Privacy

[Derek Atkins]

"Lindenaar, D.J.W." <D.J.W.Lindenaar at student.tue.nl> writes:

>> Yes, and this WOULD require some semblance of "user authentication
>> and authorization", but I suspect this is a long way's off.
>
> Hmm, wouldn't this -again- be something gnucash shouldn't worry about? I
> don't know very much about capabilities of database-progs, but it would
> seem that each database should be protected by some security based off
> the linux security model..? like a file, every database has some 'owner'
> a 'group'.

It depends on the architecture of the multi-user system, and whether
you want to provide different UIs to different users based upon their
capabilities.  Yes, you want server-imposed (e.g. database-level)
access control enforcement, but you may also want the client to react
to the changing access capabilities and adjust the UI to match
(greying out data that can't be changed, or hiding menu options that
just aren't available).

I do this type of work for a living (Security Consulting), so I
understand multi-user application security (GnuCash is just a
side-hobby ;).  There are a number of different approaches to take,
but gnucash isn't ready to take that leap.  When (if?) gnucash treads
down the road towards a multi-user, multi-access system I'll
definitely step in and think about the security archicture.

One thing I tell my clients is that security IS everyone's
responsibility.  Every piece in the architecture needs to know its
role in securing the complete system (note that this does not imply
that every piece needs to add its own layer of encryption).  But it's
the system as a whole that needs to be looked at, in addition to the
individual pieces.

In the case of single-user gnucash on a multi-user system, the
multi-user security of the OS is the best place to protect your data
from your other users.  In a multi-user gnucash on many multi-user
systems, gnucash needs a closer hand at maintaining data integrity.

But this is WAY off topic by now.

If you've got more questions about security, please ask me offline.
I'm always available for consulting :)

-derek
-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available