IS Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IS Security - Essay Example Therefore, manufacturers have come up with security systems that protect the operating system and application from attackers, but this system do not ensure 100 percent security guarantee. However, those produced for operating system are proving more effective than those developed for application due to various factors addressed in this paper. This has made most people come to a conclusion that there is less attention to applications compared to the operating system, which is not the case. Why a good level of security is achieved in operating systems than applications The frequent patching and updating of operating system limits the chances of attackers from attacking the system. On the contrary, it appears that operating systems get more attention than applications. This section provides information on why there is a perception that operating systems have higher levels of security than applications. ... On2 the same note, other types of threats that should be considered are interceptions, modification, fabrication and interruptions, which are similar to the threats experienced in computer applications.2 Applications run on the operating systems. Therefore, it is easy for an attacker to use the application file or vulnerability to attack the operating system either through one application or by infecting other applications. This enables the user or system administrator to detect the attack before affecting the operating system, hence the misconception that security threats are more prevalent in applications than operating systems. One difference between operating system security issue and application is file permissions. An example of this is when an application misunderstands the semantics of an operating system file or totally omits a check. This problem does not occur in operating systems; this stems from the fact that any attempt to open a given file will prompt a permission chec k as the file permissions link to individual files.2 On the other hand, some operating systems mechanisms result to complex security issues for the applications used today. Operating systems are not flexible in offering support, resulting to a compromised security issue. An example of such operating system is that of UNIX, which violates some privileges by only supporting a two level privilege that includes root and user. To limit these 3limitations, it introduces â€Å"set user id†, â€Å"set group id† and â€Å"chroot (2)† that are particularly limiting and inadequate. These applications aim to become responsible for granting permissions, accepting requests, and managing resources, which