Preface

This handbook represents the efforts of many individuals at XYPRO, who collectively have over 200 years of experience with the HP NonStop platform. As a vendor of third party security software for the HP NonStop platform, we were very careful to ensure that this handbook was useful for security administrators, system resource personnel, auditors and the general HP NonStop server community whether or not they chose to use our suite of software tools.

There hasn't been a comprehensive publication on this topic since the early 1990's. The lack of reference material for the Guardian Operating system prompted us to author this book in the hopes that it would facilitate securing the HP NonStop server. We at XYPRO believe in this platform and have dedicated 20 years to developing software to take advantage of its unmatched functionality, reliability and scalability.

Plenty of other companies believe in NonStop servers too. According to a 1999 Research Note from D. H. Brown Associates, Inc., NonStop servers process 66 percent of the credit card transactions, 95 percent of securities transactions, and 80 percent of automated teller machine (ATM) transactions. They also participate in 75 percent of electronic funds transfers (EFT) networks. According to the Gartner Group, NonStop servers are the only out of the box ultra high-availability system on the market today.

This handbook seeks to familiarize auditors and those responsible for security configuration and monitoring, with the aspects of the HP NonStop server operating system that make the NonStop Server unique, the security risks these aspects create, and the best ways to mitigate these risks.

Please remember that the needs of the corporation, computer center, applications and customers must always take precedence over our recommended Best Practices in the environment. Use this handbook as a guideline, not a rule.

This handbook has been organized to address topics as units. This is particularly true for discussions about Safeguard.

Each section also includes Discovery, Best Practices, and Recommendations.

The HP NonStop server's subsystems have been presented in a logical manner, beginning with the subsystems that make up the Operating System itself, native Guardian security, and Safeguard and continuing through user administration, how users are authenticated when attempting to access the HP NonStop server and how each user is granted access to information and programs as appropriate to job function.

Because securing the information on an HP NonStop server is primarily implemented via the principles of access control, the handbook is organized based on these principles.

We hope you enjoy this handbook and find the information interesting and useful. We had a great time writing it.

Acknowledgments

Without the assistance of individuals outside of XYPRO this book simply wouldn't have been published.

We are very grateful to have met and had the opportunity to work with the fine folks at Digital Press, including Theron Shreve. Thanks also to Alan Rose of Multi- science Press, and Darrell Judd. They said it was impossible to publish this book within the timeframe. It turns out their specialty is making the impossible possible. It has been a distinct pleasure working with all of them.

Very special thanks go to Mark Chapman for his impeccable editing skills as well as to Walter Bruce and Ron La Pedis for their encouragement. Their feedback proved invaluable.

And finally, thanks to the originators of the HP NonStop Server.