ITSEC

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The Information Technology Security Evaluation Criteria (ITSEC) is a structured set of criteria for evaluating computer security within products and systems. The ITSEC was first published in May 1990 in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom based on existing work in their respective countries. Following extensive international review, Version 1.2 was subsequently published in June 1991 by the Commission of the European Communities for operational use within evaluation and certification schemes.

Contents

Since the launch of the ITSEC in 1990, a number of other European countries have agreed to recognize the validity of ITSEC evaluations.

The ITSEC has been largely replaced by Common Criteria, which provides similarly defined evaluation levels and implements the target of evaluation concept and the Security Target document.

Concepts

The product or system being evaluated, called the target of evaluation, is subjected to a detailed examination of its security features culminating in comprehensive and informed functional and penetration testing. The degree of examination depends upon the level of confidence desired in the target. To provide different levels of confidence, the ITSEC defines evaluation levels, denoted E0 through E6. Higher evaluation levels involve more extensive examination and testing of the target.

Unlike earlier criteria, notably the TCSEC developed by the US defense establishment, the ITSEC did not require evaluated targets to contain specific technical features in order to achieve a particular assurance level. For example, an ITSEC target might provide authentication or integrity features without providing confidentiality or availability. A given target's security features were documented in a Security Target document, whose contents had to be evaluated and approved before the target itself was evaluated. Each ITSEC evaluation was based exclusively on verifying the security features identified in the Security Target.

Use

The formal Z notation was used to prove security properties about the Mondex smart card electronic cash system, allowing it to achieve ITSEC level E6, the highest granted security-level classification. [1] [2]

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The Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation is an international standard for computer security certification. It is currently in version 3.1 revision 5.

The Canadian Trusted Computer Product Evaluation Criteria (CTCPEC) is a computer security standard published in 1993 by the Communications Security Establishment to provide an evaluation criterion on IT products. It is a combination of the TCSEC and the European ITSEC approaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspection</span> Organized examination or formal evaluation exercise

An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. The results are usually compared to specified requirements and standards for determining whether the item or activity is in line with these targets, often with a Standard Inspection Procedure in place to ensure consistent checking. Inspections are usually non-destructive.

In computer security, mandatory access control (MAC) refers to a type of access control by which the operating system or database constrains the ability of a subject or initiator to access or generally perform some sort of operation on an object or target. In the case of operating systems, a subject is usually a process or thread; objects are constructs such as files, directories, TCP/UDP ports, shared memory segments, IO devices, etc. Subjects and objects each have a set of security attributes. Whenever a subject attempts to access an object, an authorization rule enforced by the operating system kernel examines these security attributes and decides whether the access can take place. Any operation by any subject on any object is tested against the set of authorization rules to determine if the operation is allowed. A database management system, in its access control mechanism, can also apply mandatory access control; in this case, the objects are tables, views, procedures, etc.

Multilevel security or multiple levels of security (MLS) is the application of a computer system to process information with incompatible classifications, permit access by users with different security clearances and needs-to-know, and prevent users from obtaining access to information for which they lack authorization. There are two contexts for the use of multilevel security.

The Evaluation Assurance Level of an IT product or system is a numerical grade assigned following the completion of a Common Criteria security evaluation, an international standard in effect since 1999. The increasing assurance levels reflect added assurance requirements that must be met to achieve Common Criteria certification. The intent of the higher levels is to provide higher confidence that the system's principal security features are reliably implemented. The EAL level does not measure the security of the system itself, it simply states at what level the system was tested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mondex</span>

Mondex was a smart card electronic cash system, implemented as a stored-value card and owned by Mastercard.

A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so.

James Charles Paul Woodcock is a British computer scientist.

A Protection Profile (PP) is a document used as part of the certification process according to ISO/IEC 15408 and the Common Criteria (CC). As the generic form of a Security Target (ST), it is typically created by a user or user community and provides an implementation independent specification of information assurance security requirements. A PP is a combination of threats, security objectives, assumptions, security functional requirements (SFRs), security assurance requirements (SARs) and rationales.

Cryptographic Module Testing Laboratory (CMTL) is an information technology (IT) computer security testing laboratory that is accredited to conduct cryptographic module evaluations for conformance to the FIPS 140-2 U.S. Government standard.

Electronic authentication is the process of establishing confidence in user identities electronically presented to an information system. Digital authentication, or e-authentication, may be used synonymously when referring to the authentication process that confirms or certifies a person's identity and works. When used in conjunction with an electronic signature, it can provide evidence of whether data received has been tampered with after being signed by its original sender. Electronic authentication can reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft by verifying that a person is who they say they are when performing transactions online.

The Interactive Link is a suite of hardware and software products designed for application within areas where network separation is implemented for security reasons. Manufactured and marketed by Tenix Datagate, the Interactive Link hardware products have been evaluated to the highest level under international security criteria with a strong focus on maintaining the confidentiality of the secure network. The technology underlying the products is drawn from Starlight Technology, developed by the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group.

ISO/IEC 17024: Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons is an ISO/IEC standard which specifies criteria for the operation of a personnel certification body. The standard includes requirements for the development and maintenance of the certification scheme for persons upon which the certification is based.

Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation, version 3.1 Part 1 defines the Security Target (ST) as an "implementation-dependent statement of security needs for a specific identified Target of Evaluation (TOE)". In other words, the ST defines boundary and specifies the details of the TOE. In a product evaluation process according to the CC the ST document is provided by the vendor of the product.

Information technology risk, IT risk, IT-related risk, or cyber risk is any risk relating to information technology. While information has long been appreciated as a valuable and important asset, the rise of the knowledge economy and the Digital Revolution has led to organizations becoming increasingly dependent on information, information processing and especially IT. Various events or incidents that compromise IT in some way can therefore cause adverse impacts on the organization's business processes or mission, ranging from inconsequential to catastrophic in scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria</span>

Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) is a United States Government Department of Defense (DoD) standard that sets basic requirements for assessing the effectiveness of computer security controls built into a computer system. The TCSEC was used to evaluate, classify, and select computer systems being considered for the processing, storage, and retrieval of sensitive or classified information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IT risk management</span>

IT risk management is the application of risk management methods to information technology in order to manage IT risk, i.e.:

The Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) [Originally QSAS] is the first performance-based system in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, developed for assessing and rating buildings and infrastructure for their sustainability impacts. In 2016, FIFA officially endorsed GSAS as the sustainability assessment system for Qatar's eight stadiums set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The primary objective of GSAS is to create a sustainable built environment that minimizes ecological impact and reduces resources consumption while addressing the local needs and environmental conditions specific to the region. GSAS adopts an integrated lifecycle approach for the assessment of the built environment including design, construction and operation phases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification</span> Science and technology agency of the Government of India

Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, established in 1980, is an authoritative body offering quality assurance services to IT and Electronics domains.

References

  1. Susan Stepney, David Cooper, and Jim Woodcock, An Electronic Purse: Specification, Refinement, and Proof . Technical Monograph PRG-126, Programming Research Group, Oxford University, UK, 2000.
  2. Jim Woodcock, Susan Stepney, David Cooper, John Clark, and Jeremy Jacob, The certification of the Mondex electronic purse to ITSEC Level E6, Formal Aspects of Computing , Volume 20, Number 1, pages 5–19, January 2008.

Bibliography