OS Insecurity

The security features I discussed also apply to networked computers. NT is currently undergoing network evaluation (the NSA usually conducts stand-alone and network evaluations separately). But remember, the evaluated configuration, which includes hardware and software, might not match what you have or need. The NSA team was aware of the boot-with-floppy issue; the evaluated configuration prohibited physical access to the floppy. A less stringent need for security might take advantage of the common PC feature that prevents booting from a floppy. Of course, without physical security this solution can be circumvented. The bottom line is that if you can boot a different OS, then none of the security mechanisms of NT work. This is to be expected with any OS. What makes the NT case appear different is the ubiquitous character of the hardware platform and the fact it is generally designed to boot from floppy, unlike older, time-sharing systems such as Unix. -- Jim Reynold s