Unit 1: Security Fundamentals
1.1 COMPUTER SECURITY CONCEPTS
Definition and Importance:
Computer security means safeguarding computing systems and the data they handle
from unauthorized access, misuse, or damage. It plays a vital role in ensuring trust,
confidentiality, and availability in today’s interconnected digital world.
CIA Triad (Core Objectives):
Confidentiality: Prevents unauthorized disclosure of information. Achieved through
encryption, strict access controls, and policies that protect sensitive data from
exposure.
Integrity: Ensures that data remains consistent and unaltered during storage or
transmission. Digital signatures, hashing algorithms, and version controls help
maintain data integrity.
Availability: Guarantees that systems and data are available to authorized users
whenever needed. Achieved using backup solutions, fault tolerance, and protections
against DoS attacks.
Supporting Principles:
Authenticity: Ensures that data or communication comes from a verified and trusted
source. Achieved using credentials, digital certificates, and secure channels.
Accountability: Tracks system activities and user behavior to identify who accessed
what and when. Important for auditing and forensic investigations.
Security Challenges:
Security implementations often reduce usability, making users reluctant to adopt
them.
Threats evolve constantly, requiring frequent updates and proactive monitoring.
Lack of awareness, insider threats, poor design practices, and improper configuration
weaken security.
1.2 OSI SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
Purpose of OSI Security Architecture:
It provides a formal framework (from ITU-T X.800) to understand, apply, and
evaluate security within the OSI model.
Key Elements:
Security Attacks: Actions that compromise system security. Can be passive
(observing) or active (tampering).
Security Services: Services such as confidentiality, authentication, and integrity that
safeguard data.
Security Mechanisms: Techniques like encryption, digital signatures, and
authentication protocols that implement security services.
Significance:
Helps in understanding how and where security should be applied across network
layers. Encourages standardized design and integration of security features in
protocols.
1.3 SECURITY ATTACKS
1. Passive Attacks:
The attacker monitors or eavesdrops on communications without modifying the data.
These are difficult to detect.
Examples:
o Release of Message Contents: Unauthorized reading of data.
o Traffic Analysis: Inferring information by analyzing communication patterns.
2. Active Attacks:
These attacks involve modifications or disruptions. They are often detectable but
more damaging.
Examples:
o Masquerade: Pretending to be someone else.
o Replay: Resending old data transmissions.
o Message Modification: Altering content during transmission.
o DoS (Denial of Service): Disrupts access to services or resources.
1.4 SECURITY SERVICES
Definition:
Security services protect network resources by supporting confidentiality, integrity,
and authentication. These services are standardized under X.800.
Types of Security Services:
1. Authentication: Verifies the identity of users or message origin to prevent
impersonation.
2. Access Control: Ensures only authorized users can access specific resources.
3. Data Confidentiality: Prevents unauthorized disclosure of data using encryption.
4. Data Integrity: Protects data from unauthorized modification.
5. Non-repudiation: Prevents either party from denying an action or communication,
providing proof.
6. Availability: Ensures that data and services are always accessible to legitimate users.
1.5 SECURITY MECHANISMS
Purpose and Use:
These are technical tools or procedures that implement and enforce security services.
Specific Security Mechanisms:
Encipherment: Converts data into unreadable form to maintain confidentiality.
Digital Signatures: Ensures integrity and origin authentication.
Access Controls: Limit system access to authorized users based on policies.
Authentication Exchanges: Protocols for verifying identities during communication.
Data Integrity Checks: Use of hash functions and MACs to verify data hasn’t been
altered.
Traffic Padding: Hides real data flow patterns to prevent traffic analysis.
Routing Control: Guides data through secure paths.
Notarization: Uses a trusted third party to validate transactions or documents.
Pervasive Security Mechanisms:
Trusted Functionality: Ensures the system behaves as intended.
Security Labels: Classify and mark data based on sensitivity.
Event Detection: Identifies potential threats through behavior monitoring.
