The Common Criteria

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In January 1996, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, and the Netherlands released the jointly developed Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (CCITSE) security evaluation specification. CCITSE, which is usually referred to as the Common Criteria (CC), is the recognized multinational standard for product security evaluation. The CC home page is at csrc.nist.gov/cc.

The CC is more flexible than the TCSEC trust ratings and has a structure closer to the ITSEC than to the TCSEC. The CC includes the concept of a Protection Profile (PP) to collect security requirements into easily specified and compared sets, and the concept of a Security Target (ST) that contains a set of security requirements that can be made by reference to a PP.

Windows 2000 was evaluated as meeting the requirements of the Controlled Access PP, which is the equivalent of TCSEC C2, and additional Common Criteria functional and assurance requirements in October of 2002. Details of its conformance can be found at niap.nist.gov/cc-scheme.html. The additional requirements satisfied by Windows 2000 can be found in the certified Windows 2000 Common Criteria Security Target at niap.nist.gov/ cc-scheme/CCEVS-VID402-ST.pdf. Notable requirements not included on the Controlled Access PP but included in the Windows 2000 Security Target include:

  • Discretionary Access Control Functions based on the use of cryptography. This is implemented by Windows 2000 Encrypting File System and Windows 2000 Data Protection API.

  • Discretionary Access Control Policy for additional User Data Objects such as Desktops, Window Stations (as implemented by Windows 2000 Windowing System), and Active Directory Objects (as implemented by Windows 2000 Directory Service).

  • Internal Replication for ensuring security-relevant data items are synchronized between physically separated parts of Windows 2000 system as distributed Operating System. This is implemented Windows 2000 Directory Service using a multimaster loose consistency with convergence directory replication model.

  • Resource Utilization for physical disk spaces. This is implemented by Windows 2000 NTFS.

  • Interactive Session Locking and Trusted Path for initial user logging on. This is implemented by Windows 2000 Winlogon.

  • Internal Data Transfer Protection to protect data from disclosure and modification when transmitted between physically separate parts of Windows 2000 system as distributed Operating System. This is implemented by Windows 2000 IPSEC service.

  • Systematic Flaw Remediation. This is implemented by procedures undertaken by the Microsoft Security Response Center and Windows Sustained Engineering Team.

At the time of writing this book, Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003 were still undergoing evaluation under the Common Criteria. The scope of evaluation is extended even further from that for Windows 2000. The Common Criteria authority currently recognizes Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter Edition) as an evaluation of the following technology types as shown on niap.nist.gov/cc-scheme/in_evaluation.html:

  • Distributed Operating System

  • Sensitive Data Protection

  • Network Management

  • Directory Service

  • Firewall

  • VPN (Virtual Private Network)

  • Desktop Management

  • Public Key Infrastructure

  • Public Key Certificate Issuing and Management

  • Embedded System Operating System

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    Microsoft Windows Internals
    Microsoft Windows Internals (4th Edition): Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000
    ISBN: 0735619174
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 158

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