IEEE P2200 Basic Operating System Security BOSS

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IEEE P2200Basic Operating System Security(BOSS)

• IEEE Information Assurance Standards Workshop
• December 4, 2003

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Project Purpose

• Baseline security requirements for commercial,
  off-the-shelf (COTS) operating systems
• Identify reasonable security expectations
  expressed so multiple audiences can readily
  understand them (explicit and understandable!)
• Provides users and industry with the "power of
  the pen" by moving OS security standards from
  government edict to community consensus

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Project Plan

• Starting with guidance issued by NIST written as
  a Common Criteria (CC) protection profile (PP)
• http//www.bosswg.org/basedoc.html
• Rest of plan working group decides!
• Type of OS(s) depends on who participates
• Format group decides
• Contents group decides
• Schedule the first order of business for
  working group
• Final standard need not resemble the NIST document

Project will have large say it defining itself
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NIST Goals

• Fulfilling our role according to National
  Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
  (NTTAA), - promote commercial standards for
  Federal use
• Help ensure that working group has access to pros
  and cons necessary to make good decisions
• NISTs technical goals
• Security expectations are explicit and
  understandable
• Security expectations match requirements selected
• Cost-effective assurances (evaluate only if it
  makes sense)
• No more C2 by 92 fiascos

NIST wants to promote participation and provide
input, not dictate
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Issues (from BOSS website)

• Overlaps or Conflicts with DoD Standards?
• Must Accommodate Range of Situations
• Must Not Be Too Restrictive
• Must Not Inadvertently Weaken Controls

Project goal address issues, not overlook them
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Characteristics of Base Document

• NISTIR 6985 COTS Security Protection Profile -
  Operating Systems (CSPP-OS)
• (Worked Example Applying Guidance of NISTIR-6462,
  CSPP)
• Version 1.0

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Design Goals for Base Document

• Specify the requirements necessary to solve the
  security problem that COTS operating systems
  (perhaps with add-on packages) can be expected to
  address in the near-term
• Specify needs for operating systems in both
  stand-alone and distributed, multi-user
  information systems

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Key Assumptions

• The OS is comprised of near-term, commercial off
  the shelf (COTS) information technology
• Authenticated users recognize the need for a
  secure IT environment
• Authenticated users can be reasonably trusted to
  correctly apply the organizations security
  policies in their discretionary actions
• Competent security administration is performed
• Business/mission process automation is
  implemented with due regard for what can not be
  expected of a CSPP-OS compliant OS.

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Security Problem Addressed

• All authenticated users are either
• Trusted to not maliciously attempt to circumvent
  nor by-pass access controls or
• Lack the motivation or capability for
  sophisticated penetration attempts.
• Public access is allowed with environmental
  controls over and beyond the OS supplied security
  mechanisms.

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Security Expectations

• OS that can
• Control a community of benign (i.e., not
  intentionally malicious) authenticated users
• Provide protection against unsophisticated,
  technical attacks
• OS that is not expected to
• Provide sufficient protection against
  sophisticated, technical attacks (to include
  denial-of-service)
• Protect against malicious abuse of authorized
  privileges

Realistic expectations are essential!
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Specific Assurance Expectations

• CSPP-OS is targeted for near-term achievable,
  cost-effective, COTS security. Therefore the
  assurances must
• be consistent with current good commercial
  practices and
• enable evaluated products that are competitive
  against non-evaluated products with respect to
  functionality, performance, cost, and
  time-to-market.
• CSPP-OS is intended to be consistent with current
  and near-term mutual recognition arrangement.
  This requires that the CSPP-OS assurances
• contain no assurance components first appearing
  in Common Criteria EAL5 or above

Achievable and Cost-effective
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Project Contacts

• Jack Colejack.cole_at_ieee.org, 410-278-9276WG
  Chair, Sponsor Chair
• Gary StoneburnerStoneburner_at_NIST.Gov,
  301-975-5394 NIST Proponent of Base Document,
  Technical Contact