1 Infrastructure Hardening

2 Objectives Why hardening infrastructure is important? Hardening Operating Systems, Network and Applications

3 Security Baselines The process of baselining involves both the Configuration of the IT environment Disabling of non-essential services The baselining process involves the hardening the key components Operating Systems Network Applications

4 Operating System Hardening System is configured to limit the possibility of either internal or external attack. While the methods for hardening vary from one operating system to another the concepts involved are largely similar regardless of whether Windows, UNIX, Linux, MacOS X or any other system is being baselined.

5 Operating Systems Hardening techniques Disable Non-essential services - For example, unless a host is functioning as a web or mail server there is no need to have HTTP or SMTP services running on the system. Update vendor supplied Patches and Fixes (Security Updates) Password Management Strong passwords Enforcing the regular changing of passwords Disabling of user accounts after repeated failed login attempts Remove unnecessary accounts Guest, unused and unnecessary user accounts When employees leave an organization

6 Operating Systems Hardening techniques File and Directory Protection – Through the use of Access Control Lists (ACLs) and file permissions. File and File System Encryption – All disk partitions are formatted with a file system type with encryption features (NTFS in the case of Windows) Enable Logging - Operating system is configured to log all activity, errors and warnings. File Sharing - Disable any unnecessary file sharing

7 Network Hardening Updating Software and Hardware Ongoing process All networking software together with the firmware in routers are updated with the latest vendor supplied patches and fixes Password Protection Routers and wireless should be protected with strong passwords Disable and remove unnecessary Protocols and Services – For example, in a pure TCP/IP network environment it makes no sense to have AppleTalk protocols

8 Network Hardening Ports Unneeded ports blocked by a firewall and associated services disabled on any hosts within the network For example, a network in which none of the hosts acts as a web server does not need to allow traffic for port 80 to pass through the firewall Wireless Security Wireless networks must be configured to highest available security level. For older access points WEP security should be configured with 128-bit keys. Newer routers should implement WPA security measures.

9 Network Hardening Restricted Network Access There should be a firewall between the network and the internet. Other options include the use of Network Address Translation (NAT) and access control lists (ACLs). Authorized remote access should be enabled through the use of secure tunnels and virtual private networks.

10 Application Hardening All applications and services installed on network based host systems must be included in the security hardening process to ensure that they do not provide a weak link in the security defenses. A number of common operating system based services are installed by default and need to be reviewed.

11 Web Servers For non-public sites authentication methods should be put in place and for sites that are only to be accessible by internal users Intranet approach should be used so that external access is prevented by a firewall Secure web based transactions - SSL communication Web server logs should be reviewed routinely for suspicious activity. Any attempts to access unusual URLs on the web server typically indicate an attempt to exploit problems in outdated or Unpatched web servers Latest vendor supplied patches

12 Servers Unneeded configuration options of the mail server software are disabled All the latest vendor supplied updates are applied Relay prevention options should be activated Authentication must be used to ensure that only authorized users are able to send and receive messages

13 FTP Servers The purpose of the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is to allow files to be downloaded from and uploaded to remote servers. Access can be in the form of: Anonymous FTP Authenticated FTP Anonymous FTP accounts should be used with caution and monitored regularly. In the case of authenticated FTP it is essential that Secure FTP be used so that login and password credentials are encrypted, rather than transmitted in plain text.

14 DNS Servers Domain Name Servers (DNS) provide the translation of human friendly names for network destination (such as a web site URL) to the IP addresses understood by routers and other network devices. Steps should be taken to ensure DNS software is updated regularly and that all access to servers is authenticated to prevent unauthorized zone transfers. Access to the server may be prevented by blocking port 53, or restricted by limiting access to the DNS server to one or more specified external systems.

15 Am I Vulnerable? Have you performed the proper security hardening across the entire application stack? Do you have a process for keeping all your software up to date? This includes the OS, Web/App Server, DBMS, applications, and all code libraries. Is everything unnecessary disabled, removed, or not installed (e.g. ports, services, pages, accounts, privileges)? Are default account passwords changed or disabled? Is your error handling set up to prevent stack traces and other overly informative error messages from leaking? Are the security settings in your development frameworks (e.g., Struts, Spring, ASP.NET) and libraries understood and configured properly? A concerted, repeatable process is required to develop and maintain a proper application security configuration.

16 Example Attack Scenarios Scenario #1: Your application relies on a powerful framework like Struts or Spring. XSS flaws are found in these framework components you rely on. An update is released to fix these flaws but you don’t update your libraries. Until you do, attackers can easily find and exploit these flaw in your app. Scenario #2: The app server admin console is automatically installed and not removed. Default accounts aren’t changed. Attacker discovers the standard admin pages are on your server, logs in with default passwords, and takes over.

17 Example Attack Scenarios Scenario #3: Directory listing is not disabled on your server. Attacker discovers they can simply list directories to find any file. Attacker finds and downloads all your compiled Java classes, which they reverses to get all your custom code. They then find a serious access control flaw in your application. Scenario #4: App server configuration allows stack traces to be returned to users, potentially exposing underlying flaws. Attackers love the extra information error messages provide.

18 How Do I Prevent This?

19 How Do I Prevent This?

20 How Do I Prevent This?

21 How Do I Prevent This?

22 How Do I Prevent This?

23 Questions

24 Security Training Presentation prepared by Nishi Kumar Systems Architect Processing Professional Services FIS OWASP CBT Project Lead OWASP Global Education Committee