Analysis and Design of a Multi-Security Level Distributed Database System.

A multi-security level distributed database system was designed based on database parameters and system requirements provided by HQ, Space Div. First, the current state of the art of software verification techniques was reviewed in order to determine exactly what a computer systems software and hardware could be trusted to perform correctly. Then a selection was made from available secure local area network alternatives which would yield a solution that would be operational in other than a system high mode. The system chosen is currently being researched at the Univ. of Newcastle upon Tyne in Great Britain. This approach involves locating a single security partition on a system which is physically and logically separated from the rest of the network. This separation is performed by a number of software and hardware mechanisms which can be formally proven correct. Once the distributed secure system design had been suitably tailored for this application, a partial implementation of the design was successfully accomplished upon a local area network being developed at AFIT. Test results support the feasibility of this approach to the multi-security level distributed database problem.