nip/docs/security-and-verification-system.md

NimPak Security and Verification System

Overview

The NimPak Security and Verification System provides military-grade package integrity monitoring, provenance tracking, and trust management for NexusOS. This comprehensive system ensures package authenticity, maintains audit trails, and enforces security policies throughout the package lifecycle.

Architecture

The security system consists of several interconnected components:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    NimPak Security System                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │ Integrity       │  │ Provenance      │  │ Trust Policy │ │
│  │ Monitor         │  │ Tracker         │  │ Manager      │ │
│  │                 │  │                 │  │              │ │
│  │ • Hash Verify   │  │ • Chain Track   │  │ • Reputation │ │
│  │ • Signature     │  │ • Trust Score   │  │ • Policies   │ │
│  │ • Real-time     │  │ • Audit Trail   │  │ • Enforcement│ │
│  │ • Health Checks │  │ • Verification  │  │ • Community  │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └──────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │ Hash Verifier   │  │ Signature       │  │ Keyring      │ │
│  │                 │  │ Verifier        │  │ Manager      │ │
│  │ • BLAKE2b/3     │  │ • Ed25519       │  │ • Key Store  │ │
│  │ • Streaming     │  │ • Dilithium     │  │ • Revocation │ │
│  │ • Batch Verify  │  │ • Hybrid Sigs   │  │ • Trust Web  │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └──────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │ Event Logger    │  │ Periodic        │  │ CLI Commands │ │
│  │                 │  │ Scanner         │  │              │ │
│  │ • Audit Trail   │  │ • Scheduled     │  │ • nip verify │ │
│  │ • Security Log  │  │ • Incremental   │  │ • nip doctor │ │
│  │ • Compliance    │  │ • Full Scans    │  │ • nip track  │ │
│  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └──────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Components

1. Integrity Monitor (integrity_monitor.nim)

The Integrity Monitor provides comprehensive package integrity verification and real-time monitoring.

Key Features:

• Hash Verification: BLAKE2b/BLAKE3 streaming hash verification for packages of any size
• Signature Verification: Ed25519 digital signature verification with post-quantum hooks
• Real-time Monitoring: Filesystem watcher for immediate tamper detection
• Health Check Integration: Pluggable health checks with the framework
• Quarantine System: Automatic quarantine of corrupted files
• Alert Management: Comprehensive alerting with severity levels

Usage:

# Verify all packages
nip verify --all

# Verify specific package with auto-repair
nip verify htop --auto-repair

# Run integrity health check
nip doctor --integrity

# Start real-time monitoring
nip verify --all --watch

2. Provenance Tracker (provenance_tracker.nim)

The Provenance Tracker maintains complete package source attribution with cryptographic proof.

Key Features:

• Complete Chain Tracking: From source to installation with cryptographic proof
• Trust Score Calculation: Multi-factor trust scoring based on provenance quality
• Chain Verification: Cryptographic verification of provenance steps
• Graft Preservation: Maintains provenance during external package grafting
• Audit Trail Integration: Complete audit trails for compliance

Provenance Chain Structure:

ProvenanceChain:
  - packageId: string
  - version: string
  - source: ProvenanceSource (original, grafted, converted, rebuilt, mirrored)
  - steps: seq[ProvenanceStep]
  - trustScore: float (0.0-1.0)
  - verificationErrors: seq[string]

Usage:

# Track package provenance
nip track htop

# Show detailed trust scoring
nip track htop --trust-score

# Show verification details
nip track htop --verification

# Output structured data
nip track htop --output json

3. Trust Policy Manager (trust_policy.nim)

The Trust Policy Manager enforces security policies and manages community reputation.

Key Features:

• Policy-Based Security: Configurable trust policies with rule-based evaluation
• Community Reputation: Actor reputation system with verification history
• Dynamic Trust Scoring: Multi-factor trust calculation with community input
• Policy Enforcement: Automatic policy enforcement during package operations
• Reputation Tracking: Long-term reputation tracking for package maintainers

Trust Policy Rules:

TrustPolicyRule:
  - condition: "trust_score >= 0.8"
  - action: "allow" | "deny" | "warn" | "require_approval"
  - priority: int

Usage:

# List available trust policies
nip trust policy list

# Set active trust policy
nip trust policy set strict

# Show community actors
nip trust actor list

# Show actor details
nip trust actor show nexusos-build-farm

4. Periodic Scanner (periodic_scanner.nim)

The Periodic Scanner provides automated integrity scanning with configurable scheduling.

