Yanjun Zuo and Brajendra Panda
Damage assessment and recovery play key roles in the process of secure and reliable computer systems development. Post‐attack assessment in a distributed database system is rather…
Abstract
Purpose
Damage assessment and recovery play key roles in the process of secure and reliable computer systems development. Post‐attack assessment in a distributed database system is rather complicated due to the indirect dependencies among sub‐transactions executed at different sites. Hence, the damage assessment procedure in these systems must be carried out in a collaborative way among all the participating sites in order to accurately detect all affected data items. This paper seeks to propose two approaches for achieving this, namely, centralized and peer‐to‐peer damage assessment models.
Design/methodology/approach
Each of the two proposed methods should be applied immediately after an intrusion on a distributed database system was reported. In the category of the centralized model, three sub‐models are further discussed, each of which is best suitable for a certain type of situations in a distributed database system.
Findings
Advantages and disadvantages of the models are analyzed on a comparative basis and the most suitable situations to which each model should apply are presented. A set of algorithms is developed to formally describe the damage assessment procedure for each model (sub‐model). Synchronization is essential in any system where multiple processes run concurrently. User‐level synchronization mechanisms have been presented to ensure that the damage assessment operations are conducted in a correct order.
Originality/value
The paper proposes two means for damage assessment.
Details
Keywords
Yanjun Zuo and Brajendra Panda
This paper aims to develop a framework for object trust evaluation and related object trust principles to facilitate knowledge management in a virtual organization. It proposes…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a framework for object trust evaluation and related object trust principles to facilitate knowledge management in a virtual organization. It proposes systematic methods to quantify the trust of an object and defines the concept of object trust management. The study aims to expand the domain of subject trust to object trust evaluation in terms of whether an object is correct and accurate in expressing a topic or issue and whether the object is secure and safe to execute (in the case of an executable program). By providing theoretical and empirical insights about object trust composition and combination, this research facilitates better knowledge identification, creation, evaluation, and distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents two object trust principles – trust composition and trust combination. These principles provide formal methodologies and guidelines to assess whether an object has the required level of quality and security features (hence it is trustworthy). The paper uses a component‐based approach to evaluate the quality and security of an object. Formal approaches and algorithms have been developed to assess the trustworthiness of an object in different cases.
Findings
The paper provides qualitative and quantitative analysis about how object trust can be composed and combined. Novel mechanisms have been developed to help users evaluate the quality and security features of available objects.
Originality/value
This effort fulfills an identified need to address the challenging issue of evaluating the trustworthiness of an object (e.g. a software program, a file, or other type of knowledge element) in a loosely‐coupled system such as a virtual organization. It is the first of its kind to formally define object trust management and study object trust evaluation.