Secure Communications¶

ZeroTrustKerberosLink implements comprehensive security measures for all communications to protect sensitive data in transit, adhering to Zero Trust principles.

TLS Implementation¶

All communications in ZeroTrustKerberosLink are encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS) to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery.

TLS Configuration¶

security:
  tls:
    enabled: true
    min_version: "TLS1.2"
    preferred_ciphers:
      - "TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
      - "TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256"
      - "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256"
    cert_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/server.pem"
    key_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/server-key.pem"
    ca_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/ca.pem"
    verify_client: true

Certificate Management¶

ZeroTrustKerberosLink supports several approaches to certificate management:

Static Certificates: Pre-configured certificates and keys
Auto-renewal: Integration with certificate management services
Certificate Rotation: Automated certificate rotation without downtime
Certificate Pinning: Optional pinning for enhanced security

security:
  tls:
    cert_management:
      auto_renewal: true
      renewal_before_expiry: "720h"  # 30 days
      acme:
        enabled: true
        email: "admin@example.com"
        server: "https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory"

Secure Kerberos Communication¶

Kerberos communications are secured through:

Encryption Types: Support for strong encryption types (AES256-CTS-HMAC-SHA1-96)
Replay Prevention: Implementation of nonce and timestamp verification
Ticket Validation: Comprehensive validation of Kerberos tickets
Key Rotation: Support for key rotation schedules

kerberos:
  encryption_types:
    - "aes256-cts-hmac-sha1-96"
    - "aes128-cts-hmac-sha1-96"
  allow_weak_crypto: false
  ticket_lifetime: "10h"
  renew_lifetime: "7d"
  verify_keytab: true

Secure AWS Communication¶

AWS communications are secured through:

HTTPS Endpoints: All AWS API calls use HTTPS
Signature Version 4: AWS SigV4 signing process for all requests
Temporary Credentials: Short-lived credentials with automatic rotation
Regional Endpoints: Support for AWS regional endpoints to reduce latency

aws:
  use_regional_sts_endpoints: true
  signature_version: 4
  max_credential_duration: "1h"
  retry_with_backoff: true

API Communication Security¶

The ZeroTrustKerberosLink API implements several security measures:

HTTPS Only: Rejection of non-HTTPS connections
Mutual TLS: Optional client certificate authentication
API Keys: Token-based authentication for API access
Rate Limiting: Protection against abuse and DoS attacks

api:
  require_https: true
  mutual_tls:
    enabled: true
    client_ca_file: "/etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/client-ca.pem"
  rate_limiting:
    enabled: true
    requests_per_minute: 60

Security Considerations¶

When configuring secure communications, follow these best practices:

Use Strong TLS Configurations

Always use TLS 1.2 or higher with strong cipher suites. Disable outdated and insecure protocols and ciphers.

Implement Certificate Validation

Always validate certificates against trusted certificate authorities. Enable hostname verification to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.

Rotate Credentials Regularly

Implement automated credential rotation for all authentication mechanisms, including TLS certificates, Kerberos keys, and AWS credentials.

Monitor for Anomalies

Implement monitoring for communication anomalies, such as unexpected TLS handshake failures, certificate validation errors, or unusual traffic patterns.

Testing Secure Communications¶

ZeroTrustKerberosLink provides tools to test secure communications:

# Test TLS configuration
zerotrustkerberos security test-tls --endpoint https://localhost:8443

# Validate certificate chain
zerotrustkerberos security validate-cert --cert /etc/zerotrustkerberos/certs/server.pem

# Test Kerberos encryption
zerotrustkerberos security test-kerberos-crypto

# Verify AWS endpoint security
zerotrustkerberos security test-aws-endpoints

Troubleshooting¶

Common issues with secure communications include:

Issue	Possible Causes	Resolution
TLS handshake failure	Certificate expired, cipher mismatch	Renew certificate, update cipher configuration
Certificate validation error	Untrusted CA, hostname mismatch	Install CA certificate, correct hostname in certificate
Kerberos authentication failure	Clock skew, encryption type mismatch	Synchronize clocks, update encryption types
AWS API connection failure	Endpoint unavailable, credential issue	Check network connectivity, refresh credentials