Securing and Protecting Information

Securing and Protecting Information

Like most people who are computer users, you do not simply turn on your computer and start accessing programs. There are systems put in place by the user, or the administrator of the network to ensure that the properly authorized people gain access to their information. Specific profiles are created to differentiate amongst the users that allow each unique user to create, delete, and print or any other process they have access to. The process needs to be thoroughly planned out, and there also has to be a determination how whether it will be managed locally, or by third party software.

This management of access controls actually comes in four different steps. The steps are: Identification, Authentication, Authorization, and finally, Accountability. No administrator worth his salt will incorporate any sort of security authentication process without these four basic steps. A properly configure authentication process will protect your network from such threats as password cracking tools, brute force attacks, the abuse of system rights and outright impersonation of authenticated users.

Identification is the first of the four steps of the security process. Anyone that wishes to gain access to a system is referred to as a supplicant, and the tool that they use to gain entry to the system is referred to as an Identifier. This identifier can be a myriad of different references to uniquely identify the supplicant. The identifier should be able to pinpoint in a database the unique information that determines the supplicant's identity. The most common way this is done today is by the use of first and last name. In the event that there is more than one employee with the same credentials, middle initials can also be used.

Authentication is another step in the access control procedures. Once identification of the supplicant has been established, there will be a request for input from the supplicant that will prove to the system that he or she is who they claim to be. This can be as simple as providing your pin to an ATM machine, or more robust, such as a plethora of biometric devices to establish identity. In order to prove that the user is who he says he is we rely on them providing something they know (password), something they have (ATM card), something they are (fingerprint) and something they can produce (like their voice).

The more sensitive the information, the stronger authentication has to be. The combination of two or more authentication procedures is known as strong authentication. What this does is combine two or more forms of authentication such as a physical ATM card, and the pin and your thumbprint. Once all three have been verified, the user can then gain access to their financial records, and has access to their money.

Authorization follows the first two steps in the process. Once the user gains entry it has to be determined what they have access to. This can be accomplished several ways. First the individual can be assigned access on an individual basis, the only drawback being that as more users get added, the more complicated it gets. Users can be placed in a group that has blanket permissions to only a few specific areas. Finally, users can have access to multiple systems with only one log in. This cross system permission settings are what is known as an authorization ticket. Their credentials are honored throughout the domain being managed.

Finally the last step in security authentication is Accountability. Accountability in layman's terms is the tracking of authenticated user's activities. That activity can simply be something as mundane as editing existing work files, or something malicious like attempting to access unauthorized content. This is usually accomplished by the use of electronic logs. These logs can track any number of activities that take place throughout the network.

Activity logs can track the number of attempted logins versus rejected attempts. Network performance is another activity that can and should be tracked. Individual computer performance can be tracked as well, where sluggish computer performance could identify potential system issues. As with all sources of tracking, if the logs are not regularly audited, that is looked over and critiqued, then authentication is a failure, thereby the entire authentication process is a failure.

When considering how you're going to implement your security authentication plan, you have to consider the impact on the user. Do you wish to make it mandatory for all users to have their retina's scanned to access their desktop computers? While this seems like a sure fire way to increase security across the board, user