Last modified: $Date: 2006-11-25 10:18:46 +0900 (Sat, 25 Nov 2006) $
Q1: What is TOMOYO Linux?
A1: A Linux kernel that can automatically generate policies for Mandatory Access Control.
Q2: Who are the target users?
A2: Administrators who can't spend their energy for server security managements.
Q3: How much extra memory is consumed?
A3: Fixed part (code and data in the kernel) is about 100 KB, variant part (access permissions) is a few hundred KB.
Q4: How large is the performance loss?
A4: Not tested formally, but it will be within measurement errors.
Q5: Which kernel versions are supported?
A5: 2.4.30 and later and 2.6.11 and later downloadable from http://www.kernel.org/.
Q6: Is it possible to support patched kernels from distributors?
A6: Yes, if you manually inserts hooks.
Q7: What is the license?
A7: It is GPL.
Q8: Does TOMOYO Linux have any usage other than Mandatory Access Control?
A8: You can create custom filesystem images with minimum files.
Q1: Is the policy syntax easy?
A1: Yes, it's very easy.
Q2: What is domain?
A2: The domain in TOMOYO Linux is a history of process execution.
Q3: What is profile?
A3: The profile in TOMOYO Linux is a configuration that defines what kind of MAC to use and what level to apply.
Q4: Can I update policies dynamically?
A4: Yes, but memory used by old policies are not freed.
Q5: Do I need to restart processes after updating policies?
A5: No unless you delete a domain and recreate it.
Q6: Will processes referring old policies crash by updating policies?
A6: No, processes won't crash because the old policies remains in the kernel.
Q7: What measures against tampering policies are there?
A7: Restrict programs that can modify policies, and restrict domains that can execute programs that can modify policies.
Q8: How can I edit policies?
A8: CUI editors are included. You may use arbitrary text editors.
Q9: What is "ACCEPT mode"?
A9: A mode that access permissions are appended automatically.
Q10: Aren't there problems appending access permissions automatically?
A10: Almost no problem, for TOMOYO Linux uses absolute pathnames and fine-grained domain divisions.
Q11: Can I update packages while the Mandatory Access Control is enabled?
A11: Yes. You can do it by assigning different profiles to domains.
Q12: Can I protect only daemon processes like SELinux's Targeted Policy?
A12: Yes. You can do it by assigning different profiles to domains.
Q1: What is the security model of TOMOYO Linux?
A1: Only DTE.
Q2: Are there concepts of users and roles?
A2: No, but it's possible to delegate a part of administration tasks.
Q3: Are patching to userland applications required?
A3: No.
Q4: TOMOYO Linux can't protect sshd from exploit codes, can it?
A4: No, but it's possible to countermeasure illegal logins by enforcing additional authentication.
Q5: Which division is TOMOYO Linux categorized in TCSEC?
A5: I don't know.
Q6: What security labels does TOMOYO Linux use?
A6: TOMOYO Linux uses absolute pathnames as security labels.
Q7: Can I use wildcards for pathnames?
A7: Yes.
Q8: Is MLS supported?
A8: No. Save in the different directories according to sensitivity level of the file.
Q9: Are there functions like LIDS's stateful ACL?
A9: No.
Q10: Is the correctness of security labels guaranteed?
A10: Since pathnames are used as security labels, the correctness of security labels is guaranteed unless the directory entry get corrupted.
Q11: Are resources other than files are protected?
A11: TOMOYO Linux supports network ports, signal transmissions, capability etc.
Q12: Are device files protected from being tampered with?
A12: You can use tamper-proof /dev filesystem.
Q13: Are there other functions?
A13: TOMOYO Linux can restrict operations that affect the system wide.
Q14: Why not use LSM?
A14: I can't, for current specification of LSM doesn't pass parameters that TOMOYO Linux needs.