CISSP Domain 5 - Flashcards
Introduction
- Access: Flow of information between a subject and an object
- Subject:
- Active entity that requests access to an object
- Can be a user, program or process
- Object:
- Passive entity that contains the desired information of functionality
- Access Control:
- Security feature that controls how subjects access objects
- Example: Mike needs to make a duplicate of a document on a copier, and must enter his password. Mike is the subject, the copier is the object, and the access control is the requirement to enter a password
Introduction - Access
Flow of information between a subject and an object
Introduction - Subject
- Active entity that requests access to an object
* Can be a user, program or process
Introduction - Object
Passive entity that contains the desired information of functionality
Introduction - Access Control
Security feature that controls how subjects access objects
Introduction - Example
Mike needs to make a duplicate of a document on a copier, and must enter his password. Mike is the subject, the copier is the object, and the access control is the requirement to enter a password
IAAA - Steps to Implement Access Controls
1) The subject must provide an identity
2) The subject must authenticate they are who they claim to be
3) The system validates the identity and authentication information, and then checks to see if the subject is authorized to access the object
4) The system records all activities between the subject and object for future accountability
IAAA - Logical Access Controls
Technical tools to carry out IAAA
IAAA - Identity - Definition
Uniquely represents a subject within a given environment
IAAA - Identity - Identity Attributes
- Uniqueness: Should represent something unique about the subject
- Non-descriptive: The identity name should not describe the role or purpose of the account
- Issuance: How the identity is issued to the subject (email, ID card, etc)
IAAA - Identity - Best Practices
- Each value should be unique for accountability
- A standard naming scheme should be followed
- The name should not describe the position or task
- The name should not be shared among multiple subjects
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Definition
The process of creating, managing and retiring identities
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - Definition
Central locations where all subjects and objects are tracked
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - Namespace
Hierarchical naming convention that uniquely identifies a location or object
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - Objects in a directory
- Managed by a Directory Service
* Labeled and identified using a namespace
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - X.500 and LDAP
- Each object:
- Common Name (CN): Identifies that object uniquely in the directory
- Distinguished Name (DN):
- Not required to be unique
- Made of Domain Components (DC’s)
- When you combine all of the DCs within a DN, you get back something that is unique in the entire directory
- X.500 directory database rules
- All objects are arranged in a hierarchical parent-child relationship
- Every object has a unique name made up of unique identifiers called ‘distinguished names’
- The supported attributes for objects are defined by a schema
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - Meta-Directory
Aggregates information from multiple sources and presents a unified view
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Directories - Virtual Directory
Does not aggregate the data into its own database
IAAA - Identity - Identity Management - Web Access Management (WAM)
- Software layer that controls authentication and authorization within a web-based environment
- Most often: Associated with a Single Sign-On (SSO) experience
- Is coordinated authentication and authorization with external systems behind the scene
- Most common sequence
1) Initial authentication
2) WAM stores a cookie on the user’s computer containing some type of session identifier
3) Each web application will use WAM to retrieve this cookie and validate that it is still valid
4) If so, the user does not need to log in again - Different sub-domains cannot access each other’s cookies
IAAA - Authentication - Introduction
- Definition: Process of the subject proving it is who it claims to be
- 4 attributes for any authentication mechanism
- Transparent: User should not be aware of it
- Scalable: Not to create bottlenecks
- Reliable: No single point of failure
- Secure: Provides authentication and confidentiality
IAAA - Authentication - Factors
1) Something a person knows
2) Something a person has
3) Something a person is
IAAA - Authentication - Factors - 1) Something a person knows
- Examples: Password, PIN, Lock combination
* Risk: An attacker could acquire this knowledge
IAAA - Authentication - Factors - 2) Something a person has
- Examples: Swipe card, Smart token, Keys, Access badge
* Risk: An attacker could steal this
