SPARTA ISSO

Finished Projects

Network Security

INFOSEC for Networked Systems Internet Safety Through Type-Enforcing Firewalls

Objective
TIS participates in network security standards activities to further the development, implementation, and deployment of network security standards for the Internet community.

Approach
TIS drafts standards and actively participates in meetings and related activities to further network and Internet security. Within the network and Internet context, the most significant aspects of security are survivability and availability. The majority of the research on this task is associated with Internet Architecture Board (IAB) activities, in particular the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). In the IRTF, TIS participates in the Privacy and Security Research Group (PSRG). In the IETF, TIS participates in the Security Area by providing the IETF Chairman and various Area directors with security expertise related to Internet protocols, standards and operation.

Recent Accomplishments

  • Participated in activities which will facilitate the convergence of multiple key management approaches for the Internet Protocol into a single standard.
  • Prepared and progressed specifications to provide improved security for the telnet protocol. These improvements provide a standardized method for strong authentication and privacy through the Internet with the standard telnet protocol.
  • Promoted the availability of the MIME Object Security Services (MOSS) for electronic mail. Initiated activities to resolve a deadlock situation for standardizing security for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Fiscal Year 1997 plans

  • Coordinate the activities necessary to resolve the deadlock in standardization of security for SNMP.
  • Promote the use of a secure DNS as an infrastructure to distribute and manage public keys in the Internet.
  • Continue to participate in definition of the strategic evolution of security for the Internet.

Technology Transition
The development of network security standards facilitates the interoperability between security service implementations. TIS will continue to participate in developing and implementing security standards that improve the availability and survivability of the Internet. MOSS technology is currently being used by several government activities to secure their electronic mail. Internet Protocol security is planned incorporation by numerous vendors after a single standard is defined. Additionally, many commercial products are shipped with SNMP support which will be upgraded to provide security when a single standard is defined.