Chosen plaintext attack Cryptographic Assaults
2.4.2.6 Password guessers and dictionary attacks
If you are not familiar with Crack, the most common of the tools available to the would-be break-in artist, establish a way to check your own passwords by using it. Although we covered the DES encryption algorithm in detail previously in this chapter, we will present a short discussion on password cracking. Crack is available from http:www.atstake.com . Most computers use the DES algorithm to protect the passwords on the authentication system. Unix systems, which account for the bulk of the Internet-based systems, are the largest installed base of DES authentication units. Simply put, DES takes a users clear text password, like the example password MucH007, and converts it into a 13-character pile of seeming gibberish, such as HnX2a4gLaMv3k. It is mathematically difficult to divine the original password from the encrypted one using brute force. So password-guessing programs dont try every possible string; they reduce the number of tries to a more feasible level by guessing what sorts of passwords people are likely to use. The Crack password-guessing program uses a dictionary of common words in several languages, including a ton of proper nouns such as peoples names and places, and tries them as the password. This is why you hear your system administrator trying to persuade you to use something uncommon or something unnatural as a password. Simple passwords are almost equivalent to having no password at all.2.4.2.7 Social engineering
Dont think that all threats come from the online front. One of the most traditional cracks is simply to call a person and ask them questions. Or, send them a survey, ripe with personal queries, and a 20.00 bill, for their trouble. You would be amazed at what people will tell you. This is how system attackers might get potential material for assisting them in piecing together password attempts. As we discussed earlier, a brute force hack of a password may take months on a fairly significant machine, yet by reducing the total combinations to just real words found in a dictionary, in turn reducing the time spent on cracking that user to about 10 to 15 minutes, you can see where using personal information can drive guessing even complex passwords down to a trivial amount of time. Semi-public data such as phone numbers, birthdays, license plates, girlfriends, and favorites movies, music, stores, etc., can provide valuable resources to a password cracker. Social engineering can come in many forms, and is generally regarded as the easiest and most successful attack. Remember, even your 1024-bit RSA private key is protected by a passphrase or password that could be easily socially engineered.Parts
» Virtual Private Networks 2nd 1999
» How VPNs relate to Intranets
» What Are We Protecting with Our VPN?
» Firewalls How VPNs Solve Internet Security Issues
» Authentication How VPNs Solve Internet Security Issues
» Encryption How VPNs Solve Internet Security Issues
» Tunneling How VPNs Solve Internet Security Issues
» A Note on IP Address and Domain Name Conventions Used in This Book
» Packet restriction or packet filtering routers
» Bastion host What Types of Firewalls Are There?
» DMZ or perimeter zone network
» Proxy servers What Types of Firewalls Are There?
» A Brief History of Cryptography
» Cryptography: How to Keep a Secret
» Cryptography in Network Communications
» Hash algorithms Cryptographic Algorithms
» Secret key systems Cryptographic Algorithms
» Public key cryptosystems Cryptographic Algorithms
» Use of Cryptosystems and Authentication in a VPN
» ESP Encapsulating Security Payload
» AH Authentication Header VPN Protocols
» Internet Key Exchange, ISAMKPOakley
» ISO X.509 v.3 Digital Certificates
» LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Radius
» PPTP Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol
» Basic Firewalling Methodologies for Compromising VPNs
» Ciphertext-only attack Cryptographic Assaults
» Known plaintext attack Cryptographic Assaults
» Chosen plaintext attack Cryptographic Assaults
» Chosen ciphertext attack Cryptographic Assaults
» Brute force attacks Cryptographic Assaults
» Password guessers and dictionary attacks
» Social engineering Cryptographic Assaults
» Address spoofing Network Compromises and Attacks
» Session hijacking Network Compromises and Attacks
» Man-in-the-middle attack Network Compromises and Attacks
» Replay attack Network Compromises and Attacks
» Detection and cleanup Network Compromises and Attacks
» Patents and Legal Ramifications
» General WAN, RAS, and VPN Concepts
» Telco Small to Medium Solutions
» Security, scalability, and stability
» Hardwaresoftware Small to Medium Solutions
» Administration Small to Medium Solutions
» Hardwaresoftware Administration Security, scalability, and stability
» Differences Between PPTP, L2F, and L2TP
» Dialing into an ISP That Supports PPTP
» Dialing into an ISP That Doesnt Support PPTP
» Where PPTP Fits into Our Scenario
» The encapsulation process Dissecting a PPTP Packet
» Accept encrypted authentication RAS authentication methods
