Stateful Firewall Fundamentals: A

Better, Easier, More Secure Firewall

By Sean Wilkins

One of the most basic firewall types used in modern networks is the stateful inspection
firewall. This type of firewall has long been a standard method used by firewalls to offer a more in-
depth inspection method over the previous packet inspection firewall methods (think ACL’s). This
article takes a look at what a stateful firewall is and how it is used to secure a network while also
offering better network usability and easier network firewall configuration.

Previous Firewall Methods

To get a better idea of how a stateful firewall works, it is best to take a quick look at how previous
firewall methods operated. For many people this previous firewall method is familiar because it
can be implemented with common basic Access Control Lists (ACL). When using this method
individualholes must be punched through the firewall in each direction to allow traffic to be
allowed to pass. Now imagine that there are several services that are used from inside a firewall
and on top of that multiple hosts inside the firewall; the configuration can quickly become very
complicated and very long.

How Stateful Firewall Works

With a stateful firewall these long lines of configuration can be replaced by a firewall that is able
to maintain the state of every connection coming through the firewall. Operationally, traffic that
needs to go through a firewall is first matched against a firewall rules list (is the packet allowed in
the first place?). If the packet type is allowed through the firewall then the stateful part of the
process begins.

The easiest example of a stateful firewall utilizes traffic that is using theTransport Control
Protocol (TCP). This is because TCP is stateful to begin with. TCP keeps track of its connections
through the use of source and destination address, port number and IP flags. A connection will
begin with a three way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) and typically end with a two way
exchange (FIN, ACK). For a stateful firewall this makes keeping track of the state of a connection
rather simple. An initial request for a connection comes in from an inside host (SYN). This will
initiate an entry in the firewall’s state table. If the destination host returns a packet to set up the
connection (SYN, ACK) then the state table reflects this. Finally, the initial host will send the final
packet in the connection setup (ACK). This will finalize the state toestablished. Once a connection
is maintained as established communication is freely able to occur between hosts. With TCP, this
state entry in the table is maintained as long as the connection remains established (no FIN, ACK
exchange) or until a timeout occurs.

The harder part of the operation of a stateful firewall is how it deals with User Datagram Protocol
(UDP) and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). This is because neither of these protocols is
connection-based like TCP. With UDP, the firewall must track state by only using the source and
destination address and source and destination port numbers. Of course this is not quite as
secure as the state tracking that is possible with TCP but does offer a mechanism that is easier to
 use and maintain than with ACLs. UDP and ICMP also brings some additional state tracking
complications. This is because UDP utilizes ICMP for connection assistance (error handling) and
ICMP is inherently one way with many of its operations. ICMP itself can only be truly tracked
within a state table for a couple of operations. These operations have built in reply packets, for
example, echo and echo-reply. For its other one way operations the firewall must maintain a state
of related. This state is used when an ICMP packet is returned in response to an existing UDP
state table entry.

Summary
The operation of a stateful firewall can be very complex but this internal complexity is what can
also make the implementation of a stateful firewall inherently easier. Since the firewall maintains a
state table through its operation, the individual configuration entries are not required as would be
with an ACL configuration. For main firewalls the only thing that needs to be configured is an
internal and external interface; this is commonly used by most people without even noticing it.
This is because most home Internetrouters implement a stateful firewall by using the internal LAN
port as the internal firewall interface and the WAN port as the external firewall interface. This
allows traffic to freely flow from the internal interface to the Internet without allowing externally
initiated traffic to flow into the internal network. Hopefully, the information discussed here gives a
better understanding of how a stateful firewall operates and how it can be used to secure internal
networks.

How to Make Your Network Secure

Using Secure Shell Protocol
By Stelios Antoniou

Nowadays, security is more important than ever. It’s extremely important that user accounts,
passwords and hosts are protected from malicious attacks.

Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is capable of establishing secure encrypted tunnels for carrying data.
SSH protocol can be used for remote access to your network devices, for securely transferring
files between hosts and even for forwarding application data between workstations.

Various terminal emulators exist that support SSH. Based on my personal

experience, SecureCRT and PuTTY are two of the best SSH emulators.

Today I am focusing on how to use PuTTY for establishing SSH remote connections and
encrypted data tunnels. If you want, you can download PuTTY for free from www.putty.org.

In this article you can get the necessary steps for configuring and taking advantage of SSH on
PuTTY. I also included lots of screenshots to help you along, so let’s get started with configuring
PuTTY.

Configuring Basic PuTTY Session Options

After downloading PuTTY, you should set up and store your preferred connections. The steps you
need to do this are very easy and straightforward:

1. Launch PuTTY application

2. On the Session Category specify the IP address of the remote host
3. Make sure that the "connection type" is set to SSH. By default SSH uses port 22; if your SSH
server is configured to use a different port for SSH then you need to specify the specific port
number here
4. Give your session a name and press the Save button (e.g. Remote_connection)

You can save as many SSH sessions as you want. The following screen shot presents the
necessary configuration:

You always have the option of logging your SSH session. This is often useful when you need to
take evidence of your session activity. To do so you need to perform the following:

1. Select the Logging option from the left pane

2. Specify that you want to log all session output
3. Specify the destination file for your logging output
Here is what you’ll see on your screen when you do this:
 Configuring SSH Tunnels Using PuTTY
Now, to the interesting stuff …

Once you have set up your secure SSH connection towards your SSH enabled server, you need to
configure traffic flows that need to be tunneled over this secure connection.

All your packets will be encrypted and untraceable to network sniffers. In order to use SSH
Tunneling, also known as SSH port forwarding, you need to perform the following:

 First of all, you need to choose a free port number on your local machine where PuTTY will listen
for incoming connections to triggering the tunneling functionality. Choose a port number greater
than 2000. In my example I have chosen port number 3000.
 Afterwards, move to the Connection-SSH-tunnel pane and enter the local port number for the
"Source port" and separated by a colon, the destination host IP address and port number into the
"Destination&quot: box (e.g. 192.168.10.10:80)
 Make sure the "Local" radio button is selected
 Press the Add button. At this point you should be able to see the details of your port forwarding in
the "forwarded ports" text box. Your configuration should look similar to this:
 You can add as many forwarded connections as you like. When you finish configuring all your
remote connections keep in mind:

 You should resave your session (see the beginning of the article for instructions) to avoid losing
your settings. All you have to do is to select the "session" pane and click on the "save" button.
Now you are ready to open your SSH session and use your SSH tunnel!

Bottom Line of Our Sample Configuration

Coming back to my SSH port forwarding example, we are now able to securely connect to the
192.168.10.10 intranet server via our SSH session with the SSH server on 10.10.10.10.

This secured path is chosen when the client machine (local host) initiates a connection using TCP
port 3000 as source port, as shown in the following picture. The beauty of all this is that the whole
connection is encrypted.
 Configuring SSH Proxy Connection Using
PuTTY
We’ll now take a look at how we can configure PuTTY to use a secure proxy for sending all HTTP
traffic through the SSH tunnel. This way our host identity is not revealed in the Internet.

For achieving this behavior I will use Firefox’s proxy characteristic. But let’s start from the
beginning:

1. First we will create a new Session called "proxy" specifying the IP address of our trusted SSH
server and the port number to use for SSH.
2. Then, we will configure the SSH tunnel, through which our HTTP traffic will be forwarded to our
proxy server. Again we need to open the Connection-SSH-Tunnels pane on the left hand side and
specify the following:

a. Source Port: Specify the source port for forwarding HTTP traffic. I have chosen port 3300 in this example.

b. Destination: Do not specify a remote IP address. Just select Dynamic and Auto.

c. Press the add button: Your configuration will look like the following screenshot:
3. Move back to the Session option on the left and save your session.
4. Afterwards, we need to configure Mozilla Firefox to act as a SOCKS proxy and to use your
encrypted SSH connection.

To do so, you need to launch Firefox and from the Tools menu selectOptions and then
select Advanced. Select the Network tab and press theSettings button on the connection sub-
menu.

The connection settings dialog window is now activated and you need to fill in the following:
a. Select Manual Proxy Configuration

b. For SOCKS Host enter 127.0.0.1 or localhost inside the textbox and choose SOCKS v5

c. For the port number specify the same port number you have already configured in your SSH tunnel for the
source port, i.e. port 3300.

d. Accept other default settings and press OK

Eventually when you finish your Firefox’s configuration you will end up with a windows similar to
this:
 Cisco Switching and Spanning Tree
Protocol (STP) Basics
By Stelios Antoniou
Switching is the process of using the physical address of devises to perform forwarding
decisions. Switches use application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to perform their switching
function. As a consequence, amazingly fast switching speeds are accomplished. Today I will
explain how switches learn the hardware address of hosts attached to them and how they use this
information to perform their tasks. I will focus on the protocol designed for preventing broadcast
loop existence.

For those of you that are new to this field, what I am talking about is theSpanning Tree
Protocol (STP); I will describe its operation in details and use examples when necessary, so you
can get a clear understanding of how it functions.

Switching Benefits
Switches are very important networking devices; they’re used to terminate hosts on the LAN.
They consist of multiple Ethernet/Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with adjustable
throughput rates.

They can be seen as multi lane highways with a lot of exit points. Each host is assigned a
separate lane on the highway, therefore collision domains are separated per each individual
switch port. No bandwidth sharing takes place and each individual host on each port is provided
with independent, dedicated bandwidth. The benefits of all these are:

 Low Latency
 Thunder Speed
 Low Cost
Why low cost? Well the answer is quite simple. Imagine having a LAN of fifty hosts. All the hosts
need access to the Internet; therefore they should be connected to a router somehow. Having 50
interfaces on a router to terminate client links is inefficient and wasteful.

By incorporating a switch in the network, the router needs only a single interface to connect to the
switch and all users reach the router’s exit point with the help of the switch’s ASIC electronics.
The diagram below shows a typical LAN connection.
 Switch Operation
As already mentioned, switches operate at layer 2 (the data-link layer) of the OSI model. They do
not need special configuration to operate; they are simple plug and play devices. You can expect
a new switch out of the box to work instantly when it is powered up. Later on we’ll take a look at
just how this is accomplished.

A layer 2 switch deals with three functions:

 Address learning — When a switch is first switched on, it learns the MAC address of hosts
attached to it and stores the MAC address and interface port association into its MAC table.
 Forwarding — Based on the MAC address table, the switch is able to forward frames out the
appropriate interfaces.
 Loop prevention — Multiple connections between switches may exist for redundancy purposes.
However these multiple connections may lead to network loops without the use of a sophisticated
protocol to prevent their existence. STP is the protocol running on the switch ports to eliminate
data flooding as a consequence of loops while at the same time maintaining redundancy.

How Does the Switch Find Host MACs?

Let’s use the diagram below to help us understand how address learning process takes place.
 Let’s assume that we have just powered on the switch. It has nothing in its MAC table. We connect
the cables from the hosts on the switch interfaces as shown in the diagram. Host A initiates a
connection towards Host D, and the following takes place:

1. Host A (interface fe0/0) sends a frame to Host D (MAC address:0000.43c5.334c).

2. The switch inspects the Source Address in the frame and notes in its table the MAC address of
Host A along with the Interface number from which the frame originated.
3. The switch inspects the Destination Address in the frame. Since it does not have Hosts D MAC
address in its table, it constructs a broadcast frame and forwards out all interfaces except the
interface from where the original frame arrived.
4. Host D identifies itself as the expected recipient and responds back to Host A. The switch
receives the respond frame on interface fe0/11 and places the SA in its table along with the
interface number where the frame came from.
5. From now on, further communication between the two hosts will be switched to the appropriate
interfaces based on the MAC tables entries.
This process takes place every time a new host is attached on the switch and initiates traffic. The
switch tries to keep its MAC table up-to-date, therefore if some hosts do not initiate traffic for a
certain amount of time, the switch removes them from its table and reinserts them when they
begin sending traffic.

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Operations

The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is responsible for identifying links in the network and shutting
down the redundant ones, preventing possible network loops. In order to do so, all switches in the
network exchange BPDU messages between them to agree upon the root bridge. Once they elect
 the root bridge, every switch has to determine which of its ports will communicate with the root
port.

If more than one link connects to the root bridge, then one is elected as the forwarding port
(Designated Port) and the others are blocked. Let us see the operation of STP with the use of an
example. We will use the topology shown below to help us understand how STP operates.

1. The root bridge needs to be elected. Two fields combined together identify the root bridge: MAC
address and Priority value. Without manual configuration all switches have the same priority
therefore it is up to the MAC address to decide upon the root bridge. The switch with the lowest
MAC address value is elected as the root bridge. In the diagram aboveSwitch C is the elected root
bridge.
2. Once the root bridge is elected, each switch needs to identify a single root port – the port closest
to the route bridge. This port will always be in the forwarding state. By default all ports of the
route bridge are in the forwarding state. Moreover, one port per segment (called designated port)
is allowed to be in the forwarding state.
3. In our example we have 2 ports on switch A and two ports on switch B that belong to the same
segment. Therefore, two of them need to be blocked to avoid loops. Since switch B has higher
MAC address value (hence lower priority), its designated ports need to be blocked.
4. The result of all this is that only one path from one switch to any other switch exists. Mission
accomplished!

Things to Keep in Mind About STP

 The Spanning Tree Protocol is a link management protocol that is designed to support redundant
links while at the same time preventing switching loops in the network. It is quite useful and
should be enabled on the switch interfaces.
 STP has high convergence time; it can take up to one minute to converge and provide
redundancy. A newer development is implemented to the STP protocol, called the Rapid Spanning
Tree Protocol (RSTP). The latter retains all the tasks of STP whilst minimizing convergence time
significantly.
Policy Based Routing (PBR)
Fundamentals
By Sean Wilkins
The problem that many network engineers find with typical routing systems and protocols is that
they are based on routing the traffic based on the destination of the traffic. Now under normal
situations this is fine, but when the traffic on your network requires a more hands on solution
policy based routing takes over.

Destination based routing systems make it quite hard to change the routing behavior of specific
traffic. With PBR, a network engineer has the ability to dictate the routing behavior based on a
number of different criteria other than destination network, including source or destination
network, source or destination address, source or destination port, protocol, packet size, and
packet classification among others.

PBR also has the ability to implement QoS by classifying and marking traffic at the network edge
and then using PBR throughout the network to route marked traffic along a specific path.

Why Use Policy Based Routing?

