Support for the File System Security Requirements of Computational E-Mail Systems

Computational e-mail systems, which allow mail messages to containcommandscripts that automaticallyexecute upon receipt, can be used as a basis for building a variety of collaborative applications. However, their use also presents a serious security problem because a command script froma sender mayaccess/modify receiver's private les or execute applications on receiver's behalf. Existing solutions to the problemeither severely restrict I/O capability of scripts, limiting the range of applications that can be supported over computational e-mail, or permit all I/O to scripts, potentially compromising the security of the receiver's les. Our model, called the intersection model of security, permits I/O for e-mail from trusted senders but without compromising the security of private les. We describe two implementations of our security model: an interpreter-level implementation and an operating systems-level implementation. We discuss the tradeo s between the two implementati...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1994
• Where: CCS
• Authors: Trent Jaeger, Atul Prakash
• Keywords: CCS 1994, Computational E-mail, Private Les, Receiver's Private Les, Security Privacy