DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE COMPUTER SECURITY

A computer-implemented method is disclosed, which comprises: initializing, by an operating system kernel, a descriptor table associated with a hardware processor; updating, by the operating system kernel, a descriptor table register; and in response to an update request: changing, by the operating system kernel, a permission level associated with the descriptor table to a second permission level, wherein the second permission level is greater than a first permission level; updating, by the operating system kernel, the descriptor table while the descriptor table is associated with the second permission level, wherein the updating is based on the update request; and after updating the descriptor table, changing, by the operating system kernel, the permission level associated with the descriptor table to the first permission level.