Security and Performance

Is this statement true or false?

"The security goal is to make sure that the agents (people or external systems) who interact with a computer system, its data, and its resources, are those that the owner of the system would NOT wish to have such interactions."

• True

• False

What is NOT a security need?

• Secrecy: control of who gets to read information

• Integrity: control of how information changes or resources are used

• Availability: providing prompt access to information and resources

• Accountability: knowing who has had access to resources

• Hackability: providing prompt access for individuals with expertise

What are security dangers? There are more than one answer

• Damage to information

• Disruption of service

• Theft of money

• Theft of information

• Loss of privacy

Is this statement true or false?

"Building secure systems adds cost and time to software development"

• True

• False

Is this statement true or false?

"Security always assume the best of people: people are intrinsically secured, and in rare cases they make security mistakes, it is always unintentional"

• True

• False

Answer explanation

- Many security problems come from people inside the organization

- People are intrinsically insecure

What are the key points in system design to address security risks from people inside of the organization? There are more than one answer

• Make it easy for responsible people to use the system (e.g., make security procedures simple)

• Make it hard for dishonest or careless people (e.g., password management)

• Train people in responsible behavior

• Test the security of the system thoroughly and repeatedly, particularly after changes

• Do not hide violations

Which is NOT an aspect to minimize risk from external intruders?

• System design — secure protocols, authentication, barriers to access

• Programming — defensive programming and rigorous testing

• Operating procedures — backup, auditing, vulnerability testing

• Training and monitoring personnel

• Turning off servers during a cyber attack

In which of the following case(s) does performance matter?

• Real time systems when computation must be fast enough to support the service provided

• Very large computations where elapsed time may be measured in days

• User interfaces where humans have high expectations

• Transaction processing where staff need to be productive and customers not annoyed by delays

Which of the following is NOT an example of high-performance computing?

• Large data collections (e.g., Amazon)

• Huge number of users (e.g., Google)

• Large computation (e.g., weather forecasting)

• Huge drop in stock price (e.g., Facebook)

Which answer best summarize the tasks in addressing performance problems?

• Predict performance problems before a system is implemented

• Design and build a system that is not vulnerable to performance problems

• Identify causes and fix problems after a system is implemented

• All of the above