So why would you do this? Well consider a company that has two links between locations, one a
high bandwidth, low delay expensive link and the other a low bandwidth, higher delay lower
expense link.

Now using traditional routing protocols the higher bandwidth link would get most if not all of the
traffic sent across it based on the metric savings obtained by the bandwidth and/or delay (using
EIGRP or OSPF) characteristics of the link. PBR would give you the ability to route higher priority
traffic over the high bandwidth/low delay link while sending all other traffic over the low
bandwidth/high delay link.

This way the traffic which requires the characteristics of the high bandwidth/low delay link would
be possible without sending all traffic over the link.

The implementation of PBR is rather simple as well; it is setup to be configured using a match/set
process. Traffic which is to be handled by PBR will be matched using an ACL and then have its
path or parameters changed using a set command.

PBR Configuration
The first thing that must be done is the configuration of a route map which defines the policy. This
is done through the route-map command which is shown here:

router(config)#route-map map-tag {permit | deny} {sequence-number}

The map-tag is simply a name which is used to identify the specific route-map and the sequence-
number is used to set the order that route-map statements are evaluated if multiple statements
exist.

The second thing that is done is the configuration of a match command which is used to match
the specific type(s) of traffic which will be routed using the configured policy. Traffic which does
not match any of these commands will be handed off to the destination based routing mechanism.
The most common commands which are used as shown here:

router(config-route-map)#match length minimum-length

 This command is used to match specific layer 3 packet sizes; this can be used to send packets of
various sizes down different paths.

router(config-route-map)#match ip address {access-list-number | access-list-name}

This command is the workhorse of typical PBR configurations; it can be used to match any
number of combinations based on a configured access-list.

The third thing that is done is to configure a specific set command, which is used to control the
behavior of the matched traffic. The following commands are typically used:

router(config-router-map)#set ip next-hop ip-address

This command is used to specify the IP address of the matched traffics next hop. Make sure that
the IP address which is specified in this command is adjacent to the configured router.

router(config-router-map)#set interface interface-type interface-number

This command is used to specify the output interface of the matched traffic.

router(config-router-map)#set ip default next-hop ip-address

This command is used to specify the IP address of the matched traffics next hop, like the set ip
next-hop command. However, this command differs from the set ip next-hop command by having
a different routing order. When using the set ip next-hop command traffic is policy routed first
then passed onto a destination based routing method. When using the set ip default next-hopthe
destination based routing method is used first then it will be passed to policy routing.

router(config-router-map)#set default interface interface-type interface-number

This command is used to specify a default output interface to send traffic should no explicit route
exist.

When using any combination of these commands within a policy the commands are evaluated in
the following order:

1. set ip next-hop
2. set interface
3. set ip default next-hop
4. set default interface
PBR is a very powerful tool which can be used to control the specific paths of network traffic,
however make sure to only use PBR when it is needed as destination based routing methods work
very well by themselves. Like many other features offered on any type of equipment the feature is
designed for a specific set of circumstances and should be used for those purposes to maintain
efficiency.

The following are a list of links which can be used to reference PBR:

Quality of Service Fundamentals for

Cisco Professionals
By Sean Wilkins
The idea of Quality of Service (QoS) in networking is rather simple; provide an ability to categorize
traffic so that it can be separated into different service classes.

Each one of these classes is then configured for a specific level of service which is provided to
the traffic. What parameters are set for each service class is configurable and depends greatly on
the requirements of the specific traffic.

QoS Basics
There are four major traffic characteristics which are used to classify traffic, these include:

Bandwidth
This is a simple concept; how much total sustained bandwidth is required for the specific traffic
type.

Delay
Delay is typically measured from end-to-end and simply records the amount of acceptable delay
from source to destination.

Jitter
Jitter is a little more complex in that it defines delay variation. Delay variation is the amount of
variation in end-to-end delay which happens from packet to packet. For example, one packet may
be delayed so much more than the second packet that the second packet actually gets to the
destination before the first. With data traffic this is not an issue as some reassembly is expected
and part of that is reordering the packet. However, with traffic types like voice, getting to the
destination out of order lead to voice quality problems.

Loss
Again a simple concept; this is simply the number of packets which are lost from end-to-end.

When classifying traffic it is vital that each traffic type have the correct QoS parameters assigned
in order for the network to prioritize correctly.

QoS Models
There are three QoS models which are used in order to provide the correct traffic characteristics.
These three models are: Best Effort, Integrated Services and Differentiated Services.

Best Effort
The Best Effort model is rather simple and is the most common on public networks. This model
simply gives all traffic the same amount of priority. All traffic is routed in the same manner and
the speed and path of a specific packet is determined by typical destination based networking
protocols and equipment.

Integrated Services (IntServ)

The Integrated Services (IntServ) model is considerably more complex. With this model, traffic
coming into the network requests a specific traffic class or specific traffic characteristics. For
example, if a voice call is trying to be initiated, the phone will typically request a traffic path with
specific low (lower) bandwidth, low delay, low jitter and low loss characteristics. These specific
traffic characteristics are requested from each network device from source to destination, if the
 specific characteristics are available then they are reserved and the traffic is allowed. If the traffic
exceeds the specific characteristics setup at the beginning, the networking equipment may drop
those packets which do not conform. The Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) is typically used
to implement IntServ.

Differentiated Service (DiffServ)

The Differentiated Service (DiffServ) model comes at QoS differently; with DiffServ resources are
not reserved at the beginning of a traffic flow like with IntServ. DiffServ utilizes classification and
marking mechanisms to specify the expected priority that the traffic type expects, this process is
typically done at the entry of the network. Each of these devices is then individually configured to
react to these specific markings.

Traffic characteristics are maintained through traffic policing and traffic shaping. With traffic
policing, traffic with specific markings will be provided a configured service quality (at this device
only). If the traffic exceeds the configured amount of service then the device has the ability to
drop all non-conforming traffic. With traffic shaping, the traffic is given a little more flexibility and
the device attempts to “shape” the traffic into the configured settings. Again, if the traffic is too
much out of conformance the device has the ability to drop non-conforming packets. The DiffServ
model is typically deployed over IntServ as it requires a less complex configuration.

Learn more about the DiffServ Model.

Congestion Mechanisms
Another part of this equation is how the network deals with congestion. All of us have been victim
to a slow Internet connection from time to time and this is because of network congestion. Simply
put, there is more demand for traffic bandwidth then there is supply to service it. How the network
deals with these situations is just as important as how it deals with specific traffic service types.

There are two main ways to deal with congestion: Management and Avoidance. These two can
also be used with each other. Congestion management looks to deal with congestion after it is
already occurring, while congestion avoidance tries to prevent congestion from occurring in the
first place.

Congestion management is provided by queue management and gives the ability to queue traffic
at a specific point in order to give the equipment time to forward earlier traffic; it also has the
ability to skip certain high priority traffic to the front of the queue in order to provide an even
higher level of service. There are many queue mechanisms including:

 Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ)

 First In – First Out (FIFO)
 Class Based – Weighted Fair Queueing (CBWFQ)
 Priority Queueing (PQ)
 Low Latency Queueing (LLQ)
WFQ and FIFO are the most used as they are the default on many interface types.

There are a couple of congestion avoidance mechanisms: Tail Drop andWeighted Random Early
Detection (WRED).

Tail Drop is the default with most devices and simply drops all traffic which arrives to a device
with full queues. WRED works by selectively dropping packets depending on the average queue
size and the priority markings of the traffic. The specifics of the WRED algorithm are outside the
scope of this article as it can be quite complex.
 Keep in mind that your DNS traffic will not be tunneled through the SSH connection. To force DNS
traffic to go through the proxy you should do the following:

1. Open a firefox window and in the address bar type About:config. This will take you to the
configuration page.
2. Scroll down to the proxy configuration and set thenetwork.proxy.socks_remote_dns value to
True.
3. All your DNS queries will be transmitted via your secure tunnel.
Your settings will look similar with the following:
Keep In Mind …
SSH tunneling is a secure method of encrypting your sessions, especially when you interface
untrusted networks. You can secure either individual application traffic or even specific protocol’s
traffic.

PuTTY is a free SSH emulator program that can help you secure both your client’s identity and
traffic in a functional and persistent way
 VPN Setup Tutorial Guide

A VPN (Virtual private network) is a secure connection between two or more endpoints. It
can also be seen as an extension to a private network.

A VPN is commonly used to provide secure connectivity to a site. There are two key types of
VPN scenarios, Site to Site VPN and a Remote Access VPN.

Site to Site VPN

In a site to site VPN data is encrypted from one VPN gateway to the other, providing a
secure link between two sites over the internet. This would enable both sites to share
resources such as documents and other types of data over the VPN link.

Remote Access VPN

In a remote access VPN scenario which is also known as mobile VPN a secure connection would
be made from an individual computer to a VPN gateway. This would enable a user to access
their e-mail, files and other resources at work from where ever they may be, providing they
have an internet connection. There are two common forms of technology that exists in
remote access VPN known as IPSec and SSLthat are covered further below.
Why have a VPN
A VPN saves organisations \ companies from renting expensive dedicated leased lines, VPN's
give the ability for users to work from home and saves cost on resources such as e-mail
servers, file servers, etc, as all these can be accessed on the VPN connection at the central
site.

A real world example would be if a company was split into two sites (When referring to sites
we mean offices), the main site in the US and a smaller site in the UK. The US site has
already a full network and storage infrastructure in place which consisted of active directory,
an exchange server, file server and so on. The UK site only consisted of a small number of
users, let’s say 10 employees. To make this particular scenario cost effective a VPN
connection from site to site would be the best solution. Providing a VPN tunnel from the UK
site to the US site would save costs from having to install another network infrastructure,
exchange server, active directory server and so on. As the US site would already have
administrators maintaining servers and the infrastructure and can now maintain the VPN
connection as well as other resources would prove another area where savings would be
made.

Another cost saving scenario to the above example would be to close the UK site down
where employees based in UK could work from home. A remote access VPN scenario would
be suited if the 10 users were not based anywhere in particular, and there was no UK based
office. In this case they would just require an internet connection and a configured VPN
client software enabling them to securely connect to their corporate network in the US. If
they were using SSL VPN then they would not even require a configured client side
software, they would just require the URL address to connect to the VPN portal.

So VPN’s provide a superb and cost effective solution for companies with several branch
offices, partners, and remote users to share data and connect to their corporate network in
a secure and private manner.

With normal internet traffic, packets can be sniffed and read by anyone. However sending
data via a VPN tunnel encapsulates all data packets providing high level of security. If
packets which were sent securely over the internet were sniffed, they would be unreadable
and if modified this would also be detected by the VPN gateway.

VPN Networking Protocols

VPN tunnels use one of four main networking protocols, which provide the sufficient level of
security as shown below;

PPTP (Point to Point tunneling protocol)

PPTP is a protocol or technology that supports the use of VPN’s. Using PPTP, remote users
can access their corporate networks securely using the Microsoft Windows Platforms and
other PPP (Point to Point tunneling Protocols) enabled systems. This is achieved with remote
users dialing into their local internet security providers to connect securely to their networks
via the internet.

PPTP has its issues and is considered as a weak security protocol according to many
experts, although Microsoft continues to improve the use of PPTP and claims issues within
PPTP have now been corrected. Although PPTP is easier to use and configure than IPSec,
IPSec outweighs PPTP in other areas such as being more secure and a robust protocol.

L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol)

L2TP is an extension of the PPTP (Point to point tunneling protocol), used by internet service
providers to provide VPN services over the internet. L2TP combines the functionality of PPTP
and L2F (Layer 2 forwarding protocol) with some additional functions using some of the
IPSec functionality. Also L2TP can be used in conjunction with IPSec to provide encryption,
authentication and integrity. IPSec is the way forward and is considered better than the
layer 2 VPN’s such as PPTP and L2TP.

IPSec (IP Security)

IPSec operates on layer 3 and so can protect any protocol that runs on top of IP. IPSec is a
framework consisting of various protocols and algorithms which can be added to and
developed. IPSec provides flexibility and strength in depth, and is an almost perfect solution
for securing VPN’s. The only drawback is IPSec requires setting up on the corporate network
and on the client end and is a complex framework to work with. IPSec is used for both site
to site and remote user connectivity.

SSL VPN (Secure Socket Layer)

SSL VPN provides excellent security for remote access users as well as ease of use. SSL is
already heavily used such as when you shop online, accessing your bank account online,
you will notice an SSL protected page when you see the “https” in your browser URL bar as
opposed to “http”.

The difference in using SSL VPN to IPSec is with IPSec a remote user would require client
software which would need installing, configuring and sometimes troubleshooting. However
with SSL there is no client software if a user was using the SSL portal. The portal is a GUI
interface that is accessed via a web browser and contains tools and utilities in order to
access applications on the network such as RDP and Outlook. SSL can also imitate the way
IPSec works via a lightweight software. If a user required client SSL software, it can be
installed with very little effort via a browser which simplifies the process in securely
accessing to the corporate network.

Using SSL VPN would mean thousands of end user’s would be able to access the corporate
network without the support of an administrator and possible hours of configuring and
trouble shooting, unlike IPSec. The end user would just need to know the address of the
SSL VPN portal. Another advantage is they can do this from any computer as they do not
have to rely on a configured client side software.

Advantages and Disadvantages using a VPN

Advantages

VPN’s eliminate the need for expensive leased lines. Historically T1 lines have been used
connecting office locations together in a secure manner. If the office locations are further
away, the cost of renting these least lines can be unbearable. A VPN though, only requires
you to have a broadband internet connection, and so avoiding paying a hefty sum of
monthly rental on dedicated leased lines. VPN’s are also a replacement for remote access
server’s and dial up network connections although rarely used anymore.

Having many branch offices over the globe requires many leased lines, and so does not
scale well. Each office would require a leased line to all other offices. VPN’s connecting via
the Internet is a far more scalable solution, as opposed leased lines.

Through the use of link balancing and link bonding VPN's can use two or more internet
connections, so if one connection at your company had a problem all VPN traffic can be sent
over the remaining connections, and will automatically use the original connection when it is
back up again.

Disadvantages

You have to remember though, having a VPN means having to rely on the Internet, and
having to rely that your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is reliable, although this problem
can be reduced by having two or more ISP’s and using the 2nd in a VPN failover scenario.

Also VPN’s require careful configuration, possibly some troubleshooting and the terminology
can be overwhelming for administrators not familiar with the technology.

