LANs which share the same bandwidth. Because of this "shared-medium" topology, cable modem users may experience somewhat slower network access during periods of peak demand, and may be more susceptible to risks such as packet sniffing and unprotected windows shares than users with other types of connectivity. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)

What is DSL access?
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet connectivity, unlike cable modem-based service, provides the user with dedicated bandwidth. However, the maximum bandwidth available to DSL users is usually lower than the maximum cable modem rate because of differences in their respective network technologies. Also, the "dedicated bandwidth" is only dedicated between your home and the DSL provider's central office -- the providers offer little or no guarantee of bandwidth all the way across the Internet.

DSL access is not as susceptible to packet sniffing as cable modem access, but many of the other security risks we'll cover apply to both DSL and cable modem access. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)

How are broadband services different from traditional dial-up services? Traditional dial-up Internet services are sometimes referred to as "dial-on-demand" services. That is, your computer only connects to the Internet when it has something to send, such as email or a request to load a web page. Once there is no more data to be sent, or after a certain amount of idle time, the computer disconnects the call. Also, in most cases each call connects to a pool of modems at the ISP, and since the modem IP addresses are dynamically assigned, your computer is usually assigned a different IP address on each call. As a result, it is more difficult (not impossible, just difficult) for an attacker to take advantage of vulnerable network services to take control of your computer.

Broadband services are referred to as "always-on" services because there is no call setup when your computer has something to send. The computer is always on the network, ready to send or receive data through its network interface card (NIC). Since the connection is always up, your computer’s IP address will change less frequently (if at all), thus making it more of a fixed target for attack.

What’s more, many broadband service providers use well-known IP addresses for home users. So while an attacker may not be able to single out your specific computer as belonging to you, they may at least be able to know that your service providers’ broadband customers are within a certain address range, thereby making your computer a more likely target than it might have been otherwise.

The table below shows a brief comparison of traditional dial-up and broadband services.

Dial-up Broadband
Connection type Dial on demand Always on
IP address Changes on each call Static or infrequently changing
Relative connection speed Low High
Remote control potential Computer must be dialed in to control remotely
Computer is always connected, so remote control can occur anytime
ISP-provided security Little or none Little or none
Table 1: Comparison of Dial-up and Broadband Services

How is broadband access different from the network I use at work?
Corporate and government networks are typically protected by many layers of security, ranging from network firewalls to encryption. In addition, they usually have support staff who maintain the security and availability of these network connections.

Although your ISP is responsible for maintaining the services they provide to you, you probably won’t have dedicated staff on hand to manage and operate your home network. You are ultimately responsible for your own computers. As a result, it is up to you to take reasonable precautions to secure your computers from accidental or intentional misuse.

What is a protocol?
A protocol is a well-defined specification that allows computers to communicate across a network. In a way, protocols define the "grammar" that computers can use to "talk" to each other.

What is IP?
IP stands for "Internet Protocol". It can be thought of as the common language of computers on the Internet. There are a number of detailed descriptions of IP given elsewhere, so we won't cover it in detail in this document. However, it is important to know a few things about IP in order to understand how to secure your computer. Here we’ll cover IP addresses, static vs. dynamic addressing, NAT, and TCP and UDP Ports.

An overview of TCP/IP can be found in the TCP/IP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part1/ and

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part2/

What is an IP address?
IP addresses are analogous to telephone numbers – when you want to call someone on the telephone, you must first know their telephone number. Similarly, when a computer on the Internet needs to send data to another computer, it must first know its IP address. IP addresses are typically shown as four numbers separated by decimal points, or “dots”. For example, 10.24.254.3 and 192.168.62.231 are IP addresses.

If you need to make a telephone call but you only know the person’s name, you can look them up in the telephone directory (or call directory services) to get their telephone number. On the Internet, that directory is called the Domain Name System, or DNS for short. If you know the name of a server, say www.cert.org, and you type this into your web browser, your computer will then go ask its DNS server what the numeric IP address is that is associated with that name.

Every computer on the Internet has an IP address associated with it that uniquely identifies it. However, that address may change over time, especially if the computer is

dialing into an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
connected behind a network firewall
connected to a broadband service using dynamic IP addressing.

What are static and dynamic addressing?
Static IP addressing occurs when an ISP permanently assigns one or more IP addresses for each user. These addresses do not change over time. However, if a static address is assigned but not in use, it is effectively wasted. Since ISPs have a limited number of addresses allocated to them, they sometimes need to make more efficient use of their addresses.

Dynamic IP addressing allows the ISP to efficiently utilize their address space. Using dynamic IP addressing, the IP addresses of individual user computers may change over time. If a dynamic address is not in use, it can be automatically reassigned to another computer as needed.

What is NAT?
Network Address Translation (NAT) provides a way to hide the IP addresses of a private network from the Internet while still allowing computers on that network to access the Internet. NAT can be used in many different ways, but one method frequently used by home users is called "masquerading".

