MULTI-LEVEL SECURE COMPUTER SYSTEM

THIS EFFORT ADDRESSES ONE ASPECT OF THE MULTIFACETED COMPUTER SECURITY PROBLEM. A HARDWARE\SOFTWARE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE WILL BE DEVELOPOED FOR A SMALL STAND ALONE MICROPROCESSOR BASED MULTILEVEL SECURE (MLS) COMPUTER SYSTEM. THE SOFTWARE VERIFICATION METHODOLOGIES NORMALLY HEAVILY RELIED ON IN PRODUCING MLS SYSTEMS, ARE ACTUALLY STILL IN THEIR INFANCY. WE SUGGEST HERE A HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE THAT IS INTENDED TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF VERIFICATION REQUIRED. MICROCUMPUTERS HAVE BECOME A HOUSEHOLD ITEM. THE GENERAL PUBLIC (AND CONSEQUENTLY THE AVAILABLE POOL OF PERSONNEL FOR DOD) IS GETTING USED TO A WIDE BASE OF COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE, E.G. CP\M AND UNIX OPERATING SYSTEMS, VISICALC, DATA BASES, ETC. IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE IF A MLS COMPUTER SYSTEM COULD UTILIZE THIS SOFTWARE BASE WITHOUT THE EXPENSIVE COST OF RETROFITTING IT WITH MLS FEATURES. DIGICOMP'S APPROACH FOR A TRUSTED MLS SYSTEM OFFERS THIS ATTRACTIVE FEATURE AS WELL. PHASE I SHALL DEVELOP THE HARDWARE\SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE. THE NECESSARY SECUIRTY MODEL AND THE VERIFICATION METHODOLOGY WILL ALSO BE IDENTIFIED FOR THE RECOMMENDED ARCHITECTURE AND A VERIFICATION PLAN DEVELOPED. PHASE II CONSISTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE PROTOTYPES AND THE REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS AND VERIFICATIONS.