IAAA - Authentication - Factors - 3) Something a person is
- Examples: Fingerprint, Retina pattern, Gait, Voice print
* Risk: An attacker could physically emulate this
IAAA - Authentication - Factors - Single Factor Authentication
Using one of the 3 factors
IAAA - Authentication - Factors - Multifactor Authentication
- aka Strong Authentication
* Requires at least 2 factors
IAAA - Authentication - Managing Passwords - Introduction
- Balance needs to be reached
- Stringent policies
- Usability
IAAA - Authentication - Managing Passwords - Password Synchronization
- Definition: Having multiple systems update passwords at the same time
- Goal: To avoid supporting multiple sets of credentials per user
- Upside: If the password remains constant, the user is able to memorize a stronger password
- Downside: By stealing one set of credentials, an attacker can have access multiple systems
IAAA - Authentication - Managing Passwords - Self-Service Password Reset
- Goal: To avoid manual reset process which results in resource drain
- 3-step process
1) The user provides an alternative means of authentication
2) An e-mail is sent with a link. The link contains a random globally-unique identifier (GUID) that is tied to the password reset request
3) The link is clicked. The system allows the user to enter a new password
IAAA - Authentication - Managing Passwords - Assisted Password Reset
1) The user interacts with a helpdesk person
2) The helpdesk agent enters the answers to the security questions into an application
3) A new password is generated known to both the helpdesk person and the user
4) When the user logs in the next time, the system requires a new valid password to be provided before access will be granted
IAAA - Authentication - Managing Passwords - Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Keeps all passwords the same across multiple systems
- Provides a single infrastructure to manage credentials that all system leverage
- Thin clients:
- Can take advantage of SSO
- On boot up the device prompts the user for credentials, which are then authenticated using SSO to a central server or mainframe
- This allows the thin client to use multiple services with a single authentication step visible to the user
- Can take advantage of SSO
- Issues
- Can be very expensive
- Single point of failure
- Possible bottleneck
- An attacker can access multiple systems with a single set of credentials
IAAA - Authentication - Account Management
- Process of creating, modifying and decommissioning user accounts on all
appropriate systems - Automated process
-Required to effectively manage this activity- Benefits
- Reduces errors caused by manual data entry
- Each step in the process is tracked and logged (accountability)
- Ensures the appropriate amount of privileges are assigned
- Eliminates orphaned user accounts when employees leave the company
- Makes auditors happy
- Downside
- Very expensive to implement
- Benefits
IAAA - Authentication - User Provisioning
- Definition: The act of creating user objects and attributes
- User account: Includes other metadata
- User: Simply represents the object
- Profile:
- Created to accompany a user account
- Contains data as
- Addresses
- Phone numbers
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Definition
Act of verifying an individual’s identity based on physiological or behavioral attributes
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Physiological traits
- Physical attributes that are unique to the individual
- What you are
- Examples
- Fingerprints
- Voice print
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Behavioral traits
- What you do
- Examples
- Handwriting signature
- Height
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Error types
- Type 1 error
- Rejects an authorized individual
- False Rejection Rate (FRR)
- Type 2 error
- Accepts an unauthorized individual
- False Acceptance Rate (FAR)
- Much more concerning
- Crossover Error Rate (CER)
- Measures the point at which the FRR equals the FAR
- Is expressed as a percentage
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Biometric data types
- Fingerprints: A complete record of ridges and valley on a finger
- Finger scan: Certain features of a fingerprint
- Palm scan: Fingerprint and the creases, ridges and grooves of the palm
- Hand geometry: The shape, length and width of hand and fingers
- Retina scan: Blood-vessel patterns on the back of an eyeball. Most invasive
- Iris scan: The colored portion surrounding the pupil. Most accurate
- Signature Dynamics: The speed and movements produced when signing a name
- Keystroke dynamics: The speed and pauses between each keypress as a password is typed
- Voice print:
- A number of words are recorded during enrollment
- During authentication the words are jumbled
- The user repeats them to prevent a recording from being played - Facial scan: Bone structure, nose ridge, eye widths, forehead size and chin shape
