Understanding Linux security
One significant consideration for securing a computer system or network is the means for system administrators to control how users and processes can access various resources, such as files, devices, and interfaces, across systems. The Linux kernel provides a handful of such mechanisms, collectively referred to as ACMs. Let’s describe them briefly:
- Discretionary access control (DAC) is the typical ACM related to filesystem objects, including files, directories, and devices. Such access is at the discretion of the object’s owner when managing permissions. DAC controls access to objects based on the identity of users and groups (subjects). Depending on a subject’s access permissions, they could also pass permissions to other subjects —an administrator managing regular users, for example.
- Access control lists (ACLs) provide control over which subjects (such as users and groups) have access to specific filesystem objects...
