Security Best Practices¶

This guide outlines best practices for securing your ZeroTrustKerberosLink deployment, focusing on implementation strategies that maximize security while maintaining functionality.

Zero Trust Security Model¶

ZeroTrustKerberosLink is built on Zero Trust principles, which means:

1. Never Trust, Always Verify: Every request is fully authenticated and authorized
2. Least Privilege Access: Users receive only the minimum necessary permissions
3. Assume Breach: Design as if attackers have already penetrated the network perimeter
4. Verify Explicitly: Make security decisions based on all available data points

Implementing Zero Trust with ZeroTrustKerberosLink¶

• Contextual Authentication: Use all available context for authentication decisions
• Continuous Verification: Re-verify identity and context throughout sessions
• Micro-Segmentation: Isolate ZeroTrustKerberosLink from other services
• End-to-End Encryption: Encrypt all data in transit

Deployment Security¶

Secure Installation¶

• Dedicated Environment: Deploy on dedicated servers or containers
• Minimal Base Image: Use minimal OS images to reduce attack surface
• Regular Updates: Keep the underlying OS and dependencies updated
• Secure Configuration: Start with secure defaults and customize as needed

# Example: Running in a dedicated container with minimal privileges
docker run --name zerotrustkerberos \
  --read-only \
  --cap-drop ALL \
  --security-opt no-new-privileges \
  -v /etc/zerotrustkerberos:/etc/zerotrustkerberos:ro \
  -p 8443:8443 \
  zerotrustkerberos/server:latest

Network Security¶

• Network Segmentation: Place ZeroTrustKerberosLink in a dedicated network segment
• Firewall Rules: Restrict inbound and outbound connections
• TLS Everywhere: Use TLS 1.3 for all communications
• Private Endpoints: Use AWS PrivateLink or VPC endpoints when possible

# Example: Firewall rules to restrict access
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8443 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT  # Allow internal network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8443 -j DROP  # Drop all other connections

Secure Configuration¶

• Configuration Hardening: Start with the secure configuration template
• Secret Management: Use a secret management solution for credentials
• Configuration Validation: Validate configuration before deployment
• Minimal Permissions: Run the service with minimal OS permissions

# Example: Secure configuration template
security:
  input_validation:
    enabled: true
    strict_mode: true
  headers:
    content_security_policy:
      enabled: true
    xss_protection:
      enabled: true
  rate_limiting:
    enabled: true
  tls:
    enabled: true
    min_version: "TLS1.3"

Authentication Security¶

Kerberos Security¶

• Secure Keytab Handling: Protect keytab files with proper permissions
• Regular Key Rotation: Rotate Kerberos keys regularly
• Strong Encryption Types: Use only strong encryption types (AES256)
• Principal Validation: Validate Kerberos principals against allowed lists

# Example: Secure keytab permissions
chmod 600 /etc/zerotrustkerberos/krb5.keytab
chown zerotrustkerberos:zerotrustkerberos /etc/zerotrustkerberos/krb5.keytab

Multi-Factor Authentication¶

• MFA Integration: Integrate with MFA solutions where possible
• Risk-Based Authentication: Require additional factors for high-risk actions
• Device Authentication: Include device identity in authentication decisions
• Context-Aware MFA: Adjust MFA requirements based on context

# Example: MFA configuration
authentication:
  mfa:
    enabled: true
    providers:
      - type: "totp"
        name: "Authenticator App"
      - type: "push"
        name: "Mobile Push Notification"
    risk_based:
      enabled: true
      high_risk_actions:
        - "role_assumption"
        - "configuration_change"

AWS Integration Security¶

IAM Best Practices¶

• Least Privilege Roles: Create AWS roles with minimal necessary permissions
• Short-Lived Credentials: Use short TTL for AWS credentials
• Conditional Role Assumption: Use IAM conditions to restrict role assumption
• Role Separation: Create separate roles for different functions

// Example: IAM role trust policy with conditions
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/ZeroTrustKerberosLinkRole"
      },
      "Action": "sts:AssumeRole",
      "Condition": {
        "StringEquals": {
          "aws:SourceIp": "10.0.0.0/8"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

