Framework for the Security Component of an Ada DBMS

This paper discusses a framework for the design of a security component for a secure Ada database management system (DBMS). It is part of a development effort to produce prototype technologies for the World Wide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) Information System (WIS). In this paper we present a series of criteria for evaluating database security approaches. We develop the high-level framework for the’security component of a DBMS and illustrate how it can support several alternative security models, which we compare using these criteria. The security enforced by the DBMS relies an appropriate security mechanisms enforced by the operating systems for operating system objects, such as files, used by the DBMS. We also present the security barrier or filter as an alternative or adjunct to the notion of a trusted computer base.