Security in a Distributed Processing Environment

Distribution plays a key role in telecommunication and computing systems today. It has become a necessity as a result of deregulation and anti-trust legislation, which has forced businesses to move from centralised, monolithic systems to distributed systems with the separation of applications and provisioning technologies, such as the service and transportation layers in the Internet. The need for reliability and recovery requires systems to use replication and secondary backup systems such as those used in ecommerce. There are consequences to distribution. It results in systems being implemented in heterogeneous environment; it requires systems to be scalable; it results in some loss of control and so this contributes to the increased security issues that result from distribution. Each of these issues has to be dealt with. A distributed processing environment (DPE) is middleware that allows heterogeneous environments to operate in a homogeneous manner. Scalability can be addressed by using object-oriented technology to distribute functionality. Security is more difficult to address because it requires the creation of a distributed trusted environment. The problem with security in a DPE currently is that it is treated as an adjunct service, i.e. and after-thought that is the last thing added to the system. As a result, it is not pervasive and therefore is unable to fully support the other DPE services. DPE security needs to provide the five basic security services, authentication, access control, integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation, in a distributed environment, while ensuring simple and usable administration. The research, detailed in this thesis, starts by highlighting the inadequacies of the existing DPE and its services. It argues that a new management structure was introduced that provides greater flexibility and configurability, while promoting mechanism and service independence. A new secure interoperability framework was introduced which provides the ability to negotiate common mechanism and service level configurations. New facilities were added to the non-repudiation and audit services. The research has shown that all services should be security-aware, and therefore would able to interact with the Enhanced Security Service in order to provide a more secure environment within a DPE. As a proof of concept, the Trader service was selected. Its security limitations were examined, new security behaviour policies proposed and it was then implemented as a Security-aware Trader, which could counteract the existing security limitations.IONA TECHNOLOGIES PLC & ORANG

Extension and hardware implementation of the comprehensive integrated security system concept

Merged with duplicate record (10026.1/700) on 03.01.2017 by CS (TIS)This is a digitised version of a thesis that was deposited in the University Library. If you are the author please contact PEARL Admin ([email protected]) to discuss options.The current strategy to computer networking is to increase the accessibility that legitimate users have to their respective systems and to distribute functionality. This creates a more efficient working environment, users may work from home, organisations can make better use of their computing power. Unfortunately, a side effect of opening up computer systems and placing them on potentially global networks is that they face increased threats from uncontrolled access points, and from eavesdroppers listening to the data communicated between systems. Along with these increased threats the traditional ones such as disgruntled employees, malicious software, and accidental damage must still be countered. A comprehensive integrated security system ( CISS ) has been developed to provide security within the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) and Open Distributed Processing (ODP) environments. The research described in this thesis investigates alternative methods for its implementation and its optimisation through partial implementation within hardware and software and the investigation of mechanismsto improve its security. A new deployment strategy for CISS is described where functionality is divided amongst computing platforms of increasing capability within a security domain. Definitions are given of a: local security unit, that provides terminal security; local security servers that serve the local security units and domain management centres that provide security service coordination within a domain. New hardware that provides RSA and DES functionality capable of being connected to Sun microsystems is detailed. The board can be used as a basic building block of CISS, providing fast cryptographic facilities, or in isolation for discrete cryptographic services. Software written for UNIX in C/C++ is described, which provides optimised security mechanisms on computer systems that do not have SBus connectivity. A new identification/authentication mechanism is investigated that can be added to existing systems with the potential for extension into a real time supervision scenario. The mechanism uses keystroke analysis through the application of neural networks and genetic algorithms and has produced very encouraging results. Finally, a new conceptual model for intrusion detection capable of dealing with real time and historical evaluation is discussed, which further enhances the CISS concept

A Study of the Abundance, Distribution and Daily Activities of the Australian Raven (Corvus Coronoides) in Urban Wetland Parks