Setting up VPN with IPSec

Below is a basic overview in the typical way a site to site VPN is configured using IPSec.
IPSec is chosen as the example because it’s the most commonly used technology and is
known to be a solid, robust and secure VPN technology.

You may be new to all the VPN terminology, so clicking on the links in this VPN article will
give you a good understanding on meanings within the below guide.

Basics in setting up a site to site VPN with IPSec

Below covers what is required to set up a VPN connection on a VPN gateway with IPSec. It
is not really aimed at a specific vendor and is fairly general.

First you would decide how your going to authenticate both VPN peers to each other. Either
select a Pre-shared key or install a digital certificate. This is used for authentication and to ensure
the VPN gateways are authorised. This would prove their identities to each other. Both
gateways must use the same type of credentials, so either both use pre-shared keys or both
use digital certificates. Also if you are using pre-shared keys, then both keys would have to
match.

Phase 1

VPN's are configured and processed in two phases, phase 1 and 2. In phase 1 using Main
mode or Aggressive mode you will set up a secure and encrypted channel, to protect your phase
2 negotiations.

1) You will need to specify both gateway addresses. So you would specify the address of the
local VPN gateway and you would also specify the address of the remote VPN gateway. You
can either specify an IP address or a domain name. On some VPN gateways you could also
specify an e-mail address, or if you use a digital certificate you could specify the certificates
subject field.

2) Main mode or aggressive mode can be selected depending on which one you would want to
use. Main mode is more secure, but slower than aggressive mode. In Main mode
peers exchange identities with encryption, and Aggressive mode, although faster
exchanges identities without encryption. Main mode is the more commonly used.
Aggressive mode is typically for when one or both of the VPN gateway's have a
dynamic IP address.

3) Specify whether to use Nat-Traversal. This is selected if your VPN gateway is behind a NAT
device. Also specify whether you want both peers to use IKE keep-alive. This ensures that if
a VPN gateway’s interface is not responding it will failover to the second interface. This is
true when your ISP goes down and your secondary interface is a backup ISP.

4 You would now decide on your transform set. This includes the type
ofencryption, authentication and how long your security association will last. For your
authentication you can either use Sha1 or MD5. Sha1 is the stronger authentication
algorithm.

For your encryption you can select either DES, 3DES or AES 128, 192, 256 bit key
strength. AES is the strongest protocol.
You can specify a limit before your SA expires, which will add more security to your VPN if
your keys have been hacked. Although this will also have a slight affect on performance as
well.

You will need to specify a Diffie-Hellman key group, usually 1, 2, 5 or 14 in which 14 is the
most secure group.

You can optionally set up extra transform sets if needed. If you’re not sure on your peers
transform settings, then you may want to set up more transform sets. Although it is
recommended to know your peers settings and create the minimum transform set’s required
as it is more secure this way.

Main Mode (Phase 1)

For a successful and secure communication using IPSec, the IKE (Internet Key Exchange)
protocols takes part in a two step negotiation. Main mode or Aggressive mode (Phase 1)
authenticates and/or encrypts the peers. Quick mode (Phase 2) negotiates the algorithms
and agree on which traffic will be sent across the VPN. Below I discuss Main mode (Phase
1).

Security association is achieved in two ways, using main mode or aggressive mode. The
purpose for Main mode or phase 1 is to setup a secure channel in which Quick mode or
phase 2 can be negotiated in. Both devices in negotiation exchange credentials with each
other in which they would have to match in order to successfully authorise to be able to
make a VPN connection. This is achieved by both peers exchanging the identical pre-shared
keys or using digital certificates. However both have to use one or the other. So if one
device is using a pre-shared key, the other key must also use an identical pre-shared key,
and same goes for digital certificates. When both peers have successfully achieved this,
then they have successfully identified themselves to each other. In phase 1, Main mode is
used and three 2 way exchanges between the initiator and receiver of the tunnel are
achieved. Main mode provides identity protection by authenticating peer identities when pre
shared keys are used, and is typically used for site to site tunnels. The IKE SA’s are used to
protect the security negotiations.

You should use main mode when peers have static IP addresses. If one or the other peer
does not use IP address as the identifier of that peer then Main mode can only be used if
certificates are used for the credential methods.

Phase 2

In phase 2 using Quick mode you would establish the IPSec SA. You would tell the gateway
what traffic you will be sending over the VPN, how to encrypt and authenticate it.

1) You will need to specify what traffic will go across the VPN. So you would be specifying
an IP address, Network address, or IP address range. This is access to your internal
network, so either remote users from home, or the peer office can have access to resources
behind the VPN gateway.

2) You can choose whether to use PFS (Perfect forward secrecy), for optional and an extra
layer of security. If you will be using PFS, remember that both VPN peers must support and
use PFS. You can select which Diffie-Hellman group to use for new keying material. The
higher the group you select, the stronger the key.
You would now need to specify some more parameters in securing your data within the
IPSec SA (Phase 2), also known as phase 2 proposals. The parameters are made up of
encryption and authentication algorithms.

3) Here you first specify the type of proposal, either selecting AH orESP. AH only provides
authentication, and ESP provides authentication and encryption.

4) If you have specified ESP, which the majority would choose, then you would specify your
authentication and encryption. For authentication and integrity you can select SHA1 or MD5,
where SHA1 is the strongest algorithm. For encryption you can select DES, 3DES or AES
128, 192, or 256-bit key strength. AES 256 is the strongest encryption protocol.

5) You may want to specify a value for when your key would expire. This would ensure your
encryption keys would change over a period of time, adding more security, as well as
having a slight affect on performance. The majority leave these settings as the default.
However if your a bank or any other company dealing with confidential data then you may
want to force keys to expire, and have them re-created.

Final steps

You may now need to create policies or rules to allow your VPN traffic in and out of your
firewall. This may have already been done for you when you had completed configuring
your gateway, and you may have had the option to either enable or disable your VPN
gateway to automatically doing this for you, all depending on the product functionality.

You can now save all changes to your VPN gateway.

You are done in configuring your VPN gateway, and you can now configure the peer VPN
gateway. Remember to configure your peer VPN gateway with the exact same settings as
you configured your local gateway or else the VPN tunnel will not form successfully.

Final words

The above article is not specific to any VPN gateway so you may find
differences in order of settings or slight difference in terminology used, but
nothing more than that. Whatever firewall you may use for VPN connectivity
such as Watchguard, Fortinet, SonicWALL, Cisco and so on they all support
IPSec which is a standardised internationally known framework with a
standard set of parameters and settings and so you will find the above
instructions to be very like how you would set up your firewall VPN gateway.
The only differences you would see would lie within the GUI, and possibly
some slight naming alterations.

In a nutshell, with all VPN gateways using IPSec you would have to configure
your VPN gateway addresses, phase 1 settings, phase 2 settings, create VPN
firewall policies (some firewalls automatically create VPN policies for you)
and save the configuration in which ever vendor product you work with.

3DES - VPN Tutorials and Guides

3DES (Triple DES or Three DES)

3DES is simply the DES symmetric encryption algorithm, used three times on the same
data. The same data is encrypted two more time using DES, and hence where the name
triple DES came from. Of course this makes the encryption stronger and more difficult to
break, although Triple DES was later replaced by AES which proves to be the strongest
encryption algorithm.

3DES is a block cipher which uses 48 rounds in its computation (transpositions and
substitutions), and has a key length of 168 bits.

The process of 3DES works as follows;

1) Data is encrypted using a 56-bit key

2) Data is decrypted using a different key

3) Data is encrypted using a completely new key

When the 3DES process is complete, data is sent to its final destination.

However 3DES works in a number of other modes as well. As shown above it is basically
Encrypt, Decrypt and finally encrypts again using 3 different keys. This is known as DES-
EDE3.

There are also the following modes;

DES-EDE3 – Encrypt, Decrypt and Encrypt with 3 unique keys as mentioned above.

DES-EEE3 – A block of data is encrypted, and encrypted again with a different key and
finally encrypted once more with another key, using a total of 3 unique keys.

DES-EDE2 – Here we only use two keys, in which the first and last encryption is done using
exactly the same key.

DES-EEE2 – Finally this also uses two keys, the first and last encryption is done using the
same key.

If you’re wondering what happened to Double-DES? This was also developed and tested but
was later found it had weaknesses and is no stronger than DES, and so was considered
obsolete.
As well as DES and 3DES, some other common symmetric encryption algorithms are AES,
blowfish, Twofish, IDEA, CAST, SAFER, Skipjack and RC.

AES 256 Bit Encryption Standard

Tutorial

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

AES is a strong encryption algorithm used in symmetric key cryptography. The chosen
algorithm behind the Advanced Encryption System label was the Rijndael algorithm. AES /
Rijndael support different key lengths of 128, 192, and 256 bit key lengths. The longer the
key length used the stronger and more difficult the encryption will be to break into.
However using a 256 bit key to protect and encrypt data would also mean it will require
more processing power and take longer to process.

Depending on the key lengths and block sizes AES produces a number of rounds of
computation.

In a block and key size of 128 bits, there are 10 computation rounds.
In a block and key size of 192 bits, there are 12 computation rounds.
In a block and key size of 256 bits, there are 14 computation rounds.

AES became the replacement for 3DES and DES. DES in particular was found to be weak
and breakable. AES is a popular encryption standard approved by the government and
supported by all VPN vendors.

AES today is also used in removable media such as USB's and external hard drives. It is
effective in both hardware and software and uses less memory than most other symmetric
algorithms. Simply put, you can protect your data on your USB memory stick using
encryption software running the AES algorithm. If an encrypted USB was stolen and in the
wrong hands, data would be protected and would be in an un-readable format.

As well as AES, some other common symmetric encryption algorithms are DES, 3DES,
blowfish, Twofish, IDEA, CAST, SAFER, Skipjack and RC.
 Aggressive Mode - VPN and IPSec
tutorial

Aggressive Mode

For a successful and secure communication using IPSec, the IKE (Internet Key Exchange)
protocols takes part in a two step negotiation. Main mode or Aggressive mode (Phase 1)
authenticates and/or encrypts the peers. Quick mode (Phase 2) negotiates the algorithms
and agree on which traffic will be sent across the VPN. Below I discuss Aggressive mode
(Phase 1).

Aggressive mode can be used within the phase 1 VPN negotiations, as opposed to
Main mode. Aggressive mode takes part in fewer packet exchanges. Aggressive
mode does not give identity protection of the two IKE peers, unless digital
certificates are used. This means VPN peers exchange their identities without
encryption (clear text). It is not as secure as main mode, but the advantage to
aggressive mode is that it is faster than Main mode.

Aggressive mode is typically used for remote access VPN’s (remote users). Also
you would use aggressive mode if one or both peers have dynamic external IP
addresses. Although you don’t have to use Aggressive mode if the peer devices are
using digital certificates.

Authentication Header - IPSec

protocol

IPSec uses two basic protocols, AH (authentication header) and ESP

(encapsulation security payload). AH ensures data has not been tampered
with and assures data integrity when in transmission. This is achieved by
adding authentication information to a datagram. AH is not as used much as
ESP as it does not provide data encryption (confidentiality) and so all data
would be transported in clear text. So data would be readable although
protected from any modification attempts.

However if authentication is all that is required then only AH should be used.

By leaving ESP turned off will provide better performance.
Asymmetric Encryption Traffic - Data
Encryption
Symmetric keys provide confidentiality and are very fast compared to asymmetric
encryption. However unlike asymmetric encryption they do not provide authentication or
nonrepudation. Symmetric encryption also does not provide any scalability or key
distribution.

In asymmetric encryption an entity has two different keys, which are mathematically
related, a public key and a private key. Everyone is allowed to see the public key, but the
private key has to remain hidden. The public and private key can only encrypt and decrypt
messages that have been encrypted or decrypted by one of the two. So for example if
Barclays bank encrypted a message using their own private key, it can only be decrypted
using their public key, and if they encrypted the same message using their public key, this
key can only be decrypted using their private key, as both keys are different but
mathematically related.

Asymmetric encryption is much more scalable because you have two keys and can hand
your public key out to the world, not requiring to keep a track of who has the key. With
symmetric keys, you need to ensure only the entities intended to communicate with you
securely has your key and no one else, which does not scale well at all.

Authentication and Non-repudiation with Public keys

If Barclays bank wanted to provide authentication and non-repudiation, they can encrypt
data with their own private key, and anyone who decrypts this data with their public key
can be assured it came from them (Barclays), as only their public key can decrypt what was
encrypted with their private key. This assures users the data was sent and secured by
Barclays bank, and this also assure non-repudiation which means Barclays can not deny the
data was not sent from them.

Providing confidentiality using public keys

If confidentiality was needed over the public network then a user can encrypt data using
Barclays bank public key. Barclays bank can only decrypt this data as they hold the
corresponding private key for that public key.

Providing confidentiality, authentication and non-repudiation

If Barclays bank wanted to provide all, authentication, non-repudiation, and confidentiality

to another bank, they would first encrypt the message using the other bank’s public key and
then encrypt again using their own private key. So when the other bank receives this
packet, they will first decrypt the message using Barclays bank public key which would
assure it came from Barclays, and then they would decrypt the packet again using their own
private key, which would assure confidentiality.

Remember when Barclays encrypted this message with the other banks public key, this
would provide confidentiality because no one else but the other bank can decrypt the
message as only they hold the private key which is mathematically related to their public
key. Also when Barclays bank encrypted the message with their own private key, this
provides authentication because only the public key that is accessible to everyone can
decrypt the messages which would prove it cam from Barclays bank. The clever point is not
everyone can see the final message other than the bank it was intended for, because it was
encrypted twice. The first part everyone can decrypt, which would only provide authenticity,
but the second decryption required the other bank’s private key which only they have
access to as it was encrypted with their public key.

Although asymmetric systems are much slower and require more processing power than
symmetric systems, they are much more scalable, provide key distribution and provide
authentication and non-repudiation. Asymmetric algorithms require much larger keys than
symmetric keys to provide sufficient level of security over the public network.

The Hybrid system

Asymmetric algorithms are much slower than symmetric algorithms, and so for large
amounts of data this process can be very slow. We can not use a symmetric algorithm as
key distribution is a problem, and we may need to prove authenticity and non-repudiation.
However we have a clever way of using a hybrid system intended to eliminate this issue. In
a hybrid system we use both symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

In a hybrid system Barclays Bank would create a symmetric key, and encrypt bulk data with
this key. Then Barclays Bank would encrypt the symmetric key using the public key of the
other bank. Then Barclays bank will send both the bulk data which was encrypted using the
fast symmetric encryption and send the key which was encrypted using the public key
system in which only the other bank can decrypt. So we are using the faster algorithm
(Symmetric) on the bulk data, and the slower but scalable algorithm (Asymmetric) to
encrypt the small amount of data (the key). Now we have a system best of both world,
which would provide scalability, speed and security.