Audit Trails: Keep logs of user actions for investigation.
Security Recovery: Assists in restoring the system to a secure state after an incident.
1.6 MODEL FOR NETWORK SECURITY
Communication Security Model:
Describes how two parties communicate securely over an insecure channel. Uses
cryptographic algorithms and shared secret keys to protect messages.
A third party may assist with key distribution (e.g., key distribution center).
Key Components:
Sender encrypts plaintext using an encryption algorithm and key.
Receiver decrypts using the same (symmetric) or related (asymmetric) key.
Security objectives: Confidentiality, Authentication, Integrity.
Access Security Model:
Focuses on protecting systems from unauthorized access.
Gatekeeper Function: Controls access at entry point (e.g., login).
Internal Controls: Monitor ongoing activity (e.g., IDS, logging).
1.7 SYMMETRIC CIPHER MODEL
Definition:
Uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
Main Components:
Plaintext: Original data.
Encryption Algorithm: Transforms plaintext into ciphertext.
Secret Key: Shared between sender and receiver.
Ciphertext: Encrypted data.
Decryption Algorithm: Converts ciphertext back to plaintext using the key.
Security Assumptions:
Security depends on keeping the key secret. If the key is compromised, both
encryption and decryption are broken.
Formula:
Encryption: C = E(K, P)
Decryption: P = D(K, C)
Use Cases:
Common in banking systems, secure messaging, and VPNs where speed and
efficiency are important.
1.8 CLASSICAL ENCRYPTION TECHNIQUES
Substitution Techniques:
Replace characters or groups with others. Focused on obscuring meaning by replacing
elements of plaintext.
o Caesar Cipher: Shifts each letter by a fixed number. Very simple; easily
broken.
o Monoalphabetic Cipher: Maps each letter to a different letter; vulnerable to
frequency analysis.
o Playfair Cipher: Encrypts digraphs (letter pairs) using a 5x5 matrix; provides
more complexity.
o Hill Cipher: Uses matrix multiplication and modular arithmetic to encrypt
blocks of letters.
o Polyalphabetic Cipher (Vigenère): Uses a repeating keyword to shift
characters; more resistant to attacks.
o One-Time Pad: Uses a random key of the same length as the plaintext.
Unbreakable if key is used only once and kept secret.
Transposition Techniques:
Rearranges characters of plaintext without changing them.
o Rail Fence Cipher: Writes characters diagonally over several lines and reads
them row-wise.
o Columnar Transposition: Arranges plaintext in a matrix row-wise, then
reads column-wise based on a keyword order.
o Double Transposition: Applies transposition twice with different keys for
higher security.
1.9 ROTOR MACHINES
Definition and Function:
Electro-mechanical devices used in early cryptography to perform complex
substitution ciphers automatically.
Working Principle:
Each key press sends an electrical signal through a series of rotating wheels or rotors,
each performing substitutions. Rotors change position with each keystroke, creating
dynamic substitutions.
Example - Enigma Machine:
Used by German military in WWII. Had multiple rotors and plugboard for added
complexity.
Each day's settings determined encryption logic; difficult to break without knowing
configuration.
Importance:
Represented a major step in mechanical encryption but became obsolete with modern
digital algorithms.
1.10 STEGANOGRAPHY
Definition:
The art of hiding messages within other seemingly innocent media to conceal the
existence of the message itself.
Unlike encryption (which hides content), steganography hides the presence of
communication.
Methods:
Text Steganography: Using whitespace, character positions, or font variations.
Image Steganography: Embedding messages in image files by altering pixel values
slightly (e.g., LSB technique).
Audio/Video Steganography: Embeds messages in audio or video files with
imperceptible changes.
Physical Methods: Invisible ink, pin punctures, or watermarking in documents.
Advantages:
Avoids suspicion as there's no apparent secret message.
Can be used alongside encryption for double-layered security.
Disadvantages:
Easily destroyed if the file is compressed or altered.
Typically limited in data size.
Requires complex tools for robust implementation.