Habitat destruction as a result of urbanisation has resulted in the population decline of some bird species. However, the Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), has adapted well to the urban environment and is thriving. Although naturally occurring seasonal food sources are at times restricted in an urban setting, this adaptive species finds alternative food sources. As carrion-eaters this includes roadkill, as well as refuse discarded on the ground and into bins. Coupled with few natural predators, the species enjoys optimal conditions for breeding and survival. This biogeographical study investigated whether seasonal-influxes of populations of ravens cause problems at three urban wetland parks in the City of Gosnells, Western Australia. Past complaints included reports of damaging property, stealing food, attacks on pets and other birds and wildlife, notably their young. This multi-faceted investigation of the Australian Raven explores the impacts of the species on other birds and wildlife, as well as people. It also investigates contemporary beliefs and attitudes to the species. It examines seasonal fluctuations in population densities and distribution of the species at the sites and identifies their main daily activities and interactions with other birds and animals. Finally, it explores the level of community support for population control of the species. Interestingly, the final results do not support commonly held beliefs that ravens are vicious predators. Their main daily activities are identified as perching in trees, picking at bark and leaves, foraging on the ground for food and to a lesser extent, drinking, bathing and preening. Although acts of predation of other birds, egg stealing and food stealing were witnessed during the study, they were few and no attacks on domestic animals, or acts of property damage were recorded for the study. The research concluded that there are populations of Australian Ravens present at all sites that fluctuate seasonally. It also identified the biggest problem associated with the Australian Raven is a poor image problem. They are unpopular, considered a sign of a bad omen, both their song and plumage considered unpleasant. But in spite of these negative perceptions the majority of people using the sites do not support population control as a means of managing the abundance of the species

Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium

As in all fields of work, an unmanageable number of abbreviations are used today in aviation for terms, definitions, commands, standards and technical descriptions. This applies in general to the areas of aeronautical communication, navigation and surveillance, cockpit and air traffic control working positions, passenger and cargo transport, and all other areas of flight planning, organization and guidance. In addition, many abbreviations are used more than once or have different meanings in different languages. In order to obtain an overview of the most common abbreviations used in air traffic management, organizations like EUROCONTROL, FAA, DWD and DLR have published lists of abbreviations in the past, which have also been enclosed in this document. In addition, abbreviations from some larger international projects related to aviation have been included to provide users with a directory as complete as possible. This means that the second edition of the Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium includes now around 16,500 abbreviations and acronyms from the field of aviation

Topics in electronic money

There has been an increased interest on the electronification of payments systems in the last two decades in general and on electronic money (e-money) on particular in the last decade with increased computing power and decreased cost of communication. E-money did not only attract attention from the academicians but also from central bankers, financial supervisory authorities, treasuries, finance ministries and innovators and operators all around the world. The purpose of this thesis is fourfold. Firstly, it seeks to define and critically assess e-money including the expected functions, necessary features, its potentials and major implications for different sides of financial system. Secondly, it tries to present empirical evidence on the current stage of e-money technology with two case studies, namely Mondei and Digicash. Thirdly, it investigates the perception of e-money innovators and operators with an assumption that they have the power and influence on the future shape of e-money. This section includes the analysis of two European surveys and one additional comparative survey conducted in Miami, the US. Lastly, it studies the free banking implications of e-money covering the impact on monetary policy framework and monetary policy instruments including whether e-money should be regulated or not. The research finds that the current definitions given to the e-money phenomenon is incomplete and defines the necessary functions and features for the future success of e-money applications. It describes e-money trends in Europe and compares it to the US perception finding no serious differences although the FED and the ECB have different approaches to money. Another conclusion the thesis reached is that e-money may result in a new approach to central banking with a contestable framework through the synergies with free banking. Finally, e-money is not seen as a danger for the successful conduct of monetary policy and the thesis underlines that when it is `representative', regulation is possible whereas `independent'money issuance may manage to stay out of the coverage of conventional regulatory frameworks