Session key

Do not confuse a session key as an asymmetric key. A session key just means a key used
for that session. In fact it is a symmetric key produced by two entities every time they
create a new session. After the session is over, the key is destroyed and so only lasts for
the lifetime of that session. This provides a more secure level of security, as if a hacker
captured a session key, he/she would only be able to use this key to see that session and
not any future sessions.

Asymmetric algorithms
The different types of common asymmetric encryptions are as below;

RSA

RSA provides authentication, encryption and key distribution. RSA is based on large prime
numbers. See RSA page for more information.

Diffie-Hellman

Diffie-Hellman was the first public key algorithm. Being the first, Diffie-Hellman has its
problems, the primary one being it does not provide authentication. However using Diffie-
Hellman within IPSec along side other authentication methods works well and is still used
today. It is based on calculating discrete logarithms in a finite field. To note, Diffie-Hellman
only provides key distribution. Authentication and encryption are not supported. See Diffie-
Hellman page for more information.

Elliptic Curve Crypto system (ECC)

ECC provides support for authentication (digital signatures), encryption and key distribution.
ECC does not require a key size as large as the other algorithms and still provides the same
level of security. ECC’s algorithm uses an elliptic curve system, which proves to be very
secure and effective.

Knapsack

Knapsacks algorithm is based on fixed weights. Knapsack also provides authentication,

encryption and key distribution. Unfortunately Knapsack has been proved to be insecure and
so is not used anymore.

Digital signature standards

Digital signatures provide authenticity and integrity of a message. A digital signature

processes messages through a hashing algorithm to provide integrity of data, ensuring it
has not been changed through transit.

As the name implies, and as digital signatures play an important part in providing integrity,
authentication and non-repudiation, the government produced a standard for digital
signatures. The Digital signature algorithm uses sha1 with a public key algorithm to produce
a 160 bit hash.

El Gamal

El Gamal also produces encryption, digital signatures and key distribution. Like Diffie-
Hellman, El Gamal is based on calculating discrete logarithms in a finite field. The main
issues with El Gamal as compared to the other algorithms is performances, it is slow.

VPN authentication - IPSec

tutorial guide
Authentication is to prove a user or entity is allowed access, and so provides a form of
access control. For example when your logging on to your Windows machine, and specifying
a username and password at the logon screen, you are authenticating yourself. Your telling
Windows your are a valid and authenticated user, and prove this by providing a username
and password.

Two types of authentication methods used within site to site VPN gateways are a Pre-shared
key and a digital signature. Pre-shared key is authenticating using a key, although this is
not a scalable option in large networks. A digital Certificate is a scalable option and would
have to be purchased from a CA (Certification Authority) such as Verisign, GoDaddy and
others.
Another option for VPN authentication is with the use of Xauth (extended authentication)
where additional user authentication is required usually through the use of LDAP or Radius
authentication protocols. However this is usually used when setting up remote / mobile user
VPN. This is executed at the end of phase 1 negotiation.

From a general standpoint authentication is actually part of a three phase process,

identification, authentication and authorisation. In the example of Windows, identification is
your username. You’re identifying yourself. Then windows would now say you have
identified your self as Jo; now prove this with a password. This step is the authentication,
which would also allow you to access and prove to Windows you are in fact Jo and are a
valid user. When you’re authenticated, Windows will give you access to only the services
you are allowed to use. This is called authorisation. For example you may be a limited user,
and so you would not be able to make administrative changes, or changes to the system
controls, uninstall reinstall programs, etc. But as a limited user you will be allowed /
authorised to access programs, save your files and folders and browse the internet. Or if
you are authenticating to a domain controller, then you may be authorised to access certain
file servers depending on who you are and which groups you belong to within active
directory.

The Certificate Authority - VPN

Tutorial
use digital signatures to form digital credential that we use over the internet to
authenticate the identity of the person sending data in an IPSec arrangement, and these
digital certificates are provided by CA's such as Verisign.

Verisign would send a certificate to each person or entity and digitally sign them with their
(Verisign’s) private key that certifies the authenticity of the user. Certificates are then
loaded and verified by end user’s.

For example Joe wants to communicate with Carl and so sends his certificate to Carl and
Carl checks out the certificate's CA signature with Verisign. He will look at the CA public key
with Verisign to ensure the CA signature is on the certificate. If the certificate is valid then
Carl can assume Joe is who he says he is, and the message is valid. Then Joe checks Carl’s
certificate and if the certificate is fine and valid, the VPN process can be progressed.

All certificates are exchanged during the IPSec negotiation process. CA’s are the
masterminds behind the public key infrastructure (PKI). The CA’s digital certificate is
created with the CA’s private key, it’s the one that guarantees the authenticity.

Some examples of public CA's are Verisign, RSA, Entrust, Thwate, Baltimore.

Looking further into digital certificates and CA's, there are two parts to be aware of and can
be confusing so below are the differences and the relationship;

Digital signature – Links a message or data to a sender’s private key. On the receiving
end that encrypted hash can only be decrypted by using the sender’s public key.

Digital certificate – Bind or links a person or a corporate entity to a private key. Not the
data or the message.
The relationship between a digital signature and digital certificate is a certificate could be
used to link or bind a person or entity to a digital signature. Certificate is like the driver's
licence and signature is like the credit card.

Data Integrity and VPN Guide

Data Integrity protects data from interception and modification. So integrity ensures data
has not been altered when in transmit. In the case with VPN's, data has not been
intercepted and changed when traveling from one VPN gateway to another VPN gateway.
We use a hash mechanism to accomplish the integrity of data. If one bit has been modified,
the hash will not match. Data integrity guarantees integrity of a message. A one way hash
of the data has to match exactly. If one bit is different then the message has been changed.
Two algorithms a VPN gateway uses for verifying integrity of data are Hash algorithms
hmac-md5 and hmac-sha1, Hmac-sha1 being the strongest.

A one way hash simply takes a variable length string and data, and produces a fixed length
hash value. The hash along with its data is then sent to the receiver. The receiver will
compute the same hash function on the data to compare this to the sending hash result,
and if they are the same, then the message will be accepted. We can say that the message
has not been modified in transit.

Common hashing algorithms developed to ensure integrity of data are the SHA family of
algorithms, the MD family of algorithms, Haval and Tiger.

DES tutorial - VPN Encryption

explained

DES (Data Encryption Standard)

DES encryption algorithm uses a 56 bit key to encrypt data for transit. DES is a symmetric
key algorithm, and so uses one key which does the encryption and decryption on the same
data.

Some claim DES is a 64-bit key algorithm. However out of the 64 bits, 56 bits are actually
used for keying material, where the remaining 8 bits are reserved for parity information and
to ensure integrity of the remaining 56 bits of data. So in a sense it is correct that DES uses
64 bits, but 8 of those 64 bits are not used to encrypt data. For the keying it actually uses
56 bits, so in other words the encryption strength is 56 bits.

DES is not used anymore as it is an old, weak and broken encryption algorithm, and was
replaced by 3DES. AES is the standard and is being used as of today and proves to be safe
and a strong symmetric encryption algorithm. However you will still find 3DES is supported
with VPN gateways. This is for backward compatibility, as older VPN gateways may only
support the 3DES algorithm.

DES and some other encryption algorithm do work in a number of modes of operation. It
depends on the situation, in which of the number of modes DES should work in. The most
common of them are as below;

Electronic Code Book (ECB)

ECB provides the highest throughput and so is the quickest of the modes. However it is also
the weakest form of DES modes to break into. This is because it will always produce the
same cipher text when using the same key. ECB mode should only be used on small
amounts of data such as key values.

Cipher Block Chaining (CBC)

CBC is more secure than ECB as it simply does not expose a pattern within the encrypted
data, unlike ECB. This is because the value of the previous block of text is added to the
algorithm as well which produced the next block of text. This process is referred to as
chaining, and adds a high degree of randomness to the data. One issue with this mode is if
an error occurs it will be propagated to the rest of the blocks, as already mentioned all
blocks are encrypted in a chain like method using the values of the previous block to
provide randomness, and so connected. This could cause decryption to fail. You can use
CBC to encrypt large amounts of data in 64 bit blocks.

Cipher Feedback (CFB)

CFB works with smaller block sizes of 8 bits rather than 64 bits, and emulates a stream
cipher. CFB works similar to CBC in that the value from the previous blocks results in the
encrypted data for the next block. CFB is used in situations when needing to encrypt smaller
amounts of data at a time.

Output Feedback (OFB)

OFB also emulates a stream cipher; however unlike the two previous modes OFB eliminates
the use of chaining. Because the value to encrypt the next block of data comes from the key
stream and not from the cipher text, it reduces the chances of errors and so becomes a
more reliable encryption method.

Counter Mode (CTR)

Counter mode is similar to OFB mode, but instead uses an IV counter, instead of a random
IV value. Also it does not use the process of chaining and so encryption of blocks can occur
at the same time make this method faster.

As well as DES and 3DES, some other common symmetric encryption algorithms are AES,
blowfish, Twofish, IDEA, CAST, SAFER, Skipjack and RC.
Diffie Hellman Encryption Tutorial
- Cryptography on Public keys
Diffie-Hellman
Diffie-Hellman is an asymmetric key algorithm used for public key cryptography. As well as
IPSec it is also used for SSL, SSH, PGP and other PKI systems.

The Diffie-Hellman algorithm was created to address the issue of secure encrypted keys
from being attacked over the internet when in transmission, though using the Diffie-Hellman
algorithm in distributing symmetric keys securely over the internet.

The process works by two peers generating a private and a public key. Peer A would send
it’s public key to peer B and peer B would send it’s public key to peer A. Peer A would then
use the public key sent from peer B and it’s own private key to generate a symmetric key
using the Diffie-Hellman algorithm. Peer B would also take the same process as peer A and
in turn produce the exact same symmetric key as peer A, though enabling them to
communicate securely over the in-secure internet. Both peers can now encrypt, transmit
and decrypt data using their symmetric keys.

However some concerns were found later within the Diffie-Hellman algorithm such as Man-
in-the-middle attacks as there is no authentication in place before keys are exchanged. How
would peer B know that it is about to exchange keys with peer A? It could easily be a hacker
spoofing peer A’s identity. This led to the more advanced public key cryptography in RSA.
However using authentication methods such as pre-shared keys and digital certificates to
authenticate VPN gateways have overcome this issue. So using Diffie-Hellman along side
authentication algorithms is a secure and approved solution. Diffie-Hellman is based on
calculating discrete logarithms in a finite field.

Diffie-Hellman public key cryptography is used by all major VPN gateway's today,
supporting Diffie-Hellman groups 1,2 and 5. DH group 1 consists of a 768 bit key, group 2
consists of 1024 bit key and group 5 comes with 1536 bit key. Group 5 is the strongest and
most secure.

Diffie-Hellman just does key exchange and does not do data encryption, digital signatures
or any authentication.

As well as Diffie-Hellman, some other asymmetric encryption algorithms are RSA, ECC, El
Gamal, DSA, LUC and Knapsack.

Digital Certificates - VPN Tutorial

Public Key Authentication
Like Pre-shared keys, using digital certificates is another way to prove you are
authenticated. It proves you are who you say you are, or your VPN Firewall is who it says it
is. A digital certificate is an electronic document and is obtained by a reputable Certification
Authority (CA) who manages such certificates. Verisign is an example of a Certification
Authority. If two peers accept each other’s digital certificates, they trust each others
identity, though they trust that the opposite peer is who they say they are.

When a CA issues a certificate to a VPN device then it is guaranteeing the VPN device is who
it claims to be and it does this by signing the certificate it assigns and provides to the VPN
device.

A real life comparison would be like humans having identity cards such as a driving licence,
a passport, etc. A digital certificate plays the same role for authenticating devices proving
they are who they say they are by exposing their certificates (Their version of a
passport/driving licence) to peer devices.

Remember that the certificates presented and it’s certificate authority who issued the
certificate must be trusted. If a remote party does not trust your certificate authority or
does not know your CA, then your identity may not be trusted. Certificates issued by a
known provider such as Verisign is going to be trusted by everyone, but certificates issued
by small CA’s could easily not be trusted.

In a real world scenario, if you were shown ID from a human being using their DVLA driving
license you would feel confident they are who they say they are, having an ID issued by
DVLA. However on the other hand if they were to show you their employee ID from
company Joe Bloggs, or some other random ID you would most likely feel a little suspicious.

How this works is, you are issued a certificate from a CA. When you pass your certificate to
a peer, they check your certificate against the CA certificate which is cryptographically tied
with your certificate, and if they match, then the remote peer would trust your identity. You
would also take the same steps in checking your remote peer’s identity.

Creating a VPN Tunnel with

Dynamic IP addresses
Dynamic DNS

When creating a site to site VPN connection we would use public static IP addresses to
connect to each end. At one end we would tell our firewall to connect to the other firewall
and specify its static address, and then we would do the same at the other end. However
some public IP’s are not static and are dynamically assigned by the ISP. We now have a
problem because the remote firewalls IP changes every so often and this means our firewall
will be pointing to an incorrect IP address.

The way we can overcome the issue is by registering our firewall with a provider like
DynDNS.com. We would register out current firewall IP address along with a URL to use
instead on our firewall. Anytime our IP address changes, DynDNS will know about this and
update accordingly. So the URL will always reflect the correct IP address.
How the update works is a customer would install dynDNS software on their local network,
and when the ISP changes the customer’s IP address, the software sends this new IP
address to DynDNS.com.

So in your firewall (assuming you firewall supports this) you would specify a URL instead of
an IP address to reach the remote firewall your connecting to.

VPN and general encryption

Tutorial
Encrypting Traffic and Data Encryption
Encryption or encrypting is the process of scrambling data so that it becomes un-readable
and confidential. Another name for encrypted data is ciphertext. Decrypting is the opposite
and it is the process of transforming the ciphertext back into the original plain text. VPN
gateways use encryption, so that data in transit will be secure and unreadable. Hackers like
to sniff networks usually for usernames and passwords, using some kind of network packet
sniffer. However if data is encrypted then it would be secure and sniffing encrypted data
would prove to be useless to the hacker.

