Operating Systems' Resource Access Control Models

The thesis deals with models used in access control to operating systems' resources. The thesis' goals are the theoretical description of these models and their comparison, the description of their implementations in selected operating systems and the description of their utilization in securing typified servers. In the first chapter, the reader is introduced to basic terms and principles of computer security and access control. In the second, also theoretical part, selected access control models are described from different viewpoints, for example their factual specialization, basic rules, principles and evolution. At the end of the chapter, the models are compared to each other according to specified criteria. The third, more practically oriented chapter, continues from the initial, both general and concrete introduction with operating systems, to description of access control model implementations in selected operating systems. At the end of the chapter, these implementations too are compared according to specified criteria. The fourth, final part, is dedicated to the description of the actual securing of a web and file server using operating system level access control means. The end of the chapter is dedicated to the possibilities of using these means to secure web applications. The contribution of this thesis from the theoretical point of view is a well-arranged and compact access control model comparison, and also the merger of the theoretical base with practical use of the described model implementations. The thesis is recommended to people interested in the computer security issues in general and people interested in access control from both theoretical and practical sides, e.g. system administrators or system designers