[cap-talk] Why arn't safer OS being used. [ was Confessions of a C programmer]

[David-Sarah Hopwood]

Karp, Alan H wrote:
> Matej Kosik wrote:
>> Does any Microsoft product has all the following properties?:
>> - it (and its components) follow POLA
> 
> All our current operating systems enforce POLA, but at the granularity
> of the user, which is too coarse.

I disagree that POLA is something that can be enforced by an operating
system. An OS security model can *enable* POLA, but it then has to be
followed at all levels of the system. This is a discipline that depends
on knowing the intended security goals for each component or subsystem;
it isn't a single security policy.

However, current operating systems don't do a good job of enabling POLA
even at user/account granularity. That's mainly because IBAC security
models impede delegation, which is essential for enabling POLA.

-- 
David-Sarah Hopwood  ⚥  http://davidsarah.livejournal.com