When encrypted data reaches the peer VPN gateway, or any entity for this matter that
encrypts data in transit, the remote peer will have an identical key and use this key to
decrypt the data.

Two types of encryption methods used today;

Asymmetric encryption -

Two keys are used, a public key and a private key. Data is encrypted using the public key
and decrypted with the private key. Asymmetric encryption is used for communication over
in-secure networks such as the internet. Asymmetric encryption is also known as public key
encryption.

More information is available on asymmetric public keys within the asymmetric encryption
page. This page is dedicated to symmetric encryption algorithms.
Symmetric encryption -

A single key is used to encrypt data and decrypt data. There are a number of symmetric
encryption algorithms as follows;

DES –

One of the first encryption algorithms. Has been replaced by 3DES. See DES page for more
information.

3DES –

A replacement for DES, a stronger algorithm. Read 3DES page for more information.

AES –

AES encryption algorithm is the standard today. See the AES page for more information.

Blowfish -

One of the proposed replacements for DES. Blowfish is a block cipher of a 64 bit block size.
It produces 16 rounds of computation and consists of a key size from 32 to 448 bits. An
advantage with Blowfish it is an un patented software and can be used by anyone.

Twofish -

Twofish is a block cipher with a 128 bit block size, and a key size of up to 256 bits. Twofish
was one of the contenders to fill in the boots as an algorithm for AES, but did not eventually
reach this far.

IDEA –

IDEA which stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm is another block cipher, as
size of 64 bit blocks and uses a 128 bit key size. The 64 bit block size is actually broken
down into 16 sub-blocks, and each sub-block has 8 rounds of computations performed on.
IDEA is used in PGP and some other software products. IDEA can be used for non-
commercial use.
CAST -

CAST which is named after the developers, Carlisle Adams/Stafford Taveres comes in two
key sizes, 128 and 256 bit key size. CAST was also a candidate for AES.

SAFER –

Safer (Secure and Fast Encryption Routine) is another block cipher which comes in two sizes
of 64 and 128 bit key sizes. This encryption algorithm was another candidate for AES.

Skipjack –

Another block cipher, which uses an 80 bit key and 64 bit block size. It was developed to be
used with clipper chip (chipset for voice communication).

RC -

Family of Rivest Cipher alogrithms

RC4 – A stream cipher with a variable key size and is used in SSL and wireless technology in
WEP. RC4 is a quick, simple and effective algorithm.

RC5 – A fast block cipher which uses various key and block sizes.

RC6 – A block cipher and an improved version of RC5. RC6 was another candidate for AES.

Encryption uses

Symmetric encryption algorithms are used in a broad range of products today and are
essential to keeping data secure, whether in transit or resting in storage. External memory
devices for example sometimes come with encryption software. Good examples would be on
USB memory sticks and external hard drives. A good example of encryption software which
employs most of the above encryption algorithms is TrueCrypt, and the big bonus is it is
also free to use

ESP - IPSec Mode

ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload)

ESP provides all four security aspects of IPSec. These are confidentiality, integrity, origin
authentication, and anti-replay protection. Confidentiality would ensure data is encrypted.
Providing integrity would ensure data in transit has not been tampered with and origin
authentication would ensure the remote peers are who they claim to be. Anti-replay will
ensure duplicated traffic is not accepted which would prevent DOS attacks, as well as
spoofed traffic.

ESP can operate in either tunnel mode which is more secure due to encrypting the routing,
header information and IP payload, or can operate in transport mode in which it only
encrypts the IP payload. Tunnel mode is usually used between gateways through the
internet, and transport mode is usually used for host to host VPN’s such as between a
server and a computer.

In a nutshell ESP is a security protocol used with IPSec which provides source
authentication, confidentiality and message integrity.

IKE SA, Oakley and ISAKMP

tutorials - IPSec settings

IKE (Internet Key Exchange),

Internet Key Exchange is a combination of ISAKMP (Internet Security Association and Key
Management Protocol) and Oakley protocols. IKE provides secure exchange of cryptographic
keys between two IPSec endpoints, VPN gateways for example. IKE defines the methods in
how endpoints using IPSec authenticate to each other.

IKE operates in phase 1 and phase 2. In phase 1 mutual authentication is performed using
pre-shared keys, in which the encryption and integrity session keys are generated. The key
exchange can be processed via main mode or aggressive mode. In phase 2 a security
association (SA) is established using the quick mode key exchange process, which
negotiates methods used to encrypt information from both IPSec endpoints.

IKE Version 2 (Internet Key Exchange version

2)
IKE version 2 was produced to overcome some of the problems and vulnerabilities with IKE,
such as DOS attacks and complexities within the framework.

Oakley Key Determination Protocol

Oakley is used along side ISAKMP, and is now commonly known as IKE (Internet Key
Exchange). Basically Oakley is a protocol to carry out the key exchange negotiation process
for both peers, in which both ends after being authenticated can agree on secure and secret
keying material. Oakley is based on the Diffie-Hellman key algorithm in which two gateways
can agree on a key without the need to encrypt.

ISAKMP (Internet Security Association and

Key Management Protocol)
ISAKMP is a key exchange architecture or framework used within IPSec, which manages the
exchange of keys between both endpoints.

Some of the key requirements achieved using ISAKMP;

Management of keys

Authentication - To authenticate peer gateway devices

Manage Security Associations

Protection against Denial of service and replay attacks

ISAKMP is also commonly known as IKE (Internet key exchange) or ISAKMP/Oakley.

IPSec traffic and tutorial - VPN

tutorial
IPSec
IPSec which works at the network layer is a framework consisting of protocols and
algorithms for protecting data through an un-trusted network such as the internet. IPSec
provides data security in various ways such as encrypting and authenticating data,
protection against masquerading and manipulation. IPSec is a complex framework
consisting of many settings, which is why it provides a powerful and flexible set of security
features that can be used.

IPSec is a collection of different protocols or algorithms. IPSec traffic can be configured

using over 30 different settings. IPSec is used to secure traffic from site to site or site to a
mobile user. As the world is constantly changing and growing with technology, IPSec suits
this as it’s a framework, which allows you add new and better algorithms coming out.

When two IPSec gateways want to make a VPN connection between them, they negotiate
on various settings and parameters and must make an agreement on the parameters used.
For example what type of authentication and encryption will be used within the VPN tunnel.
This is generally called VPN negotiation.
IPSec does not use RSA for data encryption. It uses DES, 3DES, or AES. IPSec uses RSA for
IKE internet key exchange for during peer authentication phase, to ensure the other side is
authentic and who they say they are.

4 key functions or services of IPSec are as follows;

1 Confidentiality – Encrypting data, and scrambling.

2 Data Integrity – data has not been changed.

3 Data Authentication – authenticating receiver. Sender receiver is who they say they are.

4 Anti-replay – each packet is unique, has not been duplicated or intercepted.

5 phases of IPSec

1 define interesting traffic

2 IKE phase 1 – key exchange phase

3 IKE phase 2 – IPSec policy and transform sets are processed

4 Transfer data – After the tunnels are established you transfer the data.

5 Tear down the tunnel

IPSec uses two different protocols to encapsulate the data over a VPN tunnel:

Encapsulation Security Payload (ESP): IP Protocol 50

Authentication Header (AH): IP Protocol 51

ESP is more secure as it provides data encryption. AH just provides authentication.

Quick Mode - Setup IPSec Tunnel

Configure IPSec Tunnel
For a successful and secure communication using IPSec, the IKE (Internet Key Exchange)
protocols takes part in a two step negotiation. Main mode or Aggressive mode (Phase 1)
authenticates and/or encrypts the peers. Quick mode (Phase 2) negotiates the algorithms
and agree on which traffic will be sent across the VPN. Below I discuss Quick mode (Phase
2).
In phase 2 of a VPN IKE negotiation Quick mode is used. This is also known as phase 2 SA
or IPSec SA. Negotiations in phase 2 are protected by the encryption and authentication
which was set up in phase 1. In Quick mode 3 messages are exchanged between the peers,
in which the IPSec SA’s are negotiated to establish a secure channel between two peers.
Keying material is refreshed or new keys are generated if this option is specified, and a
protection suite is selected, which would protect specific IP traffic.

In phase 2 you would specify which traffic will travel across the VPN. IP addresses behind
both VPN devices would be specified in order to send traffic, in which both gateways would
inform each other via phase 2 ID’s. You could specify an individual IP address, a network IP
address or a network range.

All Quick mode negotiations are protected from when the IKE SA was
established when Main mode during phase 1 was completed. In Quick mode
parameters are negotiated and agreed between the peers such as to use
Transport or Tunnel mode, ESP or AH, encryption type and hash functions.
These parameters would then be used to secure data traveling across the
VPN tunnel.

L2TP over the Internet - L2TP VPN

tutorial
L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol)

L2TP is an extension of the PPTP (Point to point tunneling protocol), used by internet service
providers to provide VPN services over the internet. L2TP combines the functionality of PPTP
and L2F (Layer 2 forwarding protocol) with some additional functions using some of the
IPSec functionality. L2TP uses the authentication methods of PPP, in PAP (Password
Authentication Protocol) and CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol), and uses
NCP (Network Control Protocol) to negotiate IP address assignment.

L2TP is seen as the replacement for PPTP and L2F. L2TP's other main advantage is that it is
routable over other networks as well as IP. PPTP is only routable over IP. Also L2TP can be
used in conjunction with IPSec to provide encryption, authentication and integrity.
Ultimately IPSec is the way forward and is considered better than the layer 2 VPN’s such as
PPTP and L2TP.

MD5 Sha - Message Digest tutorial

MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5)

Message integrity algorithms ensure data has not been changed in transit. They use one
way hash functions to detect if data has been changed.

The MD algorithms consist of a family of one way hash functions. MD2, created by Ron
Rivest produces a 128 message digest hash. MD2 was considered slow, and so the creation
of MD4 was developed. MD4 was faster, however found to be vulnerable to some attacks,
and so finally the MD5 was developed.

MD5 is a cryptographic one way hashing algorithm which uses a 128 bit hash value just like
its predecessors. Although it still uses the same hash value, the algorithm is more complex
and difficult to break than the others. MD5 is used by to provide data integrity and
authentication, ensuring data has not been altered in transit. However sha-1 is a stronger
hash function than MD5, and ideally should be used if the option is available. MD5 will
ensure data has not been tampered with and achieves this by converting plain data into
unreadable ciphertext known as a hash. If any data during transit has changed, even
slightly the hash will look completely different, and it would be assumed data has been
tampered with.

In a nutshell MD5 will ensure data has not been changed when in transit. MD5 is a
symmetric key algorithm. MD5 consists of a key size of 128 bits. A hash is appended to the
original message.

Other common integrity algorithms include Sha1, Sha256, Sha384, Sha512, Haval and
Tiger.

NAT Traversal tutorial - IPSec

over NAT

NAT-T (NAT Traversal)

Nat Traversal also known as UDP encapsulation allows traffic to get to the specified
destination when a device does not have a public address. This is usually the case if your
ISP is doing NAT, or the external interface of your firewall is connected to a device that has
NAT enabled.

As well as IPSec providing confidentiality, it also provides authenticity and integrity. Now
the problem is when a NAT device does it’s NAT translations, the embedded address of the
source computer within the IP payload does not match the source address of the IKE packet
as it is replaced by the address of the NAT device. This means breaking the authenticity
which will cause the packet by the remote peer to be dropped. So when the NAT device
alters the packet, it's integrity and authentication will fail.

Also in some cases depending on the level of encryption, the payload and in particular the
headers are encrypted when using IPSec ESP mode. The NAT device can not change these
encrypted headers to its own addresses, or do anything with them.
The NAT device in the middle breaks the authenticity, integrity and in some cases can not
do anything at all with the packet. It is clear NAT and IPSec are incompatible with each
other, and to resolve this NAT Traversal was developed. NAT Traversal adds a UDP header
which encapsulates the IPSec ESP header. As this new UDP wrapper is NOT encrypted and is
treated as just like a normal UDP packet, the NAT device can make the required changes
and process the message, which would now circumvent the above problems. Also enabling
Nat-Traversal on the gateways resolves the problem with the authenticity and integrity
checks as well, as they are now aware of these changes.

During phase 1, if NAT Traversal is used, one or both peer's identify to each other that they
are using NAT Traversal, then the IKE negotiations switch to using UDP port 4500. After this
the data is sent and handled using IPSec over UDP, which is effectively NAT Traversal. The
receiving peer first unwraps the IPSec packet from its UDP wrapper (the NAT Traversal part
that occurred at the sending peer end) and then processes the traffic as a standard IPSec
packet.

Three ports in particular must be open on the device that is doing NAT for your VPN to work
correctly. These are UDP port 4500 (used for NAT traversal), UDP port 500 (used for IKE)
and IP protocol 50 (ESP).

However the ultimate fix to this is to use a public IP address on your firewall’s external
interface. This is also the recommended method, and will eliminate the use of NAT-T.

PFS - VPN Tutorial

PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy)

PFS will ensure the same key will not be generated again, so forcing a new diffie-hellman
key exchange. This would ensure if a hacker\criminal was to compromise a private key,
they would only be able to access data in transit protected by that key and not any future
data, as future data would not be associated with that compromised key.

Both sides of the VPN must be able to support PFS in order for PFS to work. When PFS is
turned on, for every negotiation of a new phase 2 SA the two gateways must generate a
new set of phase 1 keys. This is an extra layer of protection that PFS adds, which ensures if
the phase 2 SA’s have expired, the keys used for new phase 2 SA’s have not been
generated from the current phase 1 keying material. Of course if PFS is not turned on then
the current keying material already established at phase 1 will be used again to generate
phase 2 SA’s.

Therefore using PFS provides a more secure VPN connection. Although using PFS does have
its drawback. It will require more processing power, and take slightly longer for phase 1 and
2 to complete. PFS in general is known as a session key. A session key is a key just created
for a particular session, and when the session is bought down, the key is destroyed and not
used again. Next time a session is initiated a new and completely different session key is
created.

You don't have to use PFS if you don't want to, just leave it disabled. However if you are
protecting very sensitive data then maybe it should be enabled. It depends on your
requirements and security policies. It depends on how sensitive your data is and how often
you would like to renew these keys. What is the worst that could happen if a criminal did
get their hands on this sensitive data? This should give you a good indication to whether
you should have it enabled and for how long each key is renewed or disabled. Just
remember having it enabled and renewing keys more often will have a little performance
impact but provide further security.