- Hand topography: A side camera captures the contour of the palm and fingers; not unique enough to be sued alone but can often be used with hand geometry
IAAA - Authentication - Biometrics - Downsides
- User acceptance
- Enrollment timeframe: The enrollment phase may take a long time
- Throughput: Acceptable elapsed time: 5 to 10 seconds
- Accuracy over time
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Attacker tactics to get a password
- Electronic monitoring
- Password file
- Brute-force attack
- Dictionary attack
- Rainbow table: Use all likely passwords in a table already hashed
- Social engineering
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Mitigation tactics
- After login, for the prior successful login attempt show
- Date/time
- How many unsuccessful attempts were made
- Location of the login
- Set clipping level
- Password aging: Limit the lifetime of a password
- Password history: The last 5-10 passwords should be stored
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Password Checker
Tool that checks the strength of passwords
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Password Cracker
Tool that tries to crack passwords using one or more attack techniques
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - CAPTCHA
- Forces a person to enter information about a graphical image that is very difficult for computers to process
- This proves that a real person is entering information instead of a computer- based automated process
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - One-Time Password (OTP)
- Good for a one-time use only
- Types
- Synchronous
- Asynchronous
- Formats
- Physical
- Smartphone app
- Text message
- Synchronous Token device
- Hand-held password generator with small screen and sometimes a keyboard
- Synchronized device: Both generate the same passwords simultaneously
- Counter-Synchronized Device: Requires the user to push a button
- Asynchronous Token device
- Uses a challenge/response scheme
- The authentication service sends a random value called a nonce to the user
- The user enters the nonce into the token device, which encrypts the nonce with a secret key
- The user then sends the encrypted nonce to the authentication service, which attempts to decrypt it with the shared secret key
- If the original and encrypted nonce result in the same value, the user is authenticated
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Cryptographic Key
- Highly secure way to authenticate
- Sequence
1) The authentication service provides a nonce
2) The user encrypts the nonce with their private key
3) The user sends the encrypted nonce and his digital certificate to the authentication service
4) The authentication service decrypts the nonce using the public key from the digital certificate
IAAA - Authentication - Passwords - Passphrase
- Made up of multiple words
- Reduced down via hashing or encryption into a simpler form
- Longer than a password
- Easier to remember
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Memory Card
- Only stores data
- Examples
- Older ATM cards
- Older credit cards
- Risks: If the data contents of the memory card are not properly encrypted: Easy to read the PIN
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Smart Card - Definition/Examples
- Memory Card with a tiny computer (chip)
- Examples:
- Credit cards containing on-board chips
- ATM cards containing on-board chips
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Smart Cards - Advantages
- PIN number: Can be required before data can be read
- Chip:
- Does the processing
- Doesn’t need an external system to perform validation
- If tampering is detected: Some smartcards will erase its information
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Smart Cards - DisadvantageMore expensive than memory cards
More expensive than memory cards
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Smart Cards - Power management methods
- Contact cards
- The reader
- Provides power to the cheap
- Establishes a 2-way communication path
- Contactless cards
- Have an antenna running the entire perimeter
- When the antenna comes very near an electromagnetic field, the field provides power and a communication path
- It’s an example of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
- May or may not employ encryption
- Combi cards: One chip that supports both methods
- Hybrid cards: Two chips. One for each method
- The reader
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - Smart Cards - Smart-card specific attacks
- Non-Invasive
- Side-channel attacks
- Differential power analysis: Watch the power emissions during processing
- Electromagnetic analysis: Watch the frequencies emitted
- Timing: Watch how long a process takes
- Software attacks: Provide instructions that exploit a vulnerability
- Side-channel attacks
- Invasive
- Fault generation
- Fault generation
1) Change the environment of the card
- Voltage
- Temperature
- Clock rate
2) Watch for differences - Microprobing: Access the internal circuitry directly
- Fault generation
- Fault generation