AWS Security Controls¶

• VPC Endpoints: Use VPC endpoints for AWS service access
• Service Control Policies: Implement SCPs to enforce security guardrails
• CloudTrail Integration: Enable CloudTrail logging for all API calls
• AWS Config Rules: Use AWS Config to enforce compliance

Data Security¶

Data Protection¶

• Encryption at Rest: Encrypt all stored data
• Encryption in Transit: Use TLS for all communications
• Data Minimization: Collect and store only necessary data
• Secure Deletion: Implement secure data deletion practices

Secrets Management¶

• Dedicated Secret Store: Use AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or similar
• No Hardcoded Secrets: Never hardcode secrets in configuration or code
• Secret Rotation: Implement regular secret rotation
• Access Auditing: Audit all access to secrets

# Example: External secrets configuration
secrets:
  provider: "aws_secrets_manager"
  region: "us-west-2"
  secret_prefix: "zerotrustkerberos/"
  rotation:
    enabled: true
    interval_days: 30

Monitoring and Detection¶

Comprehensive Logging¶

• Detailed Audit Logs: Enable detailed audit logging
• Centralized Log Management: Send logs to a centralized system
• Log Protection: Ensure logs are tamper-proof
• Log Retention: Retain logs according to compliance requirements

# Example: Logging configuration
logging:
  level: "info"
  audit:
    enabled: true
    destination: "cloudwatch"
  sensitive_fields:
    redact: true
  retention_days: 90

Security Monitoring¶

• Real-time Alerting: Configure alerts for suspicious activities
• Anomaly Detection: Implement anomaly detection for authentication patterns
• Failed Authentication Monitoring: Alert on multiple failed authentication attempts
• Unusual Access Patterns: Monitor for unusual access patterns

Incident Response¶

• Response Plan: Develop an incident response plan
• Playbooks: Create playbooks for common security incidents
• Regular Drills: Conduct incident response drills
• Post-Incident Analysis: Perform thorough analysis after incidents

Compliance and Governance¶

Compliance Controls¶

• Regulatory Mapping: Map security controls to regulatory requirements
• Compliance Monitoring: Continuously monitor compliance status
• Evidence Collection: Automatically collect compliance evidence
• Regular Assessments: Conduct regular compliance assessments

Security Governance¶

• Security Policies: Develop and enforce security policies
• Regular Reviews: Conduct regular security reviews
• Change Management: Implement secure change management processes
• Security Training: Provide security training for administrators

Operational Security¶

Secure DevOps Practices¶

• Infrastructure as Code: Manage infrastructure using code
• Immutable Infrastructure: Use immutable infrastructure patterns
• Automated Testing: Implement automated security testing
• Secure CI/CD: Secure your CI/CD pipeline

# Example: GitHub Actions workflow for security testing
name: Security Tests

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  security_tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Set up environment
      run: docker-compose up -d
    - name: Run security tests
      run: zerotrustkerberos-cli security-test --all

Patch Management¶

• Regular Updates: Keep ZeroTrustKerberosLink updated
• Dependency Scanning: Regularly scan for vulnerable dependencies
• Automated Patching: Implement automated patching where possible
• Patch Testing: Test patches before deployment

Security Hardening Checklist¶

Use this checklist to ensure your ZeroTrustKerberosLink deployment follows security best practices:

Initial Deployment¶

• Deploy in a dedicated environment
• Configure TLS with strong ciphers
• Set up proper firewall rules
• Configure secure logging
• Implement secret management

Authentication Security¶

• Secure Kerberos keytab files
• Configure strong encryption types
• Implement principal validation
• Set up multi-factor authentication (if applicable)

AWS Integration¶

• Create least privilege IAM roles
• Configure short-lived credentials
• Set up conditional role assumption
• Enable CloudTrail logging

Security Features¶

• Enable input validation
• Configure security headers
• Set up rate limiting
• Secure Redis communication (if applicable)

Monitoring and Response¶

• Configure centralized logging
• Set up security alerting
• Create incident response playbooks
• Implement regular security testing

Security Feature Matrix¶

Related Documentation¶

• Input Validation
• Security Headers
• Secure Redis Communication
• Penetration Testing
• Security Testing Framework