Cryptosmith

Now that Secure Computing Corporation is a memory, having been acquired by McAfee, I’m going to write up a few memories of my own experiences. At one point I posted much of this in the appropriate Wikipedia entry, but that’s actually not kosher. Since much of it is based on personal recollection, these words fall in line with what they call “original research.” So I’m posting it here.

I joined Secure Computing about a year after it came into existence. It was called “Secure Computing Technology Corporation” at the time. By the time I left, they’d gone through three more company presidents, 4 corporate logos, several mergers, and bounced the corporate headquarters from Minnesota to Silicon Valley.

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The LOCK project (short for LOgical Coprocessing Kernel) developed a “trusted computing system” that implemented multilevel security. LOCK was intended to exceed the requirements for an “A1″ system as defined by the old Trusted Computing System Evaluation Criteria (a.k.a. the TCSEC or “Orange Book”). Continue Reading »

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I wrote the following message as part of a discussion on the old Firewalls mailing list in 1996. The message was part of a discussion on the use of MLS technology to protect Internet servers from attack. The basic concepts still apply in some ways, though the threats have evolved in many other ways. Continue Reading »

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