Re: [PATCH] Version 3 (2.6.23-rc8) Smack: Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 



On Sun, 30 Sep 2007, Andi Kleen wrote:

The authentication issues are very real, but a separate issue.

First rule of network security: don't trust the network.

This I agree with

Without authentication it's completely useless. I don't understand
how you can disregard that as "separate issue". Security is only
secure if you plugged all applicable holes; without that it's useless
and you might as well not bother.

but this is so silly that I have to object.

saying that any security short of perfect security is worthless and we shouldn't bother is wrong, and needs to be countered every time it's said.

as ted pointed out in response to your other comments, it very much depends on where the trust boundry is. so from the point of view of absolute security you are wrong.

but even more then that, the vast majority of the time absolute security isn't what matters, relative security is what matters (the model of "I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you") and in these envrionments things that are less then absolute can still be very useful.

how useful they are depends on a lot of details, and in the case of the network security being discussed it sure sounds like it's pretty close to useless if you can't trust the network and the other machines on it, but that is seperate from the mentality that "anything less then perfect security is worthless and shouldn't be bothered with" which is what I'm objecting to.

David Lang
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to [email protected]
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/

[Index of Archives]     [Kernel Newbies]     [Netfilter]     [Bugtraq]     [Photo]     [Stuff]     [Gimp]     [Yosemite News]     [MIPS Linux]     [ARM Linux]     [Linux Security]     [Linux RAID]     [Video 4 Linux]     [Linux for the blind]     [Linux Resources]
  Powered by Linux