The Reference Monitor Concept as a Unifying Principle in Computer Security Education

For over twenty-five years, the Reference Monitor Concept [1] has proved itself to be a useful tool for computer security practitioners. It can also be used as a conceptual tool in computer security education. This paper describes a computer security education program at the Naval Postgraduate School that has used the Reference Monitor concept as a unifying principle for courses, laboratory work, and student research. The intent of the program is to produce graduates who will think critically about the design and implementation of systems intended to enforce security policies.