Using NAT masquerading, one or more devices on a LAN can be made to appear as a single IP address to the outside Internet. This allows for multiple computers in a home network to use a single cable modem or DSL connection without requiring the ISP to provide more than one IP address to the user. Using this method, the ISP-assigned IP address can be either static or dynamic. Most network firewalls support NAT masquerading.

What are TCP and UDP Ports?
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are both protocols that use IP. Whereas IP allows two computers to talk to each other across the Internet, TCP and UDP allow individual applications (also known as "services") on those computers to talk to each other.

In the same way that a telephone number or physical mail box might be associated with more than one person, a computer might have multiple applications (e.g. email, file services, web services) running on the same IP address. Ports allow a computer to differentiate services such as email data from web data. A port is simply a number associated with each application that uniquely identifies that service on that computer. Both TCP and UDP use ports to identify services. Some common port numbers are 80 for web (HTTP), 25 for email (SMTP), and 53 for Domain Name System (DNS).

What is a firewall?
The Firewalls FAQ (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/firewalls-faq/) defines a firewall as "a system or group of systems that enforces an access control policy between two networks." In the context of home networks, a firewall typically takes one of two forms:

Software firewall - specialized software running on an individual computer, or

Network firewall - a dedicated device designed to protect one or more computers.

Both types of firewall allow the user to define access policies for inbound connections to the computers they are protecting. Many also provide the ability to control what services (ports) the protected computers are able to access on the Internet (outbound access). Most firewalls intended for home use come with pre-configured security policies from which the user chooses, and some allow the user to customize these policies for their specific needs.

More information on firewalls can be found in the Additional resources section of this document.

What does antivirus software do?
There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your computer that indicate the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called "signatures") provided by the vendor.

New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your computer so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date.

More information about viruses and antivirus software can be found on the CERT Computer Virus Resource page

http://www.cert.org/other_sources/viruses.html Computer security risks to home users

What is at risk?
Information security is concerned with three main areas:

Confidentiality - information should be available only to those who rightfully have access to it

Integrity -- information should be modified only by those who are authorized to do so

Availability -- information should be accessible to those who need it when they need it

These concepts apply to home Internet users just as much as they would to any corporate or government network. You probably wouldn't let a stranger look through your important documents. In the same way, you may want to keep the tasks you perform on your computer confidential, whether it's tracking your investments or sending email messages to family and friends. Also, you should have some assurance that the information you enter into your computer remains intact and is available when you need it.

Some security risks arise from the possibility of intentional misuse of your computer by intruders via the Internet. Others are risks that you would face even if you weren't connected to the Internet (e.g. hard disk failures, theft, power outages). The bad news is that you probably cannot plan for every possible risk. The good news is that you can take some simple steps to reduce the chance that you'll be affected by the most common threats -- and some of those steps help with both the intentional and accidental risks you're likely to face.

Before we get to what you can do to protect your computer or home network, let’s take a closer look at some of these risks.

Intentional misuse of your computer
The most common methods used by intruders to gain control of home computers are briefly described below. More detailed information is available by reviewing the URLs listed in the References section below.

Trojan horse programs
Back door and remote administration programs
Denial of service
Being an intermediary for another attack
Unprotected Windows shares
Mobile code (Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX)
Cross-site scripting
Email spoofing
Email-borne viruses
Hidden file extensions
Chat clients
Packet sniffing
Trojan horse programs
Trojan horse programs are a common way for intruders to trick you (sometimes referred to as "social engineering") into installing "back door" programs. These can allow intruders easy access to your computer without your knowledge, change your system configurations, or infect your computer with a computer virus. More information about Trojan horses can be found in the following document.

http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1999-02.html

Back door and remote administration programs
On Windows computers, three tools commonly used by intruders to gain remote access to your computer are BackOrifice, Netbus, and SubSeven. These back door or remote administration programs, once installed, allow other people to access and control your computer. We recommend that you review the CERT vulnerability note about Back Orifice. This document describes how it works, how to detect it, and how to protect your computers from it:

http://www.cert.org/vul_notes/VN-98.07.backorifice.html

Denial of service
Another form of attack is called a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. This type of attack causes your computer to crash or to become so busy processing data that you are unable to use it. In most cases, the latest patches will prevent the attack. The following documents describe denial-of-service attacks in greater detail.

http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2000-01.html
http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/DoS_trends.pdf

It is important to note that in addition to being the target of a DoS attack, it is possible for your computer to be used as a participant in a denial-of-service attack on another system.

Being an intermediary for another attack
Intruders will frequently use compromised computers as launching pads for attacking other systems. An example of this is how distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) tools are used. The intruders install an "agent" (frequently through a Trojan horse program) that runs on the compromised computer awaiting further instructions. Then, when a number of agents are running on different computers, a single "handler" can instruct all of them to launch a denial-of-service attack on another system. Thus, the end target of the attack is not your own computer, but someone else’s -- your computer is just a convenient tool in a larger attack.

