Preface

Today most businesses and many individuals depend on the integrity of computer 
systems and networks. However, transactions and data can be vulnerable to 
assaults from both casual and malicious sources. From denial-of-service attacks 
to identity theft, pranksters and predators can interfere with our lives. 
Security measures are essential and can take many forms, from biometrics and 
smart cards for user identification to defenses encoded in software and 
hardware components. 

This issue of the IBM Systems Journal contains nine papers on aspects of 
end-to-end security. We begin with papers on methods for authenticating valid 
users, move on to secure software, hardware, and architecture, and then return 
to users--how to prevent, or at least detect, the intruders. We are indebted to 
A. B. Lescher, IBM Server Group, for her effort in obtaining and coordinating 
these papers. A tenth paper, on the comparison of production database workloads 
with performance benchmarks, and two book reviews are also included in the 
issue. 

The first two papers discuss ways to identify valid users. In the first, Ratha, 
Connell, and Bolle outline the inherent strengths of biometrics-based 
authentication systems, identify the weak points in these systems, and present 
new solutions for eliminating some of the weak points. In the second, Hamann et 
al. advocate the use of smart-card-based authentication schemes and transaction 
protocols for very sensitive business applications. They use banking 
applications as examples and present a high-level architecture that allows 
business applications to be secured, using smart cards, in an elegant and 
flexible way. 

Public key cryptography, with its use of private and public key pairs, is an 
important technology for data confidentiality--a necessary aspect of user 
privacy. However, the proliferation of public keys needs to be 
controlled, and the Internet public key infrastructure provides a standard for 
their management. Benantar provides the background and details of this 
infrastructure. 

Another perspective on user validation examines and categorizes user roles, 
based on a security principle known as the "separation of duty." Botha and 
Eloff assert that the workflow environment provides a context in which 
requirements for this separation can be studied, and that the dynamic 
separation required in this context can only be enforced in the run-time 
environment. 

Smith and Safford ask what it takes to implement a server that provides access 
to records in a large database in a way that protects against unauthorized 
access, even from the operator of the server. To answer that question, the 
authors constructed a prototype using a commercially available secure 
coprocessor. Although performance improvement is needed, it appears that server 
privacy is both possible and practical. 

IBM's mainframe operating systems have an enviable reputation for outstanding 
security, and those responsible are often asked to explain why. Guski et al. 
provide the answers, in a high-level discussion aimed at enterprise decision 
makers and application architects. The discussion includes some computer 
security history and projections of the relevant future.

Virtual private networks allow low-cost, secure communication over the 
Internet. A critical factor in the security of these networks involves the 
exchange of keys. Cheng provides an introduction to the Internet Key Exchange 
Protocol, a standard for generating and maintaining the Internet Protocol 
security associations that form the building blocks of virtual private 
networks. 

Can security principles consistently and effectively be applied to system 
development? Whitmore describes a systematic approach for defining, modeling, 
and documenting security functions. This approach, which has been incorporated 
into training for IBM Global Services architects, has its foundation in an 
international standard known as "Common Criteria."

In the last paper on security, Palmer explains how ethical hacking can be used 
to protect against criminal hacking. Ethical hackers use the same tools as 
those used by the intruders in order to evaluate the security of target 
systems. They then report back to the owners on the problems that were found 
and how they can be corrected.

In the last paper in the issue, Hsu, Smith, and Young examine the 
characteristics of production database workloads of large corporations. The 
authors compare actual workloads to standard benchmarks developed by the 
Transaction Processing Performance Council. They describe some characteristics 
of actual workloads that are not reflected in the benchmarks.

The next issue of the Journal will be devoted to papers on knowledge 
management.


Marilyn L. Bates                   John J. Ritsko 
Associate Editor                   Editor-in-Chief