POIS chap.7

IDSs operate as network-based or host-based

2 Types of IDPS

Active vulnerability scanners Passive vulnerability scanners

2 types of Vulnerability Scanners are?

- Attackers can be diverted to targets they cannot damage - Administrators have time to decide how to respond to attacker - Attackers' actions can be easily and more extensively monitored, and records can be used to refine threat models and improve system protections - Honey pots may be effective at catching insiders who are snooping around a network

Advantages of Honeypots, Honeynets, and Padded Cell Systems

Centralized,Fully distributed,Partially distributed

An IDPS can be implemented via one of three basic control strategies

validation of prospective user's (supplicant's) identity

Authentication is

Based on the use of some measurable human characteristic or trait to authenticate the identity of a proposed systems user (a supplicant) Relies upon recognition Includes fingerprint comparison, palm print comparison, hand geometry, facial recognition using a photographic id card or digital camera, retinal print, iris pattern Characteristics considered truly unique: fingerprints, retina of the eye, iris of the eye

Biometric Access Control

False reject rate: the rejection of legitimate users False accept rate: the acceptance of unknown users Crossover error rate (CER): the point where false reject and false accept rates cross when graphed

Biometric technologies evaluated on three basic criteria:

the action of luring an individual into committing a crime to get a conviction Enticement is legal and ethical, entrapment is not

Define Entrapment:

when an attacker attempts to gain entry into or disrupt the normal operations of an information system, almost always with the intent to do harm

Define Intrusion

Pose more management issues Vulnerable both to direct attacks and attacks against host operating system Does not detect multi-host scanning, nor scanning of non-host network devices Susceptible to some denial-of-service attacks Can use large amounts of disk space Can inflict a performance overhead on its host systems

Disadvantages of HIDPSs

One tool (LaBrea) takes up unused IP address space to pretend to be a computer and allow attackers to complete a connection request, but then holds connection open

Give an example of Active Intrusion Prevention.

honey nets, padded cell

Honey pots are decoy systems; two variations are known as _____ _____ and _______ _____ systems

Divert attacker from accessing critical systems Collect information about attacker's activity Encourage attacker to stay on system long enough for administrators to document event and, perhaps, respond

Honeypots are designed to:

Log file monitor (LFM) similar to NIDPS Reviews log files generated by servers, network devices, and even other IDPSs for patterns and signatures Patterns that signify attack may be much easier to identify when entire network and its systems are viewed holistically Requires allocation of considerable resources since it will involve the collection, movement, storage, and analysis of large quantities of log data

How do Log file monitors work?

(stat IDPS) or behavior-based IDPS, sample network activity to compare to traffic that is known to be normal the IDPS will trigger an alert Requires much more overhead and processing capacity than signature-based May generate many false positives

How do Statistical anomaly-based IDPS's work?

detects an attack by using special implementation of TCP/IP stack: In process of protocol stack verification, NIDPSs look for invalid data packets In application protocol verification, higher-order protocols are examined for unexpected packet behavior or improper use

How does NIDPS signature matching work?

Examines traffic flow on a network in an attempt to recognize abnormal patterns Installed at specific place in the network where it can watch traffic going into and out of particular network segment

How does Network-based IDPS work:

When the IDS detects attackers, it seamlessly transfers them to a special simulated environment where they can cause no harm—the nature of this host environment is what gives approach to the name padded cell

How does Padded cell work?

It examines network traffic in order to identify problems related to the flow of traffic Types of events commonly detected include DoS attacks, scanning, worms, unexpected application services, policy violations.

How does a Network behavior analysis system work?

Monitors and analyzes wireless network traffic Issues associated with it include physical security, sensor range, access point and wireless switch locations, wired network connections, cost

How does a Wireless NIDPS work?

usually consists of honeypot or padded cell and alarm

How does a trap work?

Detecting a target computer's operating system (OS) is very valuable to an attacker There are many tools that use networking protocols to determine a remote computer's OS

How would an Operating System Detection Tool work

Site policy awareness Tuning True attack stimulus Confidence value Alarm filtering Alarm clustering and compaction Alert or alarm Evasion False attack stimulus False negative and false positive Noise Site policy

IDPS Capabilities

1- thresholds, 2- blacklists and whitelists, 3- alert settings, 4- code viewing and editing

IDPSs are evaluated using four dominant metrics

- Compensating for weak/missing security mechanisms in protection infrastructure - Instantaneously detecting, reporting, responding to attack when there is heavy network or processing load - Detecting new attacks or variants of existing attacks - Effectively responding to attacks by sophisticated attackers - Investigating attacks without human intervention - Resisting attacks intended to defeat or circumvent them - Compensating for problems with fidelity of data sources - Dealing effectively with switched networks

IDPSs cannot perform the following functions

- Monitoring and analysis of system events and user behaviors - Testing security states of system configurations - Baselining security state of system and tracking changes - Recognizing system event patterns matching known attacks - Recognizing activity patterns that vary from normal activity - Managing OS audit and logging mechanisms and data they generate - Alerting appropriate staff when attacks are detected - Measuring enforcement of security policies encoded in analysis engine - Providing default information security policies - Allowing non-security experts to perform important security monitoring functions

IDPSs perform the following functions well

Location 1: Behind each external firewall, in the network DMZ Location 2: Outside an external firewall Location 3: On major network backbones Location 4: On critical subnets

NIST recommends four locations for NIDPS sensors, name them.

Active response: collecting additional information about the intrusion, modifying the network environment, taking action against the intrusion Passive response: setting off alarms or notifications, collecting passive data through SNMP traps

Once IDPS detects an anomalous network situation what are the options?

