Network
Security
Essentials
Sixth Edition
Global Edition
by William Stallings
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Chapter 4
Key Distribution and User
Authentication
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Remote user
authentication principles
• In most computer security contexts, user authentication is
the fundamental building block and the primary line of
defense
• User authentication is the basis for most types of access
control and for user accountability
• RFC 4949 (Internet Security Glossary) defines user
authentication as the process of verifying an identity
claimed by or for a system entity
• Identification step
• Presenting an identifier to the security system
• Verification step
• Presenting or generating authentication information that
corroborates the binding between the entity and the identifier
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NIST Model for Electronic
User Authentication
• NIST SP 800-63-2 (Electronic Authentication Guideline,
August 2013 defines electronic user authentication as the
process of establishing confidence in user identities that are
presented electronically to an information system
• Systems can use the authenticated identity to determine if
the authenticated individual is authorized to perform
particular functions
• In many cases, the authentication and transaction or other
authorized function take place across an open network such
as the Internet
• Equally, authentication and subsequent authorization can
take place locally, such as across a local area network
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Means of
authentication
• There are four general means of authenticating a user’s
identity, which can be used alone or in combination
• Something the individual knows
• Examples include a password, a personal identification number
(PIN), or answers to a prearranged set of questions
• Something the individual possesses
• Examples include cryptographic keys, electronic keycards, smart
cards, and physical keys
• This type of authenticator is referred to as a token
• Something the individual is (static biometrics)
• Examples include recognition by fingerprint, retina, and face
• Something the individual does (dynamic biometrics)
• Examples include recognition by voice pattern, handwriting
characteristics, and typing rhythm
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Symmetric Key Distribution
using symmetric encryption
• For symmetric encryption to work, the two parties to
an exchange must share the same key, and that key
must be protected from access by others
• Frequent key changes are usually desirable to limit the
amount of data compromised if an attacker learns the
key
• Key distribution technique
• The means of delivering a key to two parties that wish to
exchange data, without allowing others to see the key
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Key Distribution
• For two parties A and B, there are the following
options:
• A key can be selected by A and physically delivered to B
1
• A third party can select the key and physically deliver it to A and
B
2
• If A and B have previously and recently used a key, one party
could transmit the new key to the other, using the old key to
3 encrypt the new key
• If A and B each have an encrypted connection to a third party C,
C could deliver a key on the encrypted links to A and B
4
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Kerberos
• Key distribution and user authentication service
developed at MIT
• Provides a centralized authentication server whose
function is to authenticate users to servers and servers to
users
• Relies exclusively on symmetric encryption, making no
use of public-key encryption
Two versions are in use
• Version 4 implementations still exist, although this version is being
phased out
• Version 5 corrects some of the security deficiencies of version 4
and has been issued as a proposed Internet Standard (RFC 4120)
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Kerberos version 4
• A basic third-party authentication scheme
• Authentication Server (AS)
• Users initially negotiate with AS to identify self
• AS provides a non-corruptible authentication credential
(ticket granting ticket TGT)
• Ticket Granting Server (TGS)
• Users subsequently request access to other services from
TGS on basis of users TGT
• Complex protocol using DES
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Table 4.1
Summary of Kerberos Version 4 Message Exchanges
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All rights reserved.
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All rights reserved.
Kerberos Realms
• Kerberos realm
• A set of managed nodes that share A Kerberos environment consists of:
the same Kerberos database
• The Kerberos database resides on
the Kerberos master computer
system, which should be kept in a
physically secure room
A Kerberos server
• A read-only copy of the Kerberos
database might also reside on other
Kerberos computer systems
• All changes to the database must be
made on the master computer
system A number of clients
• Changing or accessing the contents
of a Kerberos database requires the
Kerberos master password
A number of application
servers
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Kerberos principal
• A service or user that is known to the Kerberos system
• Each Kerberos principal is identified by its principal
name
A service An
A realm Principal
or user instance
name name
name name
Principal names consist of three parts
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Differences between
versions 4 and 5
Environmental Technical
shortcomings deficiencies
• Encryption system • Double encryption
dependence
• PCBC encryption
• Internet protocol
dependence • Session keys
• Message byte ordering • Password attacks
• Ticket lifetime
• Authentication forwarding
• Interrealm authentication
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Key distribution using
asymmetric encryption
• One of the major roles of public-key encryption is to address the
problem of key distribution
• There are two distinct aspects to the use of public-key encryption in
this regard:
• The distribution of public keys
• The use of public-key encryption to distribute secret keys
• Public-key certificate
• Consists of a public key plus a user ID of the key owner, with the whole
block signed by a trusted third party
• Typically, the third party is a certificate authority (CA) that is trusted by
the user community, such as a government agency or a financial institution
• A user can present his or her public key to the authority in a secure
manner and obtain a certificate
• The user can then publish the certificate
• Anyone needing this user’s public key can obtain the certificate and verify
that it is valid by way of the attached trusted signature
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X.509 Certificates
• ITU-T recommendation X.509 is part of the X.500 series of
recommendations that define a directory service
