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Network Security Basics: Authentication, Authorization, Encryption, and TCP Wrapper

Learn about traditional Unix security terminology, TCP Wrapper, cryptography, and the importance of authentication, authorization, and encryption in network security.

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Network Security Basics: Authentication, Authorization, Encryption, and TCP Wrapper

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  1. Security Terminology Traditional Unix Security TCP Wrapper Cryptography Kerberos Netprog: Security

  2. Terminology • Authentication: identifying someone (or something) reliably. Proving you are who you say you are. • Authorization: permission to access a resource. Netprog: Security

  3. Terminology • Encryption: Scramble data so that only someone with a secret can make sense of the data. • Decryption: Descrambling encrypted data. • DES: Data Encryption Standard: secret key cryptographic function standardized by NBS (NIST). Netprog: Security

  4. Terminology (cont.) • Secret Key Cryptography: a cryptographic scheme where the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt. • Public Key Cryptography: a cryptographic scheme where different keys are used for encryption and decryption. Netprog: Security

  5. Terminology (more!) • Firewall: a network component that separates two networks and (typically) operates in the upper layers of the OSI reference model (Application layer). • Screening Router: a discriminating router that filters packets based on network layer (and sometimes transport layer) protocols and addresses. Netprog: Security

  6. Unix Network Security Some basic approaches: • Do nothing and assume requesting system is secure. • Require host to identify itself and trust users on known hosts. • Require a password (authentication) every time a service is requested. Netprog: Security

  7. Traditional Unix Security (BSD) • Based on option 2 – trust users on trusted hosts. • if the user has been authenticated by a trusted host, we will trust the user. • Authentication of hosts based on IP address! (doesn’t deal with IP spoofing) Netprog: Security

  8. Reserved Ports • Trust only clients coming from trusted hosts with source port less than 1024. • Only root can bind to these ports. • We trust the host. The request is coming via a trusted service (a reserved port) on the host. Netprog: Security

  9. Potential Problem • Anyone who knows the root password can replace trusted services. • Not all Operating Systems have a notion of root or reserved ports! • It’s easy to impersonate a host that is down. Netprog: Security

  10. Services that use the BSD security model • lpd – line printing daemon. • rshd – remote execution. • rexec – another remote execution. • rlogin – remote login. Netprog: Security

  11. BSD Config Files • /etc/hosts.equiv – list of trusted hosts. • /etc/hosts.lpd – trusted printing clients. • ~/.rusers – user defined trusted hosts and users. Netprog: Security

  12. lpd security check client's address for reserved port and check /etc/hosts.equiv for client IP or check /etc/hosts.lpd for client IP Netprog: Security

  13. rshd, rexecd, rlogind security • As part of a request for service a username is sent by the client. • The username must be valid on the server! Netprog: Security

  14. rshd security • check client’s address for reserved port if not a reserved port – reject request. • check for password entry on server for specified user. if not a valid username – reject request. Netprog: Security

  15. rshd security (cont.) • check /etc/hosts.equiv for client’s IP address. if found – process request. • check users ~/.rhosts for client's IP address. if found – process request, otherwise reject. Netprog: Security

  16. rexecd security client sends username and password to server as part of the request (plaintext). • check for password entry on server for user name. • encrypt password and check for match. rexecd is rarely used! Netprog: Security

  17. rlogind security • Just like rshd. • If trusted host (user) not found – prompts for a password. Netprog: Security

  18. Special Cases • If username is root requests are treated as a special case: • look at /.rhosts • often disabled completely. Netprog: Security

  19. TCP Wrapper • TCP wrapper is a simple system that provides some firewall-like functionality. • A single host (really just a few services) is isolated from the rest of the world. • Functionality includes logging of requests for service and access control. Netprog: Security

  20. TCP Wrapper Picture Single Host TCP wrapper (tcpd) TCP based Servers TCP Ports The World Netprog: Security

  21. tcpd • The tcpd daemon checks out incoming TCP connections before the real server gets the connection. • tcpd can find out source IP address and port number (authentication). Netprog: Security

  22. tcpd (cont.) • A log message can be generated indicating the service name, client address and time of connection. • tcpd can use client addresses to authorize each service request. Netprog: Security

  23. Typical tcpd setup SuperServer • inetd (the ) is told to start tcpd instead of the real server. • tcpd checks out the client by calling getpeername on descriptor 0. • tcpd decides whether or not to start the real server (by calling exec). Netprog: Security

  24. tcpd configuration • The configuration files for tcpd specify which hosts are allowed/denied which services. • Entire domains or IP networks can be permitted or denied easily. • tcpd can be told to perform RFC931 lookup to get a username. Netprog: Security