» Accept Microsoft encrypted authentication
» Accept any authentication, including clear text
» Data encryption PPTP Security
» Availability Features of PPTP
» Easy Implementation Features of PPTP
» Multiprotocol Tunneling Features of PPTP
» Ability to Use Corporate and UnregisteredIP Addresses
» Choosing the protocols to tunnel
» Choosing your authentication method
» IP address negotiation using DHCP
» Outbound authentication using PPTP filtering
» Filtering caveats PPTP Filtering
» Installing PPTP Filtering by IP Address
» Configuring Users for Dial-up Access
» Configuring PPTP for Dial-up Networking on a Windows NT Client
» Configuring PPTP for Dial-up Networking on a Windows 95 or 98 Client
» Setting up global PPTP parameters Setting up a port for PPTP
» Configuring PPTP on an Ascend MAX 4004
» Making the Calls Configuring and Testing Layer 2 Connections
» The Event Viewer Login problems
» The Dial-Up Networking Monitor
» ping and traceroute Connectivity Testing
» Fixed IP addresses How to Allow PPTP Through Firewalls
» How PPTP Can Bypass a Proxy Server
» Three-part encryption technique Security
» Support for an emerging security standard
» Support for Security Dynamics SecureID
» Accessibility Flexibility Advantages of the AltaVista Tunnel System
» Platform Limitations AltaVista Tunnel Limitations
» Extranet server System Considerations
» Telecommuter client System Considerations
» Planning How the AltaVista Tunnel Works
» AltaVista Tunnel Extranet server
» Security procedures The Guts
» AltaVista Tunnel Telecommuter Client
» Sample configuration Implementing a LAN-to-LAN Tunnel
» Tunnel server configuration Implementing a LAN-to-LAN Tunnel
» Firewall configuration Host configuration
» Sample configuration Implementing Single Connections-to-LAN Tunnels
» Tunnel server configuration Implementing Single Connections-to-LAN Tunnels
» Firewall configuration Implementing Single Connections-to-LAN Tunnels
» Local host configuration Implementing Single Connections-to-LAN Tunnels
» Remote PC configuration Implementing Single Connections-to-LAN Tunnels
» Sample configuration Implementing PC-to-WAN Tunnels
» Tunnel server configuration Implementing PC-to-WAN Tunnels
» Tracing the packets Implementing PC-to-WAN Tunnels
» Preparing to Install Installing the AltaVista Tunnel
» Windows NT 4.0 Installing the AltaVista Tunnel Extranet Serverfor Windows NT
» Installing the AltaVista Tunnel Telecommuter Client for Windows
» Installing the AltaVista Tunnel Telecommuter Client for MacOS
» Initial configuration Adding Routes and Dynamic Addresses
» Managing routes and dynamic IPs
» Group configuration Adding Tunnel Groups
» Tunnel client information Adding Tunnel Groups
» Tools for Tunnel Management Changing Port Settings
» Rekey Interval and Minimum Encryption Settings
» Configuring Unix-to-Windows NT Tunnel Connections
» Getting Busy Configuring the AltaVista Telecommuter Client
» Tunnel Server and Client Configuration Checks
» Local Network and Internet Gateway Configuration Checks
» Encryption Capabilities The SSH Software
» Useful sshd parameters for our purposes
» Understanding SSH authentication ssh
» Useful ssh parameters for our purposes
» The VPN Components Creating a VPN with PPP and SSH
» Setting up the master and slave Linux systems
» Creating a user account on the slave
» Setting up SSH authentication
» Configuring sudo on the slave
» Putting pty-redir on the master
» Setting up the slaves scripts
» Testing the Connection Creating a VPN with PPP and SSH
» A Performance Evaluation Creating a VPN with the Unix Secure Shell
» ISP Assigned Addresses Global Pool
» Hardware solution Advantages of the PIX Firewall
» Superior to Unix and other router firewalls
» Single point of controlfailure
» Dynamic address translation Advantages of the PIX Firewall
» PIX acts like a proxy server
» Ease of configuration and maintenance
» High-speed access Advantages of the PIX Firewall
» Links Advantages of the PIX Firewall
» Hardware solution Limitations of the PIX Firewall
» Dynamic address use Limitations of the PIX Firewall
» Budgetary considerations Limitations of the PIX Firewall
» Maintenance Limitations of the PIX Firewall
» A Sample Configuration Configuring the PIX as a Gateway
» Firewall Configuration on the PIX
» debug xlate Testing, Tracing, and Debugging
» arp Testing, Tracing, and Debugging
» show interface Testing, Tracing, and Debugging
» Offering Services to the Internet Through Conduits and the static Command
» Tunneling with the link Directive
» Choosing an ISP Managing and Maintaining Your VPN
» Connectivity Problems Solving VPN Problems
» Authentication Errors Solving VPN Problems
» Routing Problems Dealing with an ISP
» Compatibility with Other Products
» Delivering Quality of Service
» Restrict What VPN Users Can Get To
» Avoid Public DNS Information for VPN Servers and Routers
» Keeping Yourself Up-to-Date Managing and Maintaining Your VPN
» Network Connections Hardware and Operating System VPN Package
» Connection Hardware and Operating System VPN Package
» Connection Hardware and Operating System
» VPN Package Remote Access Users
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