Introduction to NonStop Operations Management
Security Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
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Special Security Concerns
File-Sharing Groups
File-sharing groups are particularly important in the OSS environment. Each user has a 
group list that contains the names of all groups to which that user belongs. When the 
user attempts to access a file, the file’s group permissions are granted to that user if the 
user’s group list includes the name of the file’s group.
Volume Protection
Each time an OSS file is created, the Safeguard software checks to determine if a 
Safeguard volume-protection record exists for the physical volume on which the file is 
to reside. If such a volume-protection record exists, the user creating the file must have 
create authority on the access-control list for that volume. Otherwise, the file-creation 
attempt is denied.
In an OSS environment, all volumes that are used for a fileset must be given the same 
protection, because in the OSS environment, you cannot predict on which volume a file 
will be placed.
Special Security Concerns
When forming your security policy, you should be aware of the special security concerns 
of program development, PROGID programs, and licensed programs. 
Program development environments usually have a more permissive security policy to 
enable developers to develop and test programs. Your security policy should identify the 
procedures to follow when moving the program from a development environment to a 
production environment. PROGID programs and licensed programs provide you with 
two powerful tools that should be understood and carefully controlled.
Program Development 
When a program is being developed, the system environment in which it is being created 
often has a permissive security policy to make it easy for developers to access files and 
test the program.
Possible Hazards
A development environment’s permissive security policy can create the following 
security hazards:
•
If the development environment and the production environment are on the same 
system, both operators and developers might log on as super-group users (255,n), 
enabling developers access to databases containing sensitive business information. 
Ideally, the development environment and the production environment should be 
separate systems.
•
When a program moves into production, often file security settings and logons are 
overlooked, which can allow unauthorized users to access the program and its 
database files.










