🚀 go-pugleaf

Kevin McCurley (mccurley@cs.sandia.gov) wrote:
>> spaf@cs.purdue.EDU (Gene Spafford) writes:
>>This is to announce the first public release of "Tripwire."
>>Tripwire is an integrity-monitor for Unix systems.  It uses several
>>checksum/signature routines to detect changes to files, as well as
>
>I would like to comment that this use of the term "signature" should
>not be confused with the much stronger term of signature that is
>common in cryptology literature.
>
>You will notice that the
>Tripwire database needs to be placed in a secure location like on
>another machine with a read-only disk.  If a true digital signature
>algorithm was used (like DSS or RSA), then this would not be
>necessary.

Without adding the overhead of a digital signature for each file which
tripwire is keeping track of, could the program perhaps be set up to
check a cryptographic signature on the entire database?  If the key
used to make the signature were kept secure, presumably by encrypting
it, then I think this setup would be equally secure.

Of course, those truly worried would want to make sure that the
database, the tripwire and signature programs, and the secret key were
all on ro disks, but I suspect the signature itself would present a
sufficient hurdle. And certainly machines with floppies can be easily
set up with a physically secure filesystem, but signatures would
increase security on machines where no such facilities are available.

Comments?


Bill.
Bill Owens                                              owens@acsu.buffalo.edu
104E Computing Center                             uunet!acsu.buffalo.edu!owens
Buffalo, NY 12460                                                 716/645-3511