So in a nutshell leaving PFS on will improve security forcing a new key exchange. It does
this every so often depending on the configured time settings.

Public Key Infrastructure - How

PKI works

PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)

PKI is a set of standards, procedures, software, and people for implementing authentication
using public key cryptography. PKI is used to request, install, configure, manage and revoke
digital certificates. PKI offers authentication via digital certificates, and these digital
certificates are signed and provided by certificate authorities.

PKI uses public key cryptography and works with x509 standard certificates. It also provides
other things such as authenticating users, producing and distributing certificates,
maintaining, managing and revoking certificates. PKI is an infrastructure in which many
things happen and is not a process or algorithm itself, so PKI consists of a number of
aspects to enable the infrastructure to work. As well as authentication, PKI also enables the
use of providing integrity, non-repudiation and encryption.

If a company wanted a public key they would require a digital certificate. They will have to
request this certificate from a certificate authority or a registration authority. The certificate
authority is someone who everyone should trust as a centralised authority for managing and
maintaining certificates. The CA will require the company to fill in a number of details and
validate their request before they can hand out a certificate. This certificate is a proof that
the company is who they say they are in the digital world (like a passport in the real world).
An RA is just an organisation who processes requests on behalf of a CA.

PKI combines well with Diffie-Hellman in providing secure key exchanges, as Diffie-Hellman
does not provide authentication on its own capabilities. PKI is used in various protocols such
as PGP and SSL.

Two main PKI models

Central –

Used for small to medium sized companies or flat network design. A single authority assigns
all their certificates.

Hierarchical –
Hierarchical is used in medium to large organisations. You have a root CA, such as Microsoft
in house solution, or it can be a public trusted company such as Verisign. Then you have
separate sub ordinate CA's assigning separate security domains digital certificates.
Hierarchical is a multi tiered approach suited for enterprise networks. Subordinate CA's
hand out certificates to employees and other people (systems and individual users).

Certificate request

A company requests for a digital certificate.

The CA would require some information back from this company. Usually some proof they
are who they claim to be, and require their registration information.

After the CA is happy with the company’s request, it would generate a public key for the
company with the identity information attached to the certificate. This public key along with
its related private key can be generated by the CA or by the system the company will be
installing this certificate on. If it is produced by the company then on the device a public
and private key pair would be generated and sent to the CA.

The CA will sign and issue the company with a digital certificate, and this will be their
identification proving they are who they claim to be.

The company can now use this information to participate in the PKI system.

How two companies or two users would communicate a secure channel

between each other via public key.

Joe wants to communicate with Carl and so sends his certificate to Carl. Carl checks out this
certificate's CA signature with his CA, Verisign for example. He will look at the CA public key
with Verisign to ensure the CA signature is on the certificate. If the certificate is valid then
Carl can assume Joe is who he says he is, and the connection would be accepted. Then Joe
checks Carl’s certificate, and if the certificate is fine and valid, the VPN process can be
progressed.

How a secure key is agreed upon by two peers

The process works by two peers exchanging their public keys. Joe would send his public key
to Carl and Carl would send his public key to Joe. Joe would then use the public key sent
from Carl and its own private key to generate a symmetric key using the Diffie-Hellman
algorithm. Carl would also take the same process as Joe and in turn produce the exact same
symmetric key as Joe, though enabling them to communicate securely over the in-secure
internet. Both peers can now encrypt, transmit and decrypt data using their symmetric
keys.

Route based vs Policy based VPNS

Most firewalls support both policy based and route based VPN’s. Which one we are supposed
to use in most cases doesn't really matter, but there are a couple of things to consider.

Route based VPN is more flexible, more powerful and recommended over policy based.
However a policy based VPN is usually simpler to create.

A route based VPN creates a virtual IPSec interface, and whatever traffic hits that interface
is encrypted and decrypted according to the phase 1 and phase 2 IPSec settings.

In policy based VPN the tunnel is specified within the policy itself with an action of "IPSec".
Also for policy based VPN only one policy is required. A route based VPN is created with two
policies, one for inbound and another for outbound with a normal "Accept" action.

A static route is also required for a route based VPN, so anything destined to the remote
network must go through the virtual IPSec interface which was created when specifying this
within the Phase 1 settings.

A route based VPN is also required when using redundant VPN connection. A route based
VPN only works in route mode, where policy based VPN works in both route and transparent
mode.

Conclusion
If your requirement is to create redundant VPN connections and your firewall is in route\NAT
mode (99% of the time it is) then use a route based VPN. If you don’t require redundant
VPN connections then you can use a policy based VPN. There are other reasons to use one
or the other as well but they are rarely required.

PPP and PPTP guide - Point to

Point tunneling Protocol

PPTP (Point to Point tunneling protocol)

PPTP is a protocol or technology that supports the use of VPN’s. Using PPTP, remote users
can access their corporate networks securely, using the Microsoft Windows Platforms and
other PPP (Point to Point tunneling Protocols) enabled systems. This is achieved with remote
users dialing into their local internet security providers, to connect securely to their
networks via the internet. PPP (Point to point protocol) is used by PPTP to provide the
encryption and authentication on data packets. The main use of PPTP is to provide a tunnel
for PPP, as PPP is none routable over the internet.
PPTP is a tunneling protocol that was developed by various vendor companies including
Microsoft and AS Robotics. PPTP has its issues and is considered as a weak security protocol
according to many experts, although Microsoft continues to improve the use of PPTP, and
claims issues within PPTP have now been corrected. PPTP is not as secure as IPSec and
cannot secure two networks. PPTP can only secure one IP address with one other IP address
or with a network. PPTP is now often replaced by L2TP which provides security using IPSec,
and PPTP has also been made obsolete by L2TP and IPSec. Lastly another limitation PPTP
has compared to L2TP is that it can not route over other networks other than IP.

Although PPTP is easier to use and configure than IPSec, IPSec outweighs PPTP in other
areas such as being more secure and a robust protocol.

Also see IPsec

Digital Certificates and PSK - Pre-

shared Key guide

PSK or Pre-shared Key

PSK is a key both peers use to identify themselves to each other. If one pre-shared key is
different from the other, then the authentication will not be successful. In a real world
scenario you would specify this on a VPN Gateway at one site, such as a firewall with VPN
capabilities and then specify the exact same key on the other site’s VPN Firewall. So it is a
way for a device to prove it is authorised by providing a pre-shared key identical to the
opposite peer in negotiation.

Pre shared keys are easier to configure than digital certificates, and are typically used for
small to medium sized businesses that require a VPN connection. You would usually
communicate a pre-shared key via the phone or in person so that it is not captured by
anyone such as a hacker sniffing the network.

You would then specify your pre-shared key within your VPN configurations, and do the
same at the peer end. A VPN gateway should use long Pre-shared keys to eliminate chances
of being hacked, 10 plus characters is recommended. For large networks though, digital
certificates should be implemented over pre-shared keys as digital certificates are scalable.

Also see PKI

Remote Access Users - Mobile VPN

Remote access users or Mobile users
Remote access users are end users and employees who access their corporate network
remotely. This would be via a VPN client. On the remote user's laptop VPN client software
would be installed, which a remote user would use to connect to their VPN gateway at the
corporate site over the internet. Initially when the client software is installed on a laptop, it
would require setting up, so that it knows how to reach the corporate VPN gateway and how
to encrypt and authenticate to it as well as other parameters.

Usually the VPN client software also consists of a firewall protecting them as well as the
corporate network from outside threats. After all a remote user with a laptop can be a
threat to the corporate network. The laptop may contain viruses and trojans. So for this
reason a firewall is required mainly to protect the corporate network, as well as the remote
user's laptop.

Also many VPN servers now come with the ability to control their end user's via network
access control. For example if the laptop is not on the latest windows patch, is not up to
date with the newest anti virus dat files, has not got a certain application running, then the
laptop is not allowed access to the corporate network.

Using RSA public key exchange -

How it works
RSA
RSA public key exchange is an asymmetric encryption algorithm. RSA can be used with
digital signatures, key exchanges and for encryption. The RSA algorithm addresses the issue
which the Diffie-Hellman algorithm is known for, by providing authentication as well as
encryption. Providing RSA is used with a long key, it has proven to be a very secure
algorithm.

Like Diffie-Hellman, using RSA requires a public key and private key for encrypting and
decrypting data over the internet. The main purpose to use such an algorithm is because we
need a scalable and secure solution for secure key exchange over the internet. VPN
gateway's as well as other aspects such as secure websites communicating keys across the
internet to be used for encrypting and decrypting data could easily be sniffed and stolen by
a hacker. For this reason, it is why the public and private key (Asymmetric) mechanism was
put into place. So entities could securely agree on a symmetric key over the internet
without anyone else being able to capture the secret key.

The RSA algorithm is based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers into two prime
factors. It is based on a one way hash function, where it is easy to multiply two numbers to
get the output or value, however using this output or value to working out the original two
prime numbers is very difficult. So in a one way hash analogy, its easy to go one way from
a point or value, but very difficult reversing or going backwards to getting back to the
original point or value.

RSA has been implemented in hardware and software. RSA is built into software such as
Microsoft products, Apple and Novell. RSA has been implemented into hardware such as
network interface cards and smart cards as well.
 As well as RSA, some other asymmetric encryption algorithms are Diffie-Hellman, ECC, El
Gamal, DSA, LUC and Knapsac

Security Association - VPN

Tutorial

SA (Security Association)

SA is an agreement or a contract between two IPSec peers or endpoints. The SA contains all
the information required for the two peers to exchange data securely. In particular IKE SA’s
are used to specify the type of authentication and which Diffie-Hellman group to use. So
SA's contain the parameters for peer VPN gateways will use to encrypt and authenticate
data.

SA (security association) is a one way logical connection so we need two SA’s, one for
inbound traffic and one for outbound traffic on each gateway.

MD5 and Sha 1 algorithm - VPN

Tutorial

Sha-1 (Secure hash algorithm)

Message integrity algorithms ensure data has not been changed in transit. They use one
way hash functions to detect if data has been changed.

Sha-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm), also known as HMAC-Sha-1 is a strong cryptographic

hashing algorithm, stronger than MD5. Sha-1 is used to provide data integrity (it is a
guarantee data has not been altered in transit) and authentication (to guarantee data came
from the source it was suppose to come from). Sha was produced to be used with the digital
signature standard.

Sha-1 uses a 160-bit encryption key. It is cryptographically stronger and recommended

when security needs are higher.

Cryptology specialists did announce a possible small mathematical weakness in Sha-1 and
as a result Sha-2 was made available. Sha-2 is actually a group of algorithms, which consist
of Sha-256, Sha-384 and Sha-512. However Sha-1 has proven to be a strong hashing
algorithm and no records of it being hacked so far.
Other integrity algorithms include MD2, MD5, MD6, Haval and Tiger.

Ipsec Site to Site VPN Guide

Site to Site VPN

Site to site VPN is a VPN tunnel between two or more sites. This would allow offices to share
files and other resources. A VPN tunnel would be created using VPN gateways on each site
usually using IPSec to secure the VPN connection over the internet.

When a tunnel has been created between sites, users are able to access and share files and
resources easily. However this would all rely on an internet connection and relying that both
sites ISP's are up. Some site to site VPN's are configured using multi-wan setup which
would provide them with some redundancy if an ISP went down. So on their VPN they would
have two ISP's connected. The primary ISP would usually be the faster internet connection,
and they would have a slower link connected as a back-up link. This backup link would come
into affect if the primary ISP goes down.

VPN's can also be setup in a site to multi site configuration. So you would have all branch
offices connected to the head office VPN. The branch offices can connect to each other via
the head office. This is usually referred to as a hub and spoke deployment. The head office
is the hub, and the branch offices are the spokes connecting to the hub. The head office
VPN appliance would need to be powerful and scalable to provide connectivity to all branch
offices.

SSL - VPN Tutorial

SSL VPN (Secure Socket Layer VPN)

Now vendors have started making use of the SSL application layer protocol in conjunction
with VPN’s. SSL provides excellent security for remote access users as well as ease of use.
SSL is already heavily used such as when you shop online, accessing your bank account
online, you will notice an SSL protected page when you see the “https” in your browser URL
bar as opposed to “http”. The difference in using SSL VPN is, with IPSec a remote user
would require client software and would need to configure this. However with SSL VPN you
do not need any client software as you log into a portal. You just need the URL address and
use a web browser to access the portal.The portal is a GUI interface that is accessed via a
web browser and contains tools and utilities in order to access applications on the network
such as RDP and Outlook. SSL VPN can also imitate the way IPSec works via a lightweight
software client that can be configured and installed without much effort, which simplifies the
process in securely accessing the corporate network.

For a first time VPN user using SSL they would access the VPN gateway via their web
browser either using an IP address or a domain name. This would take them to a GUI
asking them to log in. To imitate that of the way IPSec works (giving full access to the
network from a client) client software can be installed via ActiveX or Java. When client
software has been installed, remote user would be able to login which will create a VPN
tunnel from remote user to VPN gateway. Now the end user will have access to their
network resources.

The client software installed through a web browser is a breeze and in fact you would not
notice much at all. All the settings are configured for you, and it is as simple as clicking a
button when installing client software for SSL VPN.

So looking at it from an administrator point of view, VPN SSL is all done via a web browser,
and is extremely simple to use. With IPSec, the VPN client would have to be downloaded,
installed and configured. This would take end user’s more effort and skill than going via the
VPN SSL route via a web browser. SSL VPN would mean thousands of end user’s would be
able to manage accessing the corporate network without support of an administrator and
possible hours of trouble shooting.

SSL VPN software also comes with a feature called host checking or Network Access Control.
This means the software will only allow users if their computer systems are compliant and
up to date. For example you can configure the SSL VPN to only allow users to be able to
access the network if their system's anti-virus software and firewall is up to date, their
operating system is on the latest patch and they are running a certain application that the
company requires.

Key points between IPSec and SSL VPN's

SSL VPN is accessed via a web portal front end after a secure https connection has been
established between the client and server. From here a user can access the configured
enterprise applications. IPSec VPN connectivity happens via the configured client software,
and when connected can use resources available on the network.

SSL is very easy and simple to install and use as compared to IPSec. The IPSec protocol is
sometimes blocked in public places such as hotels and cafe's where SSL is usually always
open.