Network tool that collects copies of packets from network and analyzes them Can provide network administrator with valuable information for diagnosing and resolving networking issues In the wrong hands, a sniffer can be used to eavesdrop on network traffic To use packet sniffer legally, administrator must be on network that organization owns, be under direct authorization of owners of network, and have knowledge and consent of the content creators

Packet Sniffers

pinpoint vulnerabilities in systems, holes in security components, and unsecured aspects of network

Scanning and analysis tools are used to:

NIST 800-94 states defines a SPA as a process of comparing predetermined profiles of definitions of benign activity for each protocol state against observed events to identify deviations Stores and uses relevant data detected in a session to identify intrusions involving multiple requests/responses; allows IDPS to better detect specialized, multisession attacks Drawbacks: analytical complexity; processing overhead; may fail to detect unless protocol violates fundamental behavior; may cause problems with protocol it's examining

Stateful protocol analysis IDPS

collection of honeypots connecting several honey pot systems on a subnet

What are Honeynets?

decoy systems designed to lure potential attackers away from critical systems and encourage attacks against the themselves

What are Honeypots?

Tools used by both attackers and defenders to identify computers active on a network and other useful information ,it can scan for specific types of computers, protocols, or resources, or their scans can be generic

What are Port Scanners?

Use combination of techniques to detect an intrusion and trace it back to its source

What are Trap and Trace Systems

- Good network design and placement of NIDPS can enable organization to use a few devices to monitor large network - NIDPSs are usually passive and can be deployed into existing networks with little disruption to normal network operations - NIDPSs not usually susceptible to direct attack and may not be detectable by attackers

What are the Advantages of NIDPSs?

- Can become overwhelmed by network volume and fail to recognize attacks - Require access to all traffic to be monitored - Cannot analyze encrypted packets - Cannot reliably ascertain if attack was successful or not - Some forms of attack are not easily discerned by NIDPSs, specifically those involving fragmented packets

What are the Disadvantages of NIDPSs?

Can detect local events on host systems and detect attacks that may elude a network-based IDPS Functions on host system, where encrypted traffic will have been decrypted and is available for processing Not affected by use of switched network protocols Can detect inconsistencies in how applications and systems programs were used by examining records stored in audit logs

What are the advantages of an HIDPS?

scan networks for highly detailed information; initiate traffic to determine holes

What do Active vulnerability scanners do?

listen in on network and determine vulnerable versions of both server and client software. Passive vulnerability scanners have ability to find client-side vulnerabilities typically not found in active scanners

What do Passive vulnerability scanners do?

Typically used to collect information that attacker would need to launch successful attack

What do Scanning and Analysis Tools do?

1- finalize restoration of operations to a normal state 2- Detect a violation of its configuration and activate alarm 3- Many IDSs enable administrators to configure systems to notify them directly of trouble via e-mail or pagers 4- Systems can also be configured to notify an external security service organization of a "break-in"

What does Intrusion correction do?

systematic survey of all of target organization's Internet addresses collected during the footprinting phase Fingerprinting reveals useful information about internal structure and operational nature of target system or network for anticipated attack

What is Fingerprinting

the organized research of Internet addresses owned or controlled by a target organization

What is Footprinting?

consists of procedures and systems created and operated to detect system intrusions

What is Intrusion detection?

consists of activities that seek to deter an intrusion from occurring

What is Intrusion prevention?

encompasses actions an organization undertakes when intrusion event is detected

What is Intrusion reaction?

Resides on a particular computer or server and monitors activity only on that system Benchmark and monitor the status of key system files and detect when intruder creates, modifies, or deletes files Most HIDPSs work on the principle of configuration or change management

What is a Host-based IDPS?

a honeypot that has been protected so it cannot be easily compromised such as with traditional IDPS's

What is a Padded cell?

Examine data traffic in search of patterns that match known signatures because many attacks have clear and distinct signatures

What is a Signature-based IDPS?

is series of steps or processes used by an attacker, in a logical sequence, to launch attack against a target system or network

What is an Attack protocol ?

detects violation of its configuration and activates alarm

What is an Intrusion detection system (IDPS)

all IDPS control functions are implemented and managed in a central location

What is the Centralized Control strategy

all control functions are applied at the physical location of each IDPS component

What is the Fully distributed Control strategy

Combines Centralized & Fully distributed control strategies.

What is the Partially distributed Control strategy

can usually be installed so that it can access information encrypted when traveling over network

What is the advantage of Host-Based over Network IDPS's

as new attack strategies are identified, the IDPS's database of signatures must be continually updated

What is the disadvantage of a Signature-based IDPS?

- Prevent problem behaviors by increasing the perceived risk of discovery and punishment - Detect attacks and other security violations - Detect and deal with preambles to attacks - Document existing threat to an organization - Act as quality control for security design and administration, especially of large and complex enterprises - Provide useful information about intrusions that take place

Why Use an IDPS?

Organization that spends its time securing wired network and leaves wireless networks to operate in any manner is opening itself up for security breach Security professional must assess risk of wireless networks A wireless security toolkit should include the ability to sniff wireless traffic, scan wireless hosts, and assess level of privacy or confidentiality afforded on the wireless network

Wireless Security Tools

the process of attracting attention to system by placing tantalizing bits of information in key locations Enticement is legal and ethical, entrapment is not

define Enticement:

- Legal implications of using such devices are not well defined - Honeypots and padded cells have not yet been shown to be generally useful security technologies - Expert attacker, once diverted into a decoy system, may become angry and launch a more hostile attack against an organization's systems - Administrators and security managers will need a high level of expertise to use these systems

disadvantages of Honeypots, Honeynets, and Padded Cell Systems