System User's Guide: Operating System and Devices

Chapter 9. File and System Security

Computer security is very similar to other types of security. Its goal is the protection of information stored on the computer system, a valuable resource. Information security is aimed at:

It is helpful to plan and implement your security policies before you begin using the system. Security policies are very time consuming to change later, so a little planning now can save a lot of time later.

This section discusses:

• Security Threats
• File Ownership and User Groups
  • Changing File or Directory Ownership (chown Command)
  • File and Directory Access Modes
  • Displaying Group Information (lsgroup Command)
  • Changing File or Directory Permissions (chmod Command)
• Access Control Lists
  • Base Permissions
  • Extended Permissions
  • Access Control List Example
  • Access Authorization
  • Displaying Access Control Information (aclget Command)
  • Setting Access Control Information (aclput Command)
  • Editing Access Control Information (acledit Command)
• Locking Your Terminal (lock or xlock Command)
• Command Summary for File and System Security