[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: How can I secure a Debian installation?



2014-01-31 Scott Ferguson <scott.ferguson.debian.user@gmail.com>:
On 31/01/14 15:29, Raffaele Morelli wrote:
>
>
>
> 2014-01-30 Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk <mailto:ad44@cityscape.co.uk>>:
>
>     On Thu 30 Jan 2014 at 18:53:11 +0100, Denis Witt wrote:
>
>     > On Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:42:34 +0000
>     > Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk <mailto:ad44@cityscape.co.uk>> wrote:
>     >
>     > > The AllowUsers directive is a legitimate way to restrict ssh
>     logins to
>     > > certain users. However, I do not see what (ssh keys + AllowUsers)
>     > > brings to the party that (password + AllowUsers) doesn't.
>     >
>     > A key (if kept secret) is even harder to "guess" than a
>     > password,
>
>     I'd like to see a complex, random, high-entropy 20 character password
>     which is guessable (or capable of being cracked) in a timeframe which
>     has some significance. I'll give you "even harder" but it is of no great
>     consequence if you consider the situation where an online subversion of
>     a user's account is being attempted and a good password is in place.
>
>
> I'd like to see someone who use such 20 character password for everyday
> tasks.

It's not only common (in some industry sectors 12 *random* characters
regularly changed and never repeated is mandated), it's good security.
Despite what some will advise entropy is the measure of exhaustion -
resulting from *brute* force attacks. 50% of the time a brute force will
only require half the entropy to succeed. Due to human bias (failure to
use random passwords and *password* *managers*) the majority of the time
passwords that exceed 8 characters will be composed solely of words, and
brute force difficulty != dictionary attack difficulty (see Niquist and
Shannon). A significant percentage of the time those word based
passwords will be a phrase... with even lower attack difficulty.

Agree but this is not my point in the thread.
It's bad habit to split a comment into little pieces losing the whole point.

I've suggested the use of private key authentication and AllowUsers directive in sshd.

Brian argued that a private key+allowusers does not improve security with respect to passwords+allowusers.

I use private key authentication with a 21 characters passphrase which is at minimum more secure than a 21 characters password and unless someone kidnaps and tortures me for the passphrase and stoles one of my boxes for the private key I wonder who can prove it is not.

C'mon, what's the matter with private key authentication and the OP request?

Reply to: