Case Study #3 December 3, 2010


jose diacono jr
Name: Jose Diacono Jr
Section: BSIT-2 Day
Case Study #: 3

Question:
In a multiprogramming and time-sharing environment, several users share the system simultaneously. This situation can result in various security problems. Name at least two of these problems. Can we ensure the same degree of security in a time-share machine as we have in a dedicated machine? Explain your answer

A multiprogramming is the allocation of a computer system and its resources to more than one concurrent job or user and time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking.  In a multiprogramming and time-sharing environment, several users share the system simultaneously. In the case that multiprogramming is the time and processing resources were often wasted when a single job waited for human interaction or other data input/output operations and time-sharing allowing a large number of users to interact concurrently with a single computer, there are some various security problems that will result by two potential problems in this kind of environment.

I would like to ask myself the question “Where does the time-sharing usually happen?” Some said that it is usually happened in internet shops or cafes where people using the computers that are connected together through Local Area Network cables to a central computer a.k.a “servers”. Firstly, a user can simulate another user's program and memory space. This problem could be very detrimental if, for example, an administrator was running a decryption protocol, and another user stole the decryption program and/or key. And another one is probably stealing or duplicating a user's files. Writing over another program area in memory that belongs to other operating system or another user using system resources like Central Processing Unit or disk space without proper accounting can cause the printer to mix output by sending some sort of data while some other user's file is in the process of printing. Another thing is resource usage may not be completely controlled, and could cause deadlock for certain users. Deadlock is a situation in which two or more competing actions are each waiting for others to finish. For example, if user X had resource 1 and was waiting for resource 2, and user Y had resource 2 and was waiting for resource 1, most probably the deadlock would occur and neither user would be able to make progress in their program, no matter how many time slots they were allocated.  

 Dealing in ensuring the degree of security, I would say that we cannot ensure the same amount or status of security in a time-shared machine as we have in a dedicated machine. Since any scheme of protection created and devised by some people can also be determined or considered as broken or dismantled. If the scheme is more complicated, the denser it is to be assertive of its correct incrimination. Another thing is that time-shared machines are far less secure, and are very easy to overload the buffers. Also they are much weaker and slower to catch any kinds of viruses. Security depends on the key strength number of keys type of algorithm, key distribution system reliability of persons and other such parameters in cryptology hence time sharing or dedicated machines would be the same. Therefore, we cannot ensure the same degree of security in a time-share machine as we have in a dedicated machine.

 Although I admit that there are some varieties of security providing programs are now out in different market places. You can use anti-virus for detecting malicious malware that can cause corruption in the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and in my opinion when it comes to ensuring the same degree of security in a time-share machine, I would probably say that it is complicated.

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