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Annotation of coherent/a/usr/man/COHERENT/security, revision 1.1

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        !             3: security              Technical Information              security
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        !             8: Because COHERENT is  a multi-user, multi-tasking operating system
        !             9: which  can support  users from  remote  terminals, steps  must be
        !            10: taken to ensure that the system is secure.  Sensitive information
        !            11: that is stored on the system must be protected from being read or
        !            12: copied by  unauthorized persons; files must  be protected against
        !            13: vandalization by  intruders.  Unless  a reasonable degree  can be
        !            14: guaranteed, no multi-user  operating system can be trusted to ar-
        !            15: chive important information.
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        !            17: In one  sense, it is easy  to achieve perfect security  in a com-
        !            18: puter system.   As Grampp and Morris have noted,  ``It is easy to
        !            19: run a secure  computer system.  You merely disconnect all dial-up
        !            20: connections,  put the  machine and  its  terminals in  a shielded
        !            21: room,  and  post  a guard  at  the  door.''  For practical  uses,
        !            22: however, security means balancing ease of access against restric-
        !            23: tiveness:  users should  have  easy access  to  what is  properly
        !            24: theirs, and  should be barred from system  facilities that do not
        !            25: belong to them.
        !            26: 
        !            27: The  COHERENT  system  has the  following  tools  to assist  with
        !            28: security.
        !            29: 
        !            30: _P_a_s_s_w_o_r_d_s Every  user account can be  ``locked'' with a password.
        !            31:           Each user  can assign her own  password, and the system
        !            32:           administrator can set passwords for the superusers root
        !            33:           and bin.
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        !            35:           Passwords  should be  changed  frequently.  A  password
        !            36:           should have  at least six  characters, should not  be a
        !            37:           common name  or word,  and preferably should  include a
        !            38:           mixture  of upper- and  lower-case letters,  to prevent
        !            39:           decryption by brute-force methods.
        !            40: 
        !            41:           Passwords should be  guarded jealously.  In particular,
        !            42:           the  password for  the  superuser root  should be  kept
        !            43:           secret, as  she can read  every file and  execute every
        !            44:           program throughout the system.
        !            45: 
        !            46: _P_e_r_m_i_s_s_i_o_n_s
        !            47:           Execution of  system-level programs, such  as mount, is
        !            48:           restricted  to the superuser  root.  This  prevents in-
        !            49:           truders from seizing  superuser permissions through un-
        !            50:           authorized manipulation  of system  services.  Ordinary
        !            51:           users are  also restricted from  directly access system
        !            52:           devices, for the same reason.
        !            53: 
        !            54: _E_n_c_r_y_p_t_i_o_n
        !            55:           The command  crypt performs rotary  encryption, similar
        !            56:           to that  used by the  German Enigma machine.   Files of
        !            57:           sensitive information  should be encrypted,  to protect
        !            58:           them against being  read by unauthorized persons.  Note
        !            59:           that encryption  is the  only true defense  against un-
        !            60:           authorized reading: not  even the superuser can read an
        !            61:           encrypted file unless she has the encryption key.
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        !            63: 
        !            64: COHERENT Lexicon                                           Page 1
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        !            69: security              Technical Information              security
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        !            74: Many COHERENT  systems have only one user  and are not networked;
        !            75: for such  installations, the normal  level of security  may be an
        !            76: annoyance.   Passwords can  be turned  off  by using  the command
        !            77: passwd to set the password to <return>.  The command chmod can be
        !            78: used to  widen access to devices  and system-level utilities; see
        !            79: the Lexicon entry for chmod for more information on file access.
        !            80: 
        !            81: Security  ultimately is a  system-wide responsibility.   To quote
        !            82: Grampp and  Morris, ``By far, the greatest  security hazard for a
        !            83: system ...  is the set of  people who use it.   If the people who
        !            84: use a  machine are naive about security  issues, the machine will
        !            85: be vulnerable regardless of what is done by the local management.
        !            86: This applies particularly to the system's administrators, but or-
        !            87: dinary users should also take heed.''
        !            88: 
        !            89: ***** See Also *****
        !            90: 
        !            91: chmod, crypt, passwd, technical information
        !            92: Grampp FT, Morris  RH: UNIX operating system security.  _A_T&_T _B_e_l_l
        !            93: _L_a_b _T_e_c_h _J 1984;8:1649-1672.
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        !           130: COHERENT Lexicon                                           Page 2
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