C2 Evaluation and Certification for Windows NT

ID: Q93362

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

SUMMARY

C2 refers to a set of security policies that define how a secure system operates. The C2 evaluation process is separate from the C2 certification process. As of August 1995, National Security Agency (NSA) granted the C2 security rating for Windows NT Server and Workstation version 3.5. As a result these operating systems are on the Evaluated Products List (EPL).

Windows NT Server and Workstation version 3.51 has been granted the security rating of E3/F-C2 though a similar evaluation process in the UK.

NOTE: This does not mean that Windows NT is C2 certified (no operating system is ever C2 certified). Certification applies to a particular installation, including hardware, software, and the environment that the system is in. It is up to an individual site to become C2 certified.

MORE INFORMATION

The requirements for A-, B-, C-, and D-level secure products are outlined in the Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) published by the National Computer Security Center (NCSC). This publication is referred to as the "Orange Book," and is part of NSA's security "rainbow series." Security level requirements are open to interpretations that change over time. When undergoing evaluation, each vendor negotiates with the NSA about whether or not the details of its particular system implementation conform with the abstract security policy concepts in the NSA's books. The vendor must provide evidence that the requirements are being met.

Microsoft has opted not to include certain components of Windows NT in the evaluation process, not because they would not pass the evaluation, but to save time by reducing the load on the NSA. Additionally, the MS-DOS/Windows on Windows (WOW) system may be treated as a Win32 application and would therefore not need to be evaluated as part of the Trusted Computer Base (TCB). Networking on NT may not have to go through the "Red Book," or "Trusted Network Interpretation." It may be enough to consider networking to be another subsystem, and therefore only the Orange Book would apply. New or modified components and other hardware platforms can go through a "RAMP" process to be included in the evaluation at a later time.

C2 Overview

The security policy in C2 is known as Discretionary Access Control (DAC). In the Windows NT implementation, the basic idea is that users of the system:

Own objects

Have control over the protection of the objects they own

Are accountable for all their access-related actions

C2 classification does not define a substantive security system in the sense of classified or unclassified data. (B-level security assumes the existence of an independent security classification system and enforces that system, but does not specify the substance of the classification system.)

For example, in Windows NT, every object (file, Clipboard, window, and so on) has an owner; any owner can give or not give other users access to its objects. The system tracks (audits) your actions for the administrators (that is, the system administrator can track the objects you accessed, both successes and failures).

The key distinction between C-level and B-level security is in the notion of access control. In a C2 (DAC) system, owners have absolute discretion about whether or not others have access to their objects. In a B-level, or Mandatory Access Control (MAC) system, objects have a security level defined independently from the owner's discretion. For example, if you receive a copy of an object marketed "secret," you can't give permission to other users to see this object unless they have "secret" clearance. This is defined by the system independent of your discretion. MAC involves the concept of "data labeling," which is the creation and maintenance by the system of security "labels" on data objects, unalterable by users (except in certain cases under system control and auditing). An administrator can get access to anyone's objects, although it may require some programming to do so (that is, the user interface won't expose this power).

You can obtain more information on this process, including frequently asked questions, a copy of the evaluated products list, and copies of TCSEC and other documentation at the NCSC's web site at http://www.radium.ncsc.mil.

Additional query words:

Keywords : ntsecurity
Version : WINDOWS:2000; winnt:3.5,3.51
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type :