Key Features:

• Scheduled Scanning: Configurable full and incremental scans
• Scan Types: Full system, incremental (recent changes), and targeted scans
• Performance Optimization: Efficient scanning with minimal system impact
• Scan History: Complete scan history with statistics and reporting
• Integration: Seamless integration with integrity monitoring

Usage:

# Manual full scan
nip scan full

# Manual incremental scan
nip scan incremental

# Targeted scan of specific packages
nip scan targeted htop vim git

# Show scan statistics
nip scan status

# Show scan history
nip scan history

CLI Commands

nip verify - Package Verification

Comprehensive package integrity verification with multiple options.

# Basic usage
nip verify <package|--all> [options]

# Options
--no-signatures      # Skip signature verification
--no-hashes          # Skip hash verification
--signatures-only    # Only verify signatures
--hashes-only        # Only verify hashes
--verbose, -v        # Verbose output
--details            # Show detailed verification info
--auto-repair        # Attempt automatic repair
--watch              # Enable real-time monitoring
--periodic           # Enable periodic scanning
--output <format>    # Output format (json, yaml, kdl)

# Examples
nip verify --all --verbose
nip verify htop --auto-repair
nip verify --all --watch --periodic

nip doctor --integrity - Health Checks

System integrity health checks with comprehensive reporting.

# Basic usage
nip doctor --integrity [options]

# Options
--auto-repair        # Attempt automatic repair
--verbose, -v        # Verbose output
--no-recommendations # Hide repair recommendations
--output <format>    # Output format (json, yaml, kdl)

# Examples
nip doctor --integrity
nip doctor --integrity --auto-repair --verbose

nip track - Provenance Tracking

Package provenance tracking with trust scoring and verification.

# Basic usage
nip track <package> [options]

# Options
--version <version>  # Specific version
--trust-score        # Show detailed trust scoring
--verification       # Show verification details
--no-steps          # Hide individual provenance steps
--no-validation     # Skip chain validation
--verbose, -v       # Verbose output
--output <format>   # Output format (json, yaml, kdl)

# Examples
nip track htop
nip track htop --trust-score --verification
nip track htop --output json

nip trust - Trust Policy Management

Trust policy and community reputation management.

# Policy management
nip trust policy list
nip trust policy set <policy_id>
nip trust policy show [policy_id]

# Actor management
nip trust actor list
nip trust actor show <actor_id>

# Examples
nip trust policy list
nip trust policy set strict
nip trust actor show nexusos-build-farm

nip scan - Manual Scanning

Manual integrity scanning with different scope options.

# Scan types
nip scan full                    # Full system scan
nip scan incremental            # Incremental scan (recent changes)
nip scan targeted <packages...> # Targeted scan

# Status and history
nip scan status                 # Show scan statistics
nip scan history [limit]        # Show scan history

# Examples
nip scan full
nip scan targeted htop vim git
nip scan history 10

Configuration

Integrity Monitor Configuration

integrity {
  enable_realtime_watcher true
  scan_interval 3600              // 1 hour
  watch_paths "/Programs" "/System/Index" "/System/Generations"
  alert_threshold 5
  auto_repair false
  quarantine_corrupted true
}

Provenance Tracker Configuration

provenance {
  enable_tracking true
  store_location "/var/lib/nimpak/provenance"
  verification_interval 24        // 24 hours
  auto_verify_on_install true
  require_provenance_for_install false
}

Trust Policy Configuration

trust_policy {
  enable_policy_enforcement true
  policy_store_path "/etc/nimpak/trust-policies"
  reputation_store_path "/var/lib/nimpak/reputation"
  auto_update_reputation true
  require_approval_threshold 0.5
}

Periodic Scanner Configuration

periodic_scanner {
  enabled true
  full_scan_interval 24           // Hours between full scans
  incremental_interval 15         // Minutes between incremental scans
  full_scan_hour 2               // Hour of day for full scan (0-23)
  max_concurrent_scans 2
  scan_timeout 3600              // Timeout for individual scans (seconds)
}

Security Features

Cryptographic Verification

• Hash Algorithms: BLAKE2b (primary), BLAKE3 (future), SHA256 (legacy)
• Signature Algorithms: Ed25519 (primary), Dilithium (post-quantum future)
• Hybrid Signatures: Support for classical + post-quantum signature combinations
• Streaming Verification: Memory-efficient verification for large packages

