Applying source-code verification to a microkernel: the VFiasco project
EW 10 Proceedings of the 10th workshop on ACM SIGOPS European workshop
Design principles and patterns for computer systems that are simultaneously secure and usable
Design principles and patterns for computer systems that are simultaneously secure and usable
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An operating system forms the foundation for all of the user's computer activities. Therefore, it should be trustworthy and function flawlessly. Unfortunately, today's operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, fail to deliver to this ideal, because they suffer from fundamental design flaws and bugs. Their monolithic kernel tend be overloaded with functionality that runs at the highest privilege level. This easily introduces bugs and breaches the Principle of Least Authorization (POLA) with all the related risks. Microkernel operating systems have a different design that makes them less vulnerable to these problems. A microkernel provides only a minimal set of abstractions that runs at the highest privilege level. Extended operating system functionality is typically available by means of user-space servers. By splitting an operating system into small, independent parts, the system becomes less complex and more robust, because the smaller parts are more manageable and help to isolate faults, respectively. This paper reviews the concepts and mechanisms used to improve security in Microkernel Operating system and described in brief about two real-world microkernel operating system, trying to achieve security as its goal.