Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA)

Definition of Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA)

Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA) is a set of layered security services and cryptographic framework that provide an infrastructure for creating cross-platform, interoperable, security-enabled applications for client-server environments. CDSA covers all the essential components of security capability, to equip applications for electronic commerce and other business applications with security services that provide facilities for cryptography, certificate management, trust policy management, and key recovery.

CDSA was originally developed by Intel Architecture Labs and was released to the OpenSource community in May 2000. HP's CDSA implementation is based on the Intel V2.0 Release 3 reference platform, which implements CDSA V2.0 with Corrigenda, as defined in The Open Group's Technical Standard C914, May 2000. Starting with Version 7.3-1, HP provides CDSA as part of the OpenVMS Alpha operating system. CDSA is compatible with OpenVMS Alpha Version 7.2-2 and higher. CDSA provides a stable, standards-based programming interface that enables applications to access operating system security services. With CDSA, you can create cross-platform, security-enabled applications. Security services, such as cryptography and other public key operations, are available through a dynamically extensible interface to a set of plug-in modules. These modules can be supplemented or changed as business needs and technologies evolve. CDSA is security middleware that provides flexible mix-and-match solutions across a variety of applications and security services. CDSA insulates you from the issues of incorporating security into applications, freeing you to focus on the applications themselves. The security underpinnings are transparent to the user.

CDSA Features

CDSA is primarily a middleware framework that provides a set of APIs for creating and delivering secure applications. It allows application developers to easily add a set of different security features and services that have been prewritten and designed for client/server-based applications. CDSA provides the following features:

• Cryptography and encryption
• Certificate creation and management
• Policy management
• Authentication and non-repudiation
• Public key infrastructure

CDSA Layers

CDSA is made up of three basic layers:

• System Security Services
• The Common Security Services Manager (CSSM)
• Security Add -in Modules

• System Security Services: System Security Services are bet ween applications and CSSM services. Software at this layer provides a high-level abstraction of security services such as secure e-mail, secure file systems, or secure communications. Applications can invoke the CSSM APIs directly, or use these layered services t o access security services on a platf orm.
• The Common Security Service Manager (CSSM): CSSM provides a set of core services that are common to all categories of security services. CSSM defines five basic categories of services:
  • Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) modules: CSPs perform crypt ographic operations such as bulk encrypting, digesting, and digital signat ures.
  • Trust Policy (TP) modules: TPs implement policies defined by authorities and institutions and set the level of trust required to carry out specific actions (such as issuing a check or gaining access to confidential intellectual property).
  • Certificate Library (CL) modules: CLs manage c ertif icates and revocation list s, and access t o remote signing capabilities such as Certification Authorities (CA).
  • Data Storage Library (DL) modules: DLs provide stable storage for security-related data objects, including certificates cryptographic keys and policy objects.
  • Authorization Computation (AC) modules: ACs define a general authorisation evaluation service that computes whether a set of credentials and samples are authorized to perform a specific operation on a specific object.
  • Elective (EM) Modules: EMs add new and compelling security features not encompassed by the current set of service modules. For example one new feature that vendors might add to CDSA is a biometrics authentication. In addition, CSSM provides two additional core services:
  • Integrity Services: The int egrity services are used by CSSM itself to verify and guarantee the integrity of all the other components within the CSSM environment
  • Security Context Management: CSSM provides context management functions (such as session inf or mation) to facilitate applications to utilise the security services
• Security Add-in Modules: This layer is made up of service provider modules that offer basic components — cryptographic algorithms,base certificate manipulation facilities, and storage etc.

See Also

Data Access
Data Analysis
Data Analytics
Data Architecture
Data Asset Framework (DAF)
Data Buffer
Data Center
Data Center Infrastructure
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)
Data Cleansing
Data Collection
Data Compatibility
Data Consolidation
Data Deduplication
Data Delivery Platform (DDP)
Data Description (Definition) Language (DDL)
Data Dictionary
Data Discovery
Data Driven Organization
Data Element
Data Enrichment
Data Entry
Data Federation
Data Flow Diagram
Data Governance
Data Health Check
Data Hierarchy
Data Independence
Data Integration
Data Integration Framework (DIF)
Data Integrity
Data Island
Data Item
Data Lake
Data Life Cycle
Data Lineage
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Data Management
Data Migration
Data Minimization
Data Mining
Data Model
Data Modeling
Data Monitoring
Data Munging
Data Portability
Data Preparation
Data Presentation Architecture
Data Processing
Data Profiling
Data Proliferation
Data Propagation
Data Protection Act
Data Prototyping
Data Quality
Data Quality Assessment (DQA)
Data Quality Dimension
Data Quality Standard
Data Reconciliation
Data Reference Model (DRM)
Data Science
Data Security
Data Stewardship
Data Structure
Data Structure Diagram
Data Suppression
Data Transformation
Data Validation
Data Value Chain
Data Vault Modeling
Data Virtualization
Data Visualization
Data Warehouse
Data Wrangling
Data and Information Reference Model (DRM)
Data as a Service (DaaS)
Database (DB)
Database Design
Database Design Methodology
Database Management System (DBMS)
Database Marketing
Database Schema
Database System
Security Architecture
Security Policy
Security Reference Model (SRM)
Information Security Governance
Information Security
Adaptive Security Architecture (ASA)
Business Model for Information Security (BMIS)
Cognitive Security
Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA)
Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
Data Security
Computer Security
Enterprise Information Security Architecture (EISA)
Fault Configuration Accounting Performance Security (FCAPS)
Graduated Security
Information Systems Security (INFOSEC)
Information Security Management System (ISMS)
Information Technology Security Assessment
Mobile Security
Network Security
Cyber Security