The protection of computer resources, data of value, and individual privacy has motivted a concern for security of EDP installations, especially of the operating systems. In this report, three commercial operating systems are analyzed and security enhancements suggested. Because of the similarity of operating systems and their security problems, specific security flaws are formally classified according to a taxonomy developed here. This classification leads to a clearer understanding of security flaws and aids in analyzing new systems. The discussions of security flaws and the security enhancements offer a starting reference for planning a security investigation of an EDP installation\‘s operating system.

This report describes a pattern-based approach for finding a general class of computer operating system errors characterized by the inconsistency of a data value between pairs of references. A formal description of the error class is given, both as a protection policy being enforced and as a violation of that policy, i.e., an error statement. A particular subclass of the general error class is then examined, i.e., those errors in which the data type is a parameter. A formal specification of a procedure for finding instances of the subclass is given with examples of errors found using the procedure.

As the UNIX operating system becomes more widely used, considerations of operating system security and data integrity become more important. Unfortunately, UNIX has deficiencies in this regard. This note describes several ways of violating the protection mechanisms provided by UNIX, and where appropriate suggests solutions.

Under the proper design conditions, an arrayed waveguide grating is capable of producing high repetition rate pulse trains from a lower rate short pulse source.  The temporal intensity profile may be equalized to generate a flat-topped pulse train by tailoring the design of the AWG.

1 THz repetition rate bursts of short pulses at multiple spatially separated output channels are demonstrated from a single short pulse source laser and an arrayed waveguide grating designed to have a free spectral range less than the bandwidtth of the source laser.

Almost three fourths of major U.S. firms admit that they engage in one form or another of electronic surveillance (American Management Association, 2000). At the same time,  concern over the negative effects of electronic surveillance is raising. The paradox of electronic surveillance is that it is much used and little understood. This paper is an attempt to facilitate and stimulate research into electronic surveillance.  It summarizes up-to-date information on the pervasiveness and the noted effects of electronic surveillance. It proceeds to review academic studies that have focused on this phenomenon and finally, it proposes two other theoretical perspectives that may explain behavior-related effects of electronic surveillance -  equity theory, and a communication-oriented approach that focuses on surveillance and responses to it as socially constructed acts of discipline and antidiscipline.

This paper discusses the meta-communicative aspects of electronic surveillance in the workplace, whether it is used for information security or other purposes. Both quantitative and qualitative results of survey work are reported to support the contention that the use of electronic surveillance is itself a communicative act and that the employees who are being surveilled interpret it—and respond to it—as such.