Chapter 4
Key Distribution and User
Authentication
T. Reem Assiri
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Remote user authentication principles
• In most computer security contexts, user authentication is
the fundamental building block and the primary line of
defense
• User authentication is the basis for most types of access
control and for user accountability
• RFC 4949 (Internet Security Glossary) defines user
authentication as the process of verifying an identity
claimed by or for a system entity
• Identification step
• Presenting an identifier to the security system
• Verification step
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• Presenting or generating authentication information that
NIST Model for Electronic User
Authentication
• NIST SP 800-63-2 (Electronic Authentication Guideline,
August 2013 defines electronic user authentication as the
process of establishing confidence in user identities that
are presented electronically to an information system
• Systems can use the authenticated identity to determine if
the authenticated individual is authorized to perform
particular functions
• In many cases, the authentication and transaction or other
authorized function take place across an open network
such as the Internet
• Equally, authentication and subsequent authorization can
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take place locally, such as across a local area network
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Means of authentication
• There are four general means of authenticating a user’s
identity, which can be used alone or in combination
• Something the individual knows
• Examples include a password, a personal identification number
(PIN), or answers to a prearranged set of questions
• Something the individual possesses
• Examples include cryptographic keys, electronic keycards, smart
cards, and physical keys
• This type of authenticator is referred to as a token
• Something the individual is (static biometrics)
• Examples include recognition by fingerprint, retina, and face
• Something the individual does (dynamic biometrics)
• Examples include recognition by voice pattern, handwriting
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characteristics, and typing rhythm
Symmetric Key Distribution using
symmetric encryption
• For symmetric encryption to work, the two parties to an
exchange must share the same key, and that key must be
protected from access by others
• Frequent key changes are usually desirable to limit the
amount of data compromised if an attacker learns the key
• Key distribution technique
• The means of delivering a key to two parties that wish to
exchange data, without allowing others to see the key
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Key Distribution
• For two parties A and B, there are the following options:
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Kerberos
• Key distribution and user authentication service developed at
MIT
• Provides a centralized authentication server whose function is
to authenticate users to servers and servers to users
• Relies exclusively on symmetric encryption, making no use
of public-key encryption
Two versions are in use
•Version 4 implementations still exist, although this version is being phased out
•Version 5 corrects some of the security deficiencies of version 4 and has been issued as a proposed Internet Standard (RFC 4120)
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Kerberos version 4
• A basic third-party authentication scheme
• Authentication Server (AS)
• Users initially negotiate with AS to identify self
• AS provides a non-corruptible authentication credential
(ticket granting ticket TGT)
• Ticket Granting Server (TGS)
• Users subsequently request access to other services from
TGS on basis of users TGT
• Complex protocol using DES
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Table 4.1
Summary of Kerberos Version 4 Message Exchanges
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Hoboken, NJ. All rights reserved.
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Hoboken, NJ. All rights reserved.
Kerberos Realms
• Kerberos realm
• A set of managed nodes that share
the same Kerberos database
• The Kerberos database resides on
the Kerberos master computer
system, which should be kept in a
physically secure room
• A read-only copy of the Kerberos
database might also reside on other
Kerberos computer systems
• All changes to the database must be
made on the master computer
system
• Changing or accessing the contents
of a Kerberos database requires the
Kerberos
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Education, Inc., password
Hoboken, NJ. All rights reserved.
Kerberos principal
• A service or user that is known to the Kerberos system
• Each Kerberos principal is identified by its principal name
Principal names consist of three parts
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Differences between versions
4 and 5
Environmental
Technical deficiencies
shortcomings
• Encryption system • Double encryption
dependence
• PCBC encryption
• Internet protocol dependence
• Session keys
• Message byte ordering
• Password attacks
• Ticket lifetime
• Authentication forwarding
• Interrealm authentication
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Key distribution using asymmetric
encryption
• One of the major roles of public-key encryption is to
address the problem of key distribution
• There are two distinct aspects to the use of public-key
encryption in this regard:
• The distribution of public keys
• The use of public-key encryption to distribute secret keys
• Public-key certificate
• Consists of a public key plus a user ID of the key owner,
with the whole block signed by a trusted third party
• Typically, the third party is a certificate authority (CA) that is
trusted by the user community, such as a government agency
or a financial institution
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X.509 Certificates
• ITU-T recommendation X.509 is part of the X.500 series
of recommendations that define a directory service
• Defines a framework for the provision of authentication
services by the X.500 directory to its users
• The directory may serve as a repository of public-key
certificates
• Defines alternative authentication protocols based on the
use of public-key certificates
• Was initially issued in 1988
• Based on the use of public-key cryptography and digital
signatures
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Obtaining a user’s certificate
• User certificates generated by a CA have the following
characteristics:
• Any user with access to the public key of the CA can verify
the user public key that was certified
• No party other than the certification authority can modify the
certificate without this being detected
• Because certificates are unforgeable, they can be placed in
a directory without the need for the directory to make
special efforts to protect them
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Revocation of certificates
• Each certificate includes a period of validity
• Typically a new