• Defines a framework for the provision of authentication services
by the X.500 directory to its users
• The directory may serve as a repository of public-key certificates
• Defines alternative authentication protocols based on the use of
public-key certificates
• Was initially issued in 1988
• Based on the use of public-key cryptography and digital signatures
• The standard does not dictate the use of a specific algorithm but
recommends RSA
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Obtaining a user’s
certificate
• User certificates generated by a CA have the following
characteristics:
• Any user with access to the public key of the CA can
verify the user public key that was certified
• No party other than the certification authority can
modify the certificate without this being detected
• Because certificates are unforgeable, they can be placed
in a directory without the need for the directory to
make special efforts to protect them
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Revocation of
certificates
• Each certificate includes a period of validity
• Typically a new certificate is issued just before the
expiration of the old one
• It may be desirable on occasion to revoke a certificate
before it expires for one of the following reasons:
• The user’s private key is assumed to be compromised
• The user is no longer certified by this CA; reasons for this
include subject’s name has changed, the certificate is
superseded, or the certificate was not issued in conformance
with the CA’s policies
• The CA’s certificate is assumed to be compromised
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X.509 Version 3
Includes a number of optional extensions that may be
added to the version 2 format
Each extension consists of:
• An extension identifier
• A criticality indicator
• An extension value
The certificate extensions fall into three main
categories:
• Key and policy information
• Subject and issuer attributes
• Certification path constraints
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Key and policy
information
• These extensions convey additional information about the subject
and issuer keys, plus indicators of certificate policy
• A certificate policy is a named set of rules that indicates the
applicability of a certificate to a particular community and/or
class of application with common security requirements
Includes:
• Authority key identifier
• Subject key identifier
• Key usage
• Private-key usage period
• Certificate policies
• Policy mappings
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Certificate subject
and issuer attributes
• These extensions support alternative names, in
alternative formats, for a certificate subject or
certificate issuer and can convey additional
information about the certificate subject to increase a
certificate user’s confidence that the certificate subject
is a particular person or entity
Includes:
• Subject alternative name
• Issuer alternative name
• Subject directory attributes
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Certification path
constraints
• These extensions allow constraint specifications to be
included in certificates issued for CAs by other CAs
• The constraints may restrict the types of certificates
that can be issued by the subject CA or that may occur
subsequently in a certification chain
Includes:
• Basic constraints
• Name constraints
• Policy constraints
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PKIX Management
functions
• Functions that potentially need to be supported by management
protocols:
• Registration
• Initialization
• Certification
• Key pair recovery
• Key pair update
• Revocation request
• Cross certification
• Alternative management protocols:
• Certificate management protocols (CMP)
• Designed to be a flexible protocol able to accommodate a variety of
technical, operational, and business models
• Certificate management messages over CMS (CMC)
• Is built on earlier work and is intended to leverage existing implementations
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Identity Management
• A centralized, automated approach to provide enterprise wide access to
resources by employees and other authorized individuals
• Focus is defining an identity for each user (human or process), associating
attributes with the identity, and enforcing a means by which a user can verify
identity
• Central concept is the use of single sign-on (SSO) which enables a user to
access all network resources after a single authentication
• Principal elements of an identity management system:
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Accounting
• Provisioning
• Workflow automation
• Delegated administration
• Password synchronization
• Self-service password reset
• Federation
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Identity federation
• Identity federation is, in essence, an extension of identity
management to multiple security domains
• Federated identity management refers to the agreements,
standards, and technologies that enable the portability of
identities, identity attributes, and entitlements across
multiple enterprises and numerous applications and
supports many thousands, even millions, of users
• Another key function of federated identity management is
identity mapping
• The federated identity management protocols map identities
and attributes of a user in one domain to the requirements of
another domain
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Standards
The Extensible Markup Language (XML)
• Appear similar to HTML documents that are visible as Web pages, but provide greater functionality
• Includes strict definitions of the data type of each field
• Provides encoding rules for commands that are used to transfer and update data objects
The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
• Minimal set of conventions for invoking code using XML over HTTP
• Enables applications to request services from one another with XML-based requests and receive
responses as data formatted with XML
WS-Security
• A set of SOAP extensions for implementing message integrity and confidentiality in Web services
• Assigns security tokens to each message for use in authentication
Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)
• An XML-based language for the exchange of security information between online business partners
• Conveys authentication information in the form of assertions about subjects
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Summary
• Remote user authentication
principles • X.509 certificates
• The NIST model for electronic • Certificates
user authentication • X.509 Version 3
• Means of authentication
• Public-key infrastructure
• Symmetric key distribution • PKIX management functions
using symmetric encryption • PKIX management protocols
• Kerberos • Federated identity
• Version 4 management
• Version 5 • Identity management
• Identity federation
• Key distribution using
asymmetric encryption
• Public-key certificates
• Public-key distribution of secret
keys
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