  25. Cryptography Reference: Network Security PRIVATE Communication in a PUBLIC World. by Kaufman, Perlman & Speciner. Netprog: Security

  26. Secret Key Cryptography • Single key used to encrypt and decrypt. • Key must be known by both parties. • Assuming we live in a hostile environment (otherwise - why the need for cryptography?), it may be hard to share a secret key. Netprog: Security

  27. Public Key Cryptography(a.k.a. asymmetric cryptography) • Relatively new field - 1975 (as far as we know, the NSA is not talking). • Each entity has 2 keys: • private key (a secret) • public key (well known). Netprog: Security

  28. Using Keys • Private keys are used for decrypting. • Public keys are used for encrypting. encryption plaintext ciphertext public key decryption ciphertext plaintext private key Netprog: Security

  29. Digital Signature • Public key cryptography is also used to provide digital signatures. signing plaintext signed message private key verification signed message plaintext public key Netprog: Security

  30. Transmitting over an insecure channel. Alice wants to send Bob a private message. Apublicis Alice’s public key. Aprivateis Alice’s private key. Bpublicis Bob’s public key. Bprivateis Bob’s private key. Netprog: Security

  31. Hello Bob,Wanna get together? Alice Bob encrypt using Bpublic decrypt using Bprivate Netprog: Security

  32. OK Alice,Your place or mine? Alice Bob decrypt using Aprivate encrypt using Apublic Netprog: Security

  33. Bob’s Dilemma • Nobody can read the message from Alice, but anyone could produce it. • How does Bob know that the message was really sent from Alice? • Bob may be comforted to know that only Alice can read his reply. Netprog: Security

  34. Alice can sign her message! • Alice can create a digital signature and prove she sent the message (or someone with knowledge of her private key). • The signature can be a message digest encrypted with Aprivate. Netprog: Security

  35. Message Digest • Also known as “hash function” or “one-way transformation”. • Transforms a message of any length and computes a fixed length string. • We want it to be hard to guess what the message was given only the digest. • Guessing is always possible. Netprog: Security

  36. Alice’s Signature • Alice feeds her original message through a hash function and encrypts the message digest with Aprivate. • Bob can decrypt the message digest using Apublic. • Bob can compute the message digest himself. • If the 2 message digests are identical, Bob knows Alice sent the message. Netprog: Security

  37. Revised Scheme Alice Bob Sign with Aprivate check signature using Apublic decrypt using Bprivate encrypt using Bpublic Netprog: Security

  38. Why the digest? • Alice could just encrypt her name, and then Bob could decrypt it with Apublic. • Why wouldn’t this be sufficient? Netprog: Security

  39. Implications • Suppose Alice denies she sent the message? • Bob can prove that only someone with Alice’s key could have produced the message. Netprog: Security

  40. Another possible problem • Suppose Bill receives a message from Alice including a digital signature. “meet me at the library tonight” • Bill sends the same message to Joe so that it looks like the message came from Alice. • Bill includes the digital signature from the message Alice sent to him. • Joe is convinced Alice sent the message! Netprog: Security

  41. Solution? • Always start your messages with: • Dear Bill, • Create a digest from the encrypted message and sign that digest. • There are many other schemes as well. Netprog: Security

  42. Speed • Secret key encryption/decryption algorithms are much faster than public key algorithms. • Many times a combination is used: • use public key cryptography to share a secret key. • use the secret key to encrypt the bulk of the communication. Netprog: Security

  43. Secure Protocols • There are a growing number of applications for secure protocols: • email • electronic commerce • electronic voting • homework submission Netprog: Security

  44. Secure Protocols • Many application protocols include the use of cryptography as part of the application level protocol. • The cryptographic scheme employed is part of the protocol. • If stronger cryptographic tools become available we need to change the protocol. Netprog: Security

  45. SSL and TLS • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a different approach - a new layer is added that provides a secure channel over a TCP only link. • TLS is Transport Layer Security (IETF standard based on SSL). Netprog: Security

  46. Application Application SSL SSL TCP TCP IP IP SSL layer Netprog: Security

  47. Advantages of SSL/TLS • Independent of application layer • Includes support for negotiated encryption techniques. • easy to add new techniques. • Possible to switch encryption algorithms in the middle of a session. Netprog: Security

  48. HTTPS Usage • HTTPS is HTTP running over SSL. • used for most secure web transactions. • HTTPS server usually runs on port 443. • Include notion of verification of server via a certificate. • Central trusted source of certificates. Netprog: Security

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