TC: Small: Improving System Security through Virtual Layered File Systems

台式计算机运行许多不同的应用程序，考虑到应用程序之间缺乏隔离，任何一种应用程序的承诺都可能损害整个桌面。恢复受损的桌面仍然是一项耗时的任务，通常需要擦除所有内容并从头开始重新安装系统。这些安全问题构成了根本性的挑战，因为从金融交易到医疗记录，台式计算机无所不包。为了解决这些问题，我们正在创建新的虚拟分层文件系统(VLFS)技术来提高系统安全性。与传统的单一实体文件系统不同，VLFS动态地将一组软件层组合在一起，形成桌面的单个文件系统视图。对一个层的更改与对另一个层的更改是隔离的，并且是分离的。VLFS的动态合成功能实现了强大且易于使用的安全功能。我们正在使用VLFS构建一个体系结构，以便在管理大量异类配置的计算机时能够有效地部署安全补丁，并加快系统从安全漏洞攻击中的恢复。我们还使用VLFS开发了一个透明的桌面应用程序故障遏制体系结构，该体系结构有效地限制了漏洞的破坏，实现了快速恢复，同时也像传统桌面系统一样易于使用。这一建议的结果将为未来的计算机创新提供基础，为用户的系统提供更好的系统安全性。由于我们使用的是行业标准操作系统以及二进制应用程序和补丁分发，因此我们的结果将直接适用于商业世界。

Desktop computers run many different applications, thecompromise of any one of which can compromise the entire desktop giventhe lack of isolation among applications. Recovering a compromiseddesktop remains a time consuming task, which typically requires wipingeverything and reinstalling the system from scratch. These security issues pose fundamental challenges as desktop computers arerelied on for everything from financial transactions tomedical records. To address these problems, we are creating novelvirtual layered file system (VLFS) technologies to improve system security. Unlike a traditional file system which is a monolithic entity, a VLFS dynamically composes together a set of software layersinto a single file system view for a desktop. Changes to one layerare isolated and decoupled from changes to another. The VLFS dynamiccomposition feature enables powerful and easy-to-use securityfunctionality. We are using VLFSes to build an architecture to enablesecurity patches to be deployed effectively when managing largenumbers of heterogeneously configured machines, and to speed systemrecovery from security exploits. We are also using VLFSes to developa transparent desktop application fault containment architecture thatis effective at limiting the damage from exploits to enable quickrecovery while being as easy to use as a traditional desktop system.The results of this proposal will provide a foundation for futurecomputer innovations to provide improved system security for users'systems. Because we are working with industry-standard operatingsystems and binary application and patch distributions, our resultswill be directly applicable to the commercial world.