Real-time Monitoring

• Filesystem Watcher: Real-time monitoring of critical paths
• Tamper Detection: Immediate detection of unauthorized modifications
• Quarantine System: Automatic isolation of corrupted files
• Alert Generation: Comprehensive alerting with severity classification

Trust Management

• Multi-factor Trust Scoring: Based on provenance, signatures, reputation, and age
• Community Reputation: Long-term reputation tracking for package maintainers
• Policy Enforcement: Configurable trust policies with rule-based evaluation
• Audit Trails: Complete audit trails for compliance and forensics

Integration Points

Health Check Framework

The security system integrates with the existing health check framework:

# Register integrity health checks
registerIntegrityHealthChecks()

# Run all health checks
let results = runHealthChecks()

# Start health check daemon
startHealthCheckDaemon(monitor)

Security Event Logging

All security events are logged for audit and compliance:

# Log security events
logGlobalSecurityEvent(EventPackageVerification, SeverityInfo, "nip-verify",
  "Package verification completed successfully")

# Event types
EventPackageVerification
EventSecurityIncident
EventSystemHealthCheck
EventFileSystemChange

Grafting Integration

Provenance is preserved during grafting operations:

# Preserve provenance during graft
let preservedChain = preserveProvenanceDuringGraft(originalChain,
  graftedPackageName, graftedVersion, sourceEcosystem)

# Preserve provenance during conversion
let convertedChain = preserveProvenanceDuringConvert(graftedChain, convertedHash)

Performance Characteristics

Hash Verification Performance

• BLAKE2b: ~1.5 GB/s on modern hardware
• Streaming: Constant memory usage regardless of file size
• Batch Processing: Optimized for multiple file verification
• Chunk Size Optimization: Adaptive chunk sizes for different file sizes

Monitoring Overhead

• Real-time Monitoring: <1% CPU overhead
• Periodic Scanning: Configurable to minimize system impact
• Incremental Scans: Only check recently modified packages
• Background Processing: Non-blocking operations with async I/O

Storage Requirements

• Provenance Data: ~1KB per package per version
• Scan History: ~100 bytes per scan result
• Event Logs: ~200 bytes per security event
• Trust Data: ~500 bytes per community actor

Compliance and Auditing

ACUL Compliance

The security system supports ACUL (Auditable Compute Use License) compliance:

• Reproducible Builds: Verification of build reproducibility
• License Tracking: License compliance verification
• Audit Trails: Complete audit trails for all operations
• Signature Requirements: Configurable signature requirements

Security Standards

• NIST Guidelines: Follows NIST cybersecurity framework
• Cryptographic Standards: Uses approved cryptographic algorithms
• Audit Requirements: Comprehensive logging for security audits
• Incident Response: Automated incident detection and response

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Hash Verification Failures

   • Check file integrity
   • Verify expected hash values
   • Check for file corruption

2. Signature Verification Failures

   • Verify key availability
   • Check key revocation status
   • Validate signature format

3. Trust Policy Violations

   • Review active trust policy
   • Check package trust score
   • Verify actor reputation

4. Performance Issues

   • Adjust scan intervals
   • Optimize chunk sizes
   • Check system resources

Debug Commands

# Enable verbose logging
nip verify --all --verbose

# Show detailed trust breakdown
nip track <package> --trust-score --verification

# Check system health
nip doctor --integrity --verbose

# Show scan statistics
nip scan status

Future Enhancements

Post-Quantum Cryptography

• Dilithium Signatures: Post-quantum signature algorithm support
• Hybrid Signatures: Classical + post-quantum signature combinations
• Migration Tools: Smooth transition to post-quantum algorithms

Advanced Analytics

• Machine Learning: Anomaly detection using ML algorithms
• Behavioral Analysis: Package behavior analysis for threat detection
• Predictive Security: Predictive security threat identification

Distributed Trust

• Blockchain Integration: Distributed trust verification
• Consensus Mechanisms: Multi-party trust consensus
• Decentralized Reputation: Distributed reputation management

---

This comprehensive security and verification system provides NimPak with enterprise-grade security capabilities, ensuring package integrity, maintaining complete audit trails, and enforcing configurable trust policies throughout the package lifecycle.