This project is to be used to report security violations and warnings of security breeches. This requires the communications to the Hummers and between the Hummers to be secure. This system assumes that the local file system and its limitations on file accessibility will remain secure and are not at risk. The system will be required to maintain the security of inter-Hummer communications and will have to validate users when they attempt to change the configuration of a Hummer.
The project is dependent on the external data gathering tools for collection of information. If the tools don't function correctly, the Hummer will not be able to report security violations.
The Hummingbird system has some limitations as far as the security data
it can provide. First of all, if there is not a data gathering tool that
keeps track of security problems that the administrator is interested in,
the system won't report those. As with many security relevant systems,
if the person who is attempting to break into the system knows enough about
what security measures are in place, they will probably be able to find
a way to circumvent them. Keeping the details of what is being logged and
monitored a secret will help to keep the system more secure.