Policy-driven kernel-based security implementation

• US 20030105951A1
• Filed: 12/05/2001
• Published: 06/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brabson, Roy F., Overby, Linwood Hugh Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,233 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer

Abstract

Improvements in security processing are disclosed which enable security processing to be transparent to the application. Security processing (such as Secure Sockets Layer, or “SSL”, or Transport Layer Security, or “TLS”) is performed in (or controlled by) the stack. A decision to enable security processing on a connection can be based on configuration data or security policy, and can also be controlled using explicit enablement directives. Directives may also be provided for allowing applications to communicate with the security processing in the stack for other purposes. Functions within the protocol stack that need access to clear text can now be supported without loss of security processing capability. No modifications to application code, or in some cases only minor modifications (such as inclusion of code to invoke directives), are required to provide this security processing. Improved offloading of security processing is also disclosed, which provides processing efficiencies over prior art offloading techniques.

Claims

1. A method of improving security processing in a computing network, comprising steps of:

providing security processing in an operating system kernel;

providing an application program which makes use of the operating system kernel during execution;

providing security policy information;

executing the application program; and

selectably securing at least one communication of the executing application program using the provided security processing in the operating system kernel, under conditions specified by the security policy information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the security policy information is stored in a security repository.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the security policy information is usable for more than one executing application program.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conditions include network addresses.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the network addresses specify one or more of server addresses and destination addresses.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the network addresses include ranges of source addresses and/or ranges of destination addresses.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conditions include one or more port numbers and/or one or more port number ranges.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conditions include one or more job names.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conditions include one or more client identifiers.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of checking the security policy information when the executing application program establishes a connection, and wherein the selectably securing step communicates on that connection according to a result of the checking step.

11. The method according to claim 1, whereby communications from the executing application program may be secured even though the provided application program has no code for security processing.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided application program includes invocation of one or more security directives, and further comprising the step of executing, during execution of the provided application program, one or more of the invoked security directives.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when a result of evaluating the security policy information so indicates, the selectably securing step thereby secures only some sockets of a port.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided security processing operates in a Transmission Control Protocol layer of the operating system kernel.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided security processing implements Secure Sockets Layer.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided security processing implements Transaction Layer Security.

17. A system for improving security processing in a computing network, comprising:

means for performing security processing in an operating system kernel;

security policy information specifying one or more conditions under which the means for performing security processing is to be activated;

means for executing an application program which makes use of the operating system kernel during execution; and

means for selectably securing, according to the conditions specified by the security policy information, at least one communication of the executing application program using the means for performing security processing.

18. A computer program product for improving security processing in a computing network, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:

computer-readable program code means for performing security processing in an operating system kernel;

computer-readable program code means for accessing security policy information, the security policy information specifying one or more conditions under which the computer-readable program code means for performing security processing is to be activated;

computer-readable program code means for executing an application program which makes use of the operating system kernel during execution; and

computer-readable program code means for selectably securing, according to the conditions specified by the security policy information, at least one communication of the executing application program using the computer-readable program code means for performing security processing.