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Merge pull request #33 from SystemsApproach/tcb
grammar and trusting providers
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intro.rst

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@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ focuses on network security, a reasonable starting point is to trust
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the hardware/software on the systems you control, and to assume all
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other systems you interact with are untrustworthy. But this definition
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is problematic in a service-based environment like today's Internet,
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where we end up also putting some amount of trust in the network
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where we often end up putting some trust in the network
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providers we connect to, and the cloud services we depend upon. In
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many respects, identifying a TCB that meets our needs is an important
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part of what makes security so challenging.

principles.rst

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.. sidebar:: Picking Your Battles
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*Chapter 1 talked about trust and threats being two sides of the
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same coin, but another way of thinking about it that every secure
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*In Chapter 1 we talked about trust and threats being two sides of the
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same coin, but another way to frame the discussion is that every secure
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system design starts with two lists: (1) those elements you trust,
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and so can build upon; and (2) those elements you do not trust, and
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so must treat as a threat that you defend against. But this is no
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*One way in which security is unique is that over time you may
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discover that you need to move items from the first list to the
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second list, as new threats emerge. To reduce this possibility, it
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is best to keep the first list as minimal as possible. On the other
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is best to keep the first list as small as possible. On the other
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hand, if you choose to trust nothing, you may end up "boiling the
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ocean" (i.e., having to solve so many problems that you are unable
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to make any progress). Every system must pick its battles.*
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starts with a list of trusted elements that includes commodity
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servers and L2/L3 switches, and ignores (i.e., declares
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out-of-scope) all the vulnerabilities those elements face and the
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countermeasures that go into securing them.*
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countermeasures that go into securing them. Of course, as soon as
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those elements are located outside our control, e.g., in some
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remote service provider's network, we have to assume that they
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are untrustworthy devices capable of snooping on, modifying or
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diverting traffic.*
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As a consequence of these three main requirements—confidentiality,
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integrity, and availability—additional requirements are placed on the

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