Unprotected Windows shares
Unprotected Windows networking shares can be exploited by intruders in an automated way to place tools on large numbers of Windows-based computers attached to the Internet. Because site security on the Internet is interdependent, a compromised computer not only creates problems for the computer's owner, but it is also a threat to other sites on the Internet. The greater immediate risk to the Internet community is the potentially large number of computers attached to the Internet with unprotected Windows networking shares combined with distributed attack tools such as those described in http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-01.html

Another threat includes malicious and destructive code, such as viruses or worms, which leverage unprotected Windows networking shares to propagate. One such example is the 911 worm described in http://www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-03.html

There is great potential for the emergence of other intruder tools that leverage unprotected Windows networking shares on a widespread basis.

more...
please visit site...

For complete article please visit: http://ramis.aspfreeserver.com/Home_Network_Security.asp

Goverment Push for Certification

The DoD recently came up with a directive to madate the use of certication for contractors. This initiative will encourage IT professionals working for the organization to have a certain level of skills.

Why Information Assurance?

Military organizations, governments, Fortune 500 companies and other high profile bureaucracies with extremely valuable information seek extremely assured systems.

My Roget’s Super Thesaurus says this about the word assurance:

Assurance n. 1. CONFIDENCE security, sureness, courage, boldness, self-assurance, conviction.

Assured a. 1. GUARANTEED sure, certain, secure.

Organization that tend to critical systems require a higher level of assurance. And for good reason. They handle, process and store our Social Security Numbers, medical records, criminal records, pay checks, credit history and our National Security. They are literally the keepers of our digital lives.

Many see information assurance as a formality, something useless that is being forced on them by ridiculous laws and policies. Information assurance is often completely ignored until there is a disaster.

We require systems with a high level of assurance (or confidence) that will provide confidentiality, integrity and availability to data as advertised. Systems with no assurance can cost millions of dollars, loss of valuable data and even lives.

It is the job of a System Security Engineer (SSE) to evaluate and analyze a systems level of assurance so that the decision makers (CEOs, CIOs, senior officers, government officials, senior managers, et al) can make a sound judgment on what kind of responsibility they must shouldered and what kind of risks they are taking. In many ways the SSE is the eyes and ears of the decision maker.

I’m finding my job as an SSE more valuable every day as people become more dependent on Information and the systems that assure its safe passage.

One Way Gates, Guard Solutions, MLS, One Way Transfer

Here is an off shoot of the Cross Domain Solution (SABI) post. Typically, organization will want what is known as a One Way Gate or Guard or MLS. The definintions between these
tend to blur as you are looking for a technical solution for your cross domain issues.

Here is a definition of Each:

Guard:
According to the NSTISSI 4009, a guard is more of a process. Guards Process limiting the exchange of information between systems.

More on guards:
http://www.gotroot.com/Trusted+Guards

One Way Gate:
Can be considered a guard solution. It is a device or process that supports and gives assurance of a one way transfer of data.

Multi-Level Security or (MLS): MLS is the concept of processing information with different classifications and categories that simultaneously permits access by users with different security clearances and denies access to users who lack authorization. -- National Information Assurance Glossary

The concepts between guards and MLS are similar. The term guard is very general and can include One Way Gates and MLS, but Multi-Level Security is specifically for different classifications.

And example of a one way gate would be a OWLs data diode and NetSecs One Way Transfer [ see RSS below for links].

You may have a hell of a time finding a One Way Gate, Guard Solution, One Way Transfers solution for your Cross Domain. If you have the funds you may need NSA's ISSEs but is best to get your own CDS team involved. This team may be a few levels higher than your present organization if your working for the government.

Useful Guards/MLS/One Way Transfer Links [ You'll need an RSS Aggregator.. My Yahoo! and Newsgator are free ]:

http://del.icio.us/rss/elamb/Guards

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Cross Domain Solution (formerly SABI)

Cross Domain Solution addresses connections between to domains with different levels of security (i.e. Classified to Unclassified, U.S. to Foreign, Military network to civilian corporate network).

I don't know a lot about CDS yet. I'm still learning. I have found some good references.

From what I've learned so far, Cross Domain Solutions seems to be one of the biggest pains in the ass of all time.

If you are looking for guidance, the Navy and Marines seems to have the best sources (so far).
If you're working for the AF, you may need to go through AFCA - https://private.afca.af.mil/ip/poc_div.cfm?ID=1.

Here are some great resources [ on RSS so you'll need to get an agregator such as Newsgator or a free account on My YAHOO! to read ]:

http://del.icio.us/rss/elamb/CDS (.mil)

Good Luck on your Cross Domain Solution... and may God have mercy on your soul.


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