IAAA - Authentication - Cards - ISO 14443 (Cards)
- ISO 14443-1: Physical attributes
- ISO 14443-2: Initialization and anti-collision
- ISO 14443-3: Transmission protocol
IAAA - Authorization - Definition
Figuring if the authenticated subject is allowed to carry out the action he’s requesting
IAAA - Authorization - Access Criteria
- Role-Based: Based on the tasks a subject or group might need to perform
- Physical Location Restriction: Restricting access to a device
- Logical Location Restriction: Might be based on an IP address
- Time of Day Restriction: Perhaps certain functions are accessible only during business hours or week days
- Temporal Restriction: Allow access based on an absolute date or time
- Transaction-Type Restriction: Limit access to features or data depending on the activity that the subject is engaged in
IAAA - Authorization - Default to No Access
- All access control mechanisms should built upon it
- Disadvantage: It will take more work to properly configure the system for the first time
- Advantage: Significant drop in the number of accidental security holes
- Need-to-Know: Focused on permissions and ability to access information
- Least Privilege: Focused on privileges
- Authorization Creep:
- Tendency for an employee to gain more and more access over time as he changes positions
- Even if the old levels of access are no longer needed
- Typically, result of the lack of well-defined tasks and roles
- Solution
- As an employee changes roles, he should be removed from the current role/group and assigned to a new one that matches his new responsibilities
- Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX): Law that requires review of this process yearly
IAAA - Authorization - Default to No Access - Need to Know / Least Privilege
- Need-to-Know: Focused on permissions and ability to access information
- Least Privilege: Focused on privileges
They help provide protection for valuable assets by limiting access to these assets
IAAA - Authorization - Kerberos - Introduction
- One of the most common implementations for SSO
* Developed in the 80’s
IAAA - Authorization - Kerberos - Main components
- Key Distribution Center (KDC)
- Authentication Server (AS): Authenticates a principal
- Ticket Granting Service (TGS): Creates a ticket for a principal
- Principals: Users, Applications, Network services
- Realm
- Set of principals
- A KDC can be responsible for one or more realms
- Tickets: Proof of identity passed from principal to principal
- Authenticator: A packet of data containing:
- A principal’s information
- The principal’s IP address
- A timestamp
- A sequence number
- Timestamp and seq number help protect against replay attacks
IAAA - Authorization - Kerberos - Workflow
0) Bob wants to log in and send something to a printer
1) Bob logs into his workstation
2) Bob’s desktop send his username to the KDC’s AS. AS encrypts the password, generates a random session key and encrypts it with Bob’s password and sends it back. This is an AS ticket
3) Bob’s desktop will decrypt the session key using the password Bob entered. Now the KDC and Bob’s desktop share a session key
4) Bob sends something to a printer
5) Bob’s desktop sends the AS ticket obtained during login to the KDC’s TGS and asks for a ticket allowing it to print to the printer
6) The KDC validates Bob’s AS ticket
7) The KDC’s TGS generates a new random session key and sends back two copies to Bob’s Desktop and an authenticator and sends the print ticket to the printer
- One encrypted with Bob’s secret key
- One encrypted with the printer’s secret key
8) Bob’s desktop receives this new print ticket, decrypts the session key using Bob’s password, adds its own authenticator and sends the print ticket to the printer
9) The printer receives the ticket and decrypts the session key and the KDC’s authenticator using its secret key. If the decryption succeeds, it knows the ticket came from the KDC. If the decrypted authenticator matches Bob’s desktop authenticator, it knows Bob’s machine sent the message
10) The printer prints
IAAA - Authorization - Kerberos - SSO
After the first system authenticates, it will use a ticket from then on to represent the user’s identity and authentication. As the user moves from system to system, all we have to do is to pass the ticket along, and the authentication session will move with it
IAAA - Authorization - Kerberos - Weaknesses
- The KDC can be a SPOF: Solution: provide failover
- The KDC can be a bottleneck: Solution: provide sufficient hardware
- Both secret and shared keys are temporarily stored on machines acting on behalf of the principal and could be stolen. Solution: normal security precautions
- Is susceptible to password guessing. Solution: OS
- Data not in tickets are not encrypted. Solution: ensure network traffic is encrypted
- Short keys can be susceptible to brute-force attacks. Solution: enforce long keys by policy and configuration
- Kerberos requires all server and client clocks to be synchronized. Solution: normal network administration