IPSec software has to be installed and configured on all client machines before being able to
remotely connect. With SSL, the remote user only requires a web browser and the
possibility to be able to download and install Java or ActiveX.

IPSec provides security to network access only, where SSL VPN's provides secure access to
certain applications. IPSec is suitable for LAN to LAN or gateway to gateway connectivity
where SSL VPN is suitable for remote client access only.

IPSec is an all or nothing scenario. This means you are either connected to the network or
you are not. SSL VPN has much tighter control and can be setup so that for certain users
they get access to certain applications only and can only access the network if their system
is compliant.

Proposals or Transform Sets -

Setup IPSec tunnel VPN Guide
Proposals / Transform Sets
VPN Proposals or Transform sets is a set of protocols and algorithms specified on a gateway
to secure data. The three factors that make up a proposal or transform set are data
encryption, data authentication and the encapsulation mode. A proposal/transform set is
like a profile with a specific combination of protocols and algorithms that an end user may
choose to use for their VPN\IPSec security parameters.

For example a VPN gateway at a bank with highly confidential data I may want to use;

AES 256 bit for encryption,

Sha-1 for Authentication

Diffie-Hellman key group 5 - For public key cryptography.

The above would be my proposal or transform set for a bank. I may name
this proposal "High-Security" for my own reference. However the peer device
connecting to my bank must also use the exact same settings as above to
successfully create a VPN tunnel. Although if a remote peer does not use the
same settings you can configure other proposals with alternative settings to
fall back on. So you may specify your ideal protocol and algorithms to use in
your first proposal and then below this a fallback proposal which could be
used if a remote peer has a different combination of protocols and
algorithms specified as it’s proposal.

Another way to describe proposals or transform sets are to describe them to

mobile phone profiles. Usually your outdoor profile would be on the highest
volume, constant ringing, keypad tone will be enabled and so on. To select
from silent to loud you would just select the profile named "Outdoor", and all
the settings within this profile would be enabled. Well this would be the
same for my VPN profile "High-Security" mentioned above. I may use "High-
Security for a specific VPN connection and whatever settings it holds in it's
proposal would be enabled for that VPN connection.

Tunnel Mode and Transport mode

- IPSec through Firewall VPN
Tutorial

Tunnel mode and Transport mode

When using ESP you can specify one of two modes, in which ESP operates in. Tunnel mode
encrypts the whole packet. Tunnel mode is used for site to site VPN, when securing
communication between security gateways, concentrators, firewalls, etc. Tunnel mode
provides security for the entire original IP packet, that is the headers and the payload.

The other mode ESP can operate in is Transport mode, which is not as secure as it only
encrypts the data portion and not the whole packet unlike tunel tunnel mode.

Transport mode encrypts the data portion of the packet. It works between two different
workstations running some kind of VPN software. Transport mode protects payload of
packet and the high layer protocols. Transport mode leaves the original IP addresses in
open clear text. Using transport mode the final destination is not a gateway or router,
generally the host itself. Transport mode provides security to the higher layer protocols
only.

Client VPN Tunelling - VPN

Tutorial

Tunneling
You will tend to have 3 tunneling options when using an IPSec VPN client;

Tunnel everything –

Means all traffic at a client will be encrypted and sent through the IPSec tunnel.

Tunnel everything apart from local LAN –

Everything will be encrypted and sent through the tunnel unless it is traffic for your local
LAN such as a network printer, a file server somewhere on the LAN, etc.

Split tunneling –

In this setup when you surf the web, it is a direct connection to the internet without it being
encrypted and traveling via the VPN concentrator or VPN server. However you can still
access the corporate LAN through the IPSec tunnel, hence the name split tunneling. So you
have two tunnels, one is encrypted when your browsing the internet and the other is
encrypted when accessing your corporate LAN.

Split tunneling means you will be able to browse the web and the browsing will not be
affected through the VPN encrypted tunnel. However this does provide a security concern.
As you now have a tunnel to your corporate LAN and you can freely browse the web. You
have opened a pathway from the internet to your corporate LAN via your laptop. This means
if your laptop has been infected, a criminal can easily access your corporate LAN via your
compromised laptop.
Usually the default setting and most secure option is to tunnel everything. Of course you
may experience slower browsing as all traffic will be traveling through the IPSec tunnel to
you corporate gateway, and having all these security headers added to it, as well as secure
filtering via your firewall web filter, anti-virus and other UTM features.

All major IPSec clients such as Fortigate VPN client, Cisco VPN client, Sonicwall, Juniper,
Mcafee, Checkpoint supports the use of split tunneling.

VPN Topologies Guide

VPN topology overview
VPN has become a very important factor for businesses. Especially as a company grows,
more remote sites are requiring remote connectivity as well as mobile connectivity for
remote users.

So it is important to have a firewall or VPN device that can support such growth. The
firewall must also be able to support flexible VPN topology deployments. We will talk about
the three most common VPN topologies

Site to Site

At a minimum a firewall should be able to support site to site VPN. This is just two VPN sites
connected directly to each other. So as for the VPN IPSec config it is just a matter of
configuring the phase1, phase2 settings, creating firewall policies inbound and outbound,
and ensuring the same is done at the other site.

Hub and Spoke

In this topology all remote sites connect to the head office site. Remote sites are like all the
spokes on a bicycle wheel which connect to the hub of the wheel (head office). For a multi
site VPN scenario a hub and spoke topology is the most common implementation. A central
hub will enable not only connectivity from remote site to the hub and the hub to the remote
sites, but acts as a gateway for remote sites to communicate with each other via the hub.

Going off the scope a little I'll give an example below how this would be configured on a
Fortinet firewall.

On a Fortinet Fortigate firewall acting as the hub you would do this by creating a phase 1
IPSec policy with an accept any peer (remote sites), and a phase 2 IPSec policy associated
with the phase 1. You will have then created an IPSec virtual interface. You can now create
two firewall policies, one from the internal interface to the virtual IPSec interface and the
other way around. You will also specify the addresses behind both the hub and spoke
networks. The addresses behind the spoke networks can be grouped together using address
groups, so you can use this one address group in both inbound and outbound firewall
policies to specify all remote subnet address of you spokes (remote site).

The firewall policies will look like the below;

Firewall policy one

Source interface - Internal Hub interface

Source address - Internal hub subnet address ->

Destination interface - virtual IPSec interface

Destination address - remote address group (this will be subnet addresses for the internal
networks behind the spokes)

Firewall policy two

Source interface - Remote address group (this will be subnet addresses for the internal
networks behind the spokes)

Source address - Virtual IPSec interface ->

Destination interface - Internal hub subnet address

Destination address - Internal Hub interface

Now you have a spoke to hub and hub to spoke VPN configuration on the hub side. From
the spoke end you just need to configure a VPN as you would configure a standard site to
site config to the hub.

However more work needs to be done if you require all spokes to communicate with each
other via the hub as well. For spoke to spoke communication, on the hub you would
configure a zone with the virtual IPSec interface specified. Then you create a firewall policy
and where you specify an interface, you would specify the zone just created for both source
and destination. You can also apply any other services such as UTM in the firewall policy.

On the spoke side some further alteration is required as well. All As well as the Hub address
all other spoke addresses have to be specified in both firewall policies, again you can group
these together via an address group. You have now a VPN config where all remote sites can
communicate via the hub.

Meshed VPN Topology

This topology requires the most work. However it also provides the most reliability. Here all
sites are connected to each other. There is no hub. In the previous Hub and spoke topology,
if the hub dies or there is a connection problem to the hub, all sites will have no
connectivity. However in this case there is no hub, so if a site has a hardware failure, only
that site will be down, all other sites can still communicate with each other.

So here in each site’s VPN device you have to specify all other sites, and create the required
phase 1 and phase 2 settings and firewall policies for the number of sites. Every site will be
connected to every other site. However the more sites there are the more connections and
this can multiply very quickly, making it unmanageable.
 A VPN Tunnel Guide

VPN Tunnel

A tunnel is a virtual path or route between two end points through the internet. When
you’re making a site to site or site to mobile VPN connection, then this is where you are
creating a tunnel or a secure tunnel from one gateway to another. So data packets travel
securely through a tunnel connection through the internet encapsulated inside ESP headers
and trailers and inside a new IP header which travels securely over the internet.

However do not take the word "tunnel" literally, it is just a metaphor. What actually
happens between two gateway endpoints is all traffic is encapsulated with security
algorithm, and when travelling through the internet cloud they would be secure. The
indivudal packets have been manipulated with encryption and intergrity algortihms, to
provide a level of security when travelling across an in-secure network.

Also take a look at my VPN tutorial guide which explains the ins and outs of VPN's and VPN
implementation.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Download

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) extends a private network across a public network, such as the
Internet.

A VPN is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to
provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network. A
VPN ensures privacy through security procedures and tunneling protocols such as the Layer
Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP). Data is encrypted at the sending end and decrypted at the
receiving end.
 what is VPN?

A VPN connection across the Internet is similar to a wide area network (WAN) link between
websites. From a user perspective, the extended network resources are accessed in the same
way as resources available within the private network. One major limitation of traditional VPNs
is that they are point-to-point, and do not tend to support or connect broadcast domains.
Therefore communication, software, and networking, which are based on layer 2 and broadcast
packets, such as NetBIOS used in Windows networking, may not be fully supported or work
exactly as they would on a real LAN. Variants on VPN, such as Virtual Private LAN Service
(VPLS), and layer 2 tunneling protocols, are designed to overcome this limitation.

VPNs allow employees to securely access their company's intranet while traveling outside the
office. Similarly, VPNs securely connect geographically separated offices of an organization,
creating one cohesive network. VPN technology is also used by individual Internet users to
secure their wireless transactions, to circumvent geo restrictions and censorship, and to connect
to proxy servers for the purpose of protecting personal identity and location.

A well-designed VPN can greatly benefit a company. For example, it can:

 1. Extend geographic connectivity
2. Reduce operational costs versus traditional WANs
3. Reduce transit times and traveling costs for remote users
4. Improve productivity
5. Simplify network topology
6. Provide global networking opportunities
7. Provide telecommuter support
8. Provide faster Return On Investment (ROI) than traditional WAN
What features are needed in a well-designed VPN? It should incorporate these items:

1. Security
2. Reliability
3. Scalability
4. Network Management
5. Policy Management
6. Security mechanisms
To prevent disclosure of private information, VPNs typically allow only authenticated remote
access and make use of encryption techniques.

VPNs provide security by the use of tunneling protocols and through security procedures such
as encryption.

The VPN security model provides:

1. Confidentiality such that even if the network traffic is sniffed at the packet level
(see network sniffer and Deep packet inspection), an attacker would only see encrypted
data.
2. Sender authentication to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the VPN.
3. Message integrity to detect any instances of tampering with transmitted
messages.
Secure VPN protocols include the following:

1. Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) as initially developed by the Internet

Engineering Task Force (IETF) for IPv6, which was required in all standards-compliant
implementations of IPv6 before RFC 6434 made it only a recommendation. This
standards-based security protocol is also widely used with IPv4 and the Layer 2
Tunneling Protocol. Its design meets most security goals: authentication, integrity, and
confidentiality. IPsec uses encryption, encapsulating an IP packet inside an IPsec
packet. De-encapsulation happens at the end of the tunnel, where the original IP packet
is decrypted and forwarded to its intended destination.
2. Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) can tunnel an entire network's traffic (as it
does in the OpenVPN project and SoftEther VPN project) or secure an individual
connection. A number of vendors provide remote-access VPN capabilities through SSL.
An SSL VPN can connect from locations where IPsec runs into trouble with Network
Address Translation and firewall rules.
3. Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS)- Used in Cisco AnyConnect VPN
and in OpenConnect VPN to solve the issues SSL/TLS has with tunneling over UDP.
 4. Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) works with the Point-to-Point
Tunneling Protocol and in several compatible implementations on other platforms.
5. Microsoft Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) tunnels Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol traffic through an SSL 3.0 channel. (SSTP
was introduced in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista Service Pack 1
6. Multi Path Virtual Private Network (MPVPN). Ragula Systems Development
Company owns the registered trademark "MPVPN".
7. Secure Shell (SSH) VPN- OpenSSH offers VPN tunneling (distinct from port
forwarding) to secure remote connections to a network or to inter-network links.
OpenSSH server provides a limited number of concurrent tunnels. The VPN feature itself
does not support personal authentication.

Authentication
Tunnel endpoints must be authenticated before secure VPN tunnels can be established. User-
created remote-access VPNs may use passwords, biometrics, two-factor authentication or other
cryptographic methods. Network-to-network tunnels often use passwords or digital certificates.
They permanently store the key to allow the tunnel to establish automatically, without
intervention from the user.

Types of VPN
 Site-to-site VPN

Site to Site VPN

Often abbreviated to S2SVPN. It’s a connection between two sites and encrypts all traffic
between two (or multiple) subnets. There are two types of S2SVPN:

1. Policy-based: Interesting traffic triggers an ACL and is encrypted and sent to the
remote VPN peer.
2. Routed: Traffic is routed into an encrypted tunnel to the remote VPN peer.

 DMVPN
 MNVPN

A DMVPN (Dynamic Multipoint VPN) is not a protocol but more a technique using different
protocols. One or more central hub routers are required, but the remote (spoke) routers can
have dynamic IPs and more can be added without having to modify the configuration on the hub
router(s), or any other spoke routers. The routers use a next-hop resolution protocol, combined
with a dynamic routing protocol to discover remote peers and subnets. The VPN itself is a
mGRE tunnel (GRE with multiple endpoints) which is encrypted. This way, traffic between spoke
routers does not have to go through the hub router but can be sent directly from spoke to spoke.

 Client VPN

Client VPN

A Client VPN is an encrypted connection from one device towards a VPN router. It makes that
one remote device appear as a member of a local subnet behind the VPN router. Traffic is
tunneled from the device (usually a computer or laptop of a teleworker) towards the VPN router
so that user has access to resources inside the company. It requires client software that needs
to be installed and configured.

 SSLVPN
 SSLVPN

This type of VPN works like a client VPN. The difference is that the remote client does not need
preconfigured software, but instead the browser acts as VPN software. The browser needs to
support active content, which every modern browser supports, either directly or through a plug-
in. Traffic is tunneled over SSL (or TLS) to the SSLVPN router. From a networking perspective,
traffic is tunneled over layer 4 instead of layer 3. The benefit is that the remote user does not
need to configure anything and can simply log in to a web page to start the tunnel. The
drawback that you’ll likely need a dedicated device as SSLVPN endpoint because this is not a
standard feature.

Protocols?
For secure VPNs:

1. General IPsec
2. ESP and AH (encryption and authentication headers)
3. Key exchange (ISAKMP, IKE, and others)
4. Cryptographic algorithms
5. IPsec policy handling
6. Remote access
7. SSL and TLS
For trusted VPNs:

1. General MPLS
2. MPLS constrained by BGP routing
3. Transport of layer 2 frames over MPLS

How VPNs Work?

When planning or extending a VPN, though, you should consider the following equipment:

1. Network Access Server- As previously described, a NAS is responsible for

setting up and maintaining each tunnel in a remote-access VPN.
2. Firewall- A firewall provides a strong barrier between your private network and
the Internet. IT staff can set firewalls to restrict what type of traffic can pass through from
 the Internet onto a LAN, and on what TCP and UDP ports. Even without a VPN, a LAN
should include a firewall to help protect against malicious Internet traffic.
3. AAA Server- The acronym stands for the server's three responsibilities:
authentication, authorization and accounting. For each VPN connection, the AAA server
confirms who you are (authentication), identifies what you're allowed to access over the
connection (authorization) and tracks what you do while you're logged in (accounting).
One widely used standard for AAA servers is Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service
(RADIUS). Despite its name, RADIUS isn't just for dial-up users. When a RADIUS server is part
of a VPN, it handles authentication for all connections coming through through the VPN's NAS.

VPN components can run alongside other software on a shared server, but this is not typical,
and it could put the security and reliability of the VPN at risk. A small business that isn't
outsourcing its VPN services might deploy firewall and RADIUS software on generic servers.
However, as a business's VPN needs increase, so does its need for equipment that's optimized
for the VPN. The following are dedicated VPN devices a business can add to its network. You
can purchase these devices from companies that produce network equipment, such as Cisco:

1. VPN Concentrator- This device replaces an AAA server installed on a generic

server. The hardware and software work together to establish VPN tunnels and handle
large numbers of simultaneous connections.
2. VPN-enabled/VPN-optimized Router- This is a typical router that delegates
traffic on a network, but with the added feature of routing traffic using protocols specific
to VPNs.
3. VPN-enabled Firewall- This is a conventional firewall protecting traffic between
networks, but with the added feature of managing traffic using protocols specific to
VPNs.
4. VPN Client- This is software running on a dedicated device that acts as the
tunnel interface for multiple connections. This setup spares each computer from having
to run its own VPN client software.

VPN Technologies
A well-designed VPN uses several methods in order to keep your connection and data secure.

 Data Confidentiality- This is perhaps the most important service provided by any VPN
implementation. Since your private data travels over a public network, data confidentiality is vital
and can be attained by encrypting the data. This is the process of taking all the data that one
computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be
able to decode.
Most VPNs use one of these protocols to provide encryption.

 IPsec- Internet Protocol Security Protocol (IPsec) provides enhanced security features
such as stronger encryption algorithms and more comprehensive authentication. IPsec has two
encryption modes: tunnel and transport. Tunnel mode encrypts the header and the payload of
each packet while transport mode only encrypts the payload. Only systems that are IPsec-
compliant can take advantage of this protocol. Also, all devices must use a common key or
certificate and must have very similar security policies set up.
For remote-access VPN users, some form of third-party software package provides the
connection and encryption on the users PC. IPsec supports either 56-bit (single DES) or 168-bit
(triple-DES) encryption.

 PPTP/MPPE- PPTP was created by the PPTP Forum, a consortium which includes US
Robotics, Microsoft, 3COM, Ascend, and ECI Telematics. PPTP supports multi-protocol VPNs,
with 40-bit and 128-bit encryption using a protocol called Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption
(MPPE). It is important to note that PPTP by itself does not provide data encryption.
 L2TP/IPsec- Commonly called L2TP over IPsec, this provides the security of the IPsec
protocol over the tunneling of Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP). L2TP is the product of a
partnership between the members of the PPTP forum, Cisco, and the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF). Primarily used for remote-access VPNs with Windows 2000 operating systems,
since Windows 2000 provides a native IPsec and L2TP client. Internet Service Providers can
also provide L2TP connections for dial-in users, and then encrypt that traffic with IPsec between
their access-point and the remote office network server.
 Data Integrity- While it is important that your data is encrypted over a public network, it
is just as important to verify that it has not been changed while in transit. For example, IPsec
has a mechanism to ensure that the encrypted portion of the packet, or the entire header and
data portion of the packet, has not been tampered with. If tampering is detected, the packet is
dropped. Data integrity can also involve authenticating the remote peer.
 Data Origin Authentication- It is extremely important to verify the identity of the source
of the data that is sent. This is necessary to guard against a number of attacks that depend on
spoofing the identity of the sender.
 Anti-Replay- This is the ability to detect and reject replayed packets and helps prevent
spoofing.
 Data Tunneling/Traffic Flow Confidentiality- Tunneling is the process of
encapsulating an entire packet within another packet and sending it over a network. Data
tunneling is helpful in cases where it is desirable to hide the identity of the device originating the
traffic. For example, a single device that uses IPsec encapsulates traffic that belongs to a
number of hosts behind it and adds its own header on top of the existing packets. By encrypting
the original packet and header (and routing the packet based on the additional layer 3 header
added on top), the tunneling device effectively hides the actual source of the packet. Only the
trusted peer is able to determine the true source, after it strips away the additional header and
decrypts the original header. As noted in RFC 2401 leavingcisco.com, "...disclosure of the
external characteristics of communication also can be a concern in some circumstances. Traffic
flow confidentiality is the service that addresses this latter concern by concealing source and
destination addresses, message length, or frequency of communication. In the IPsec context,
using ESP in tunnel mode, especially at a security gateway, can provide some level of traffic
flow confidentiality."
All the encryption protocols listed here also use tunneling as a means to transfer the encrypted
data across the public network. It is important to realize that tunneling, by itself, does not
provide data security. The original packet is merely encapsulated inside another protocol and
might still be visible with a packet-capture device if not encrypted. It is mentioned here,
however, since it is an integral part of how VPNs function.

Tunneling requires three different protocols

1. Passenger Protocol- The original data (IPX, NetBeui, IP) that is carried.
2. Encapsulating Protocol- The protocol (GRE, IPsec, L2F, PPTP, L2TP) that is
wrapped around the original data.
 3. Carrier Protocol- The protocol used by the network over which the information is
traveling.
The original packet (Passenger protocol) is encapsulated inside the encapsulating protocol,
which is then put inside the carrier protocol's header (usually IP) for transmission over the public
network. Note that the encapsulating protocol also quite often carries out the encryption of the
data. Protocols such as IPX and NetBeui, which would normally not be transferred across the
Internet, can safely and securely be transmitted.

For site-to-site VPNs, the encapsulating protocol is usually IPsec or Generic Routing
Encapsulation (GRE). GRE includes information on what type of packet you are encapsulating
and information about the connection between the client and server.

For remote-access VPNs, tunneling normally takes place using Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP).
Part of the TCP/IP stack, PPP is the carrier for other IP protocols when communicating over the
network between the host computer and a remote system. PPP tunneling will use one of PPTP,
L2TP or Cisco's Layer 2 Forwarding (L2F).

 AAA- AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) is used for more secure
access in a remote-access VPN environment. Without user authentication, anyone who sits at a
laptop/PC with pre-configured VPN client software can establish a secure connection into the
remote network. With user authentication however, a valid username and password also has to
be entered before the connection is completed. Usernames and passwords can be stored on
the VPN termination device itself, or on an external AAA server, which can provide
authentication to numerous other databases such as Windows NT, Novell, LDAP, and so on.
When a request to establish a tunnel comes in from a dial-up client, the VPN device prompts for
a username and password. This can then be authenticated locally or sent to the external AAA
server, which checks:

 Who you are (Authentication)

 What you are allowed to do (Authorization)
 What you actually do (Accounting)
The Accounting information is especially useful for tracking client use for security auditing,
billing or reporting purposes.

 Nonrepudiation- In certain data transfers, especially those related to financial

transactions, nonrepudiation is a highly desirable feature. This is helpful in preventing situations
where one end denies having taken part in a transaction. Much like a bank requires your
signature before honoring your check, nonrepudiation works by attaching a digital signature to
the sent message, thus precluding the possibility of sender denying participation in the
transaction.
A number of protocols exist that can be used to build a VPN solution. All of these protocols
provide some subset of the services listed in this document. The choice of a protocol depends
on the desired set of services. For example, an organization might be comfortable with the data
being transferred in clear text but extremely concerned about maintaining its integrity, while
another organization might find maintaining data confidentiality absolutely essential. Their
choice of protocols might thus be different.
Site to Site or Lan to Lan VPN

Site to Site VPN

It provides secure IP communication over insecure network between two branches.

IPSec/VPN

1. IKE (Internet Key Exchange)

2. ESP (Encapsulating Security Pay Load)
3. AH (Authentication Header)

VPN Features
1. Confidentiality- Data will keep as a secret using encryption. DES, 3DES, AES.
2. Integrity- It means your data will not alter during transmission using Hash, Md-5,
SHA.
3. Data Origin Authentication- It means both devices will authenticate to each
other using pre-shared key, Certificate.
4. Anti-Replay- It means if your data will arrive late, it will consider as alter, and it
will drop. Time & Volume.

IKE- IKE provides a frame work to exchange the security parameters and policies between
two VPN peers.
IKE Modes IKE Phase
Main Mode Or Aggressive Phase 1

Quick Mode Phase 2 Phase 2

 Main Mode- In main mode 6 attributes are divided in to three steps

(Note: Proposal = security parameters and policies.)

1. They will exchange proposal

2. They will exchange key
3. They will authenticate to each other

 Aggressive Mode

1. Initiator will send own proposal and secret to responder

2. Responder will authenticate it. And responder will send won proposal and secret
to initiator.
3. Initiator will authenticate the session.

 Quick Mode– In quick mode they will re check their security parameters and policies.
Phase 1
In IKE Phase 1 they create single IKE bi directional tunnel

Phase 2

In IKE phase II they create multiple IP sec unidirectional tunnel.

VPN Features ESP AH
Confidentiality Yes No

Integrity Yes Yes

DOA Yes Yes

Anti Replay In protocol No 50 In protocol No 50

IP sec modes (Protect L4 and Upper Layer)

1. Transport Mode
2. Tunnel Mode (Protect L3 and Upper Layer) S to S, GET VPN

 ISAKMP– Internet Security Association Key Management Protocol.

IKE is a Management Protocol. It uses another Protocol for Key exchange. That is called
ISAKMP. It use UDP port no 500.

Example

Site to Site VPN Topology

PC1(config)#int fa0/0
PC1(config-if)#ip add 192.168.101.100 255.255.255.0

PC1(config-if)#no shut

PC1(config-if)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.101.1

PC2(config)#int fa0/0

PC2(config-if)#ip add 192.168.102.100 255.255.255.0

PC2(config-if)#no shut

PC2(config-if)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.102.1

R1(config)#int fa0/0

R1(config-if)#ip add 192.168.101.1 255.255.255.0

R1(config-if)#no shut

R1(config)#int s0/0

R1(config-if)#ip add 101.1.1.100 255.255.255.0

R1(config-if)#no shut

R1(config-if)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 101.1.1.1

R1#sh ip route static

ISP(config)#int s0/0

ISP(config-if)#ip add 101.1.1.1 255.255.255.0

ISP(config-if)#no shut

ISP(config)#int s0/1

ISP(config)#ip add 102.1.1.1 255.255.255.0

ISP(config-if)#no shut

R2(config)#int fa0/0

R2(config-if)#ip add 192.168.102.1 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#no shut

R2(config)#int s0/0

R2(config-if)#ip add 102.1.1.100 255.255.255.0

R2(config-if)#no shut

R2(config-if)#ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 102.1.1.1

R2#sh ip route static

R2#ping 101.1.1.100

Successful

R2#ping 192.168.102.100

Successful

R2#ping 102.1.1.100

Successful

R1#ping 192.168.101.100

Successful

PC1#ping 192.168.102.100

R1(config)#crypto isakmp policy 1

R1(config-isakmp)#authentication pre-share

R1(config-isakmp)#encryption ?

R1(config-isakmp)#encryption aes

R1(config-isakmp)#hash ?

R1(config-isakmp)#hash sha

R1(config-isakmp)#group ?

R1(config-isakmp)#group 5

R1(config-isakmp)#lifetime 1800

R1(config-isakmp)#exit

R1(config)#crypto isakmp key mani add 102.1.1.100

R1(config)# crypto ipsec transform-set t-set esp-aes esp-shahmac

R1(cfg-crypto-trans)#mode tunnel

R1(cfg-crypto-trans)#exit

R1(config)#crypto ipsec security-association lifetime seconds 1800

R1(config)#access-list 101 permit ip 192.168.101.0 0.0.0.255 192.168.102.0 0.0.0.255

R1(config)#crypto map test 10 ipsec-isakmp

R1(config-crypto-map)#set peer 102.1.1.100

R1(config-crypto-map)#set transform-set t-set

R1(config-crypto-map)#match address 101

R1(config-crypto-map)#int s0/0

R1(config-if)#crypto map test

R1#sh his

R2(config)#crypto isakmp policy 1

R2(config-isakmp)#authentication pre-share

R2(config-isakmp)#encryption aes

R2(config-isakmp)#hash sha

R2(config-isakmp)#group 5

R2(config-isakmp)#Lifetime 1800

R2(config-isakmp)#exit

R2(config)#crypto isakmp key mani add 101.1.1.100

R2(config)#crypto ipsec transform-set ttt esp-aes esp-sha-hmac

R2(config-crypto-trans)#mode tunnel 1

R2(config-crypto-trans)#exit

R2(config)#crypto ipsec security-association lifetime seconds 1800

R2(config)#access-list 102 permit ip 192.168.102.0 0.0.0.255 192.168.101.0 0.0.0.255

R2(config)#crypto map test 10 ipsec-isakmp

R2(config-crypto-map)#set peer 101.1.1.100

R2(config-crypto-map)#set transform-set ttt

R2(config-crypto-map)#match address 102

R2(config-crypto-map)#int s0/0

R2(config-if)#crypto map test

R2#sh his
PC1#ping 192.168.102.100 repeat 300

Successful

----
@NetwaxLab

Posted by Eincop at 8:20 AM

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