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Rogue Admin protection
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Rogue Admin protection

  • To: NTBUGTRAQLISTSERV.NTBUGTRAQ.COM
  • Subject: Rogue Admin protection
  • From: "McGregor, Byron" <BMcGregorBCBC.BC.CA>
  • Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 16:46:26 -0800
  • Reply-To: "McGregor, Byron" <BMcGregorBCBC.BC.CA>
  • Sender: Windows NT BugTraq Mailing List <NTBUGTRAQLISTSERV.NTBUGTRAQ.COM>
The interesting sub-topic on the recent screen saver thread has been the
idea of protecting systems from malicious admins.  The simple question
to be answered is "can an OS do this?"  The answer is an unequivocal
"no".  The OS can put up obstacles in the form of audit trails and
distributed admin responsibilities.  But Paul Leach's reminder of the
existence of trojans is the final answer to the question.

The observation that I would like to make here is that, when all you
have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  We are generally
systems specialists and can easily fall into the trap of thinking that
our systems tools hold the answer to all our woes.  In fact, security
against rogue admins is properly addressed through the tools of
management oversight, corporate security practices, HR screening
procedures, and, in some cases, the criminal justice system.  Granted,
these are not as much fun as code - but at least they stand a chance of
successfully addressing the issue.

Byron McGregor
B.C. Buildings Corp.
Victoria, B.C., CA