Computers & Security, 7 (1988) 509-520

Special Abstracts Report: NTIS Computers, Control and Information Theory

T he National Technical Infor- mation Center (NTIS) is a

unit operating under the United States Department of Commerce at 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, U.S.A. Among its numerous services is the publica- tion of an abstract newsletter each Tuesday, "Computers, Control & Information Theory. "

This is one way in which com- puter security specialists can keep up with the information flow in the computer field. Complete copies of the reports that appear in the abstracts are generally available directly from NTIS.

• Most reports are available as PC or paper copy (the original report or reprint).

• Many reports can be obtained on MF or microfiche (105 m m x 148.75 ram).

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• Other reports are available on magnetic tape (9 track, 800, 1600 or 6250 bpi with odd parity).

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checks payable to NTIS in U.S. dollars. Readers can contact NTIS for a price list and information about the cost o f receiving the weekly reports on a regular basis.

NTIS also operates a database of all its reports. A service desk is available at 1-703487-4640 between 08:00 and 17:00 EST (Eastern Standard Time).

For this feature, we have selected several abstracts which we consider of interest to computer security specialists. The publication num- ber is noted at the conclusion of each abstract.

Computer Information Secu- rity and Protection. June 1985- Apri l 1987 (Citations from the NTIS Database). This bibliog- raphy contains citations concerning information security and integrity in computer data processing and communications systems. Hardware and software integrity, encryption standards, access con- trol and authentication techniques, database and network security, and the utilization of kernel functions are among the topics considered. Specific system descriptions are also presented. PB87- 857587/WCC. PC NO1~ MF NO1.

Microcomputer Security Issues in an Office Environment. I.S. Zaritsky. This report presents the issues which management must address in establishing policy and procedures to provide physical security for microcomputers and protection for unclassified but sen- sitive information used by these machines in an office environment. Although recommendations are also provided, this report is not in- tended to be a handbook on formal risk analysis. This report does not cover the following topics: (1) Physical hazards such as fire or water damage. (2) Environmental issues such as pollution, tempera- ture or humidity. (3) TEMPEST issues such as electromagnetic emanation control. (4) Mainframe issues are briefly addressed. AD-A 185 235/9/WCC.

Analysis o f Individual Risk Belief Structures. B.E. Tonn, C.B. Travis, L. Arrowood, R. Goeltz and C.A. Mann. An interac- tive computer program developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is presented as a methodology to model individualized belief struc- tures. The logic and general strategy o f the model is presented for two risk topics: AIDS and toxic waste. Subjects identified desirable and undesirable consequences for each topic and formulated an as- sociative rule linking topic and consequences in either a casual or correlational framework. Likeli- hood estimates, generated by sub- jects in several formats (probabil- ity, odds statements etc.) con- stituted one outcome measure. Additionally, source of benefit (personal experience, news media etc.) and personal and societal im- pact are reviewed. Briefly, subjects

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