Framework for the Security Component of an Ada * DBMS (Extended Abstract)

ABSTRACT. This paper discusses a framework for the design of a security component for a secure Ada data-base management system (DBMS). It is part of a de-velopment effort to produce prototype technologies for the World Wide Military Command and Control Sys-tem (WWMCCS) Information System (WIS). In this paper we present a series of criteria for evaluating data-base security approaches. We develop the high-level framework for the’security component of a DBMS and illustrate how it can support several alternative security models, which we compare using these criteria. The se-curity enforced by the DBMS relies an appropriate se-curity mechanisms enforced by the operating systems for operating system objects, such as files, used by the DBMS. We also present the security barrier or filter as an alternative or adjunct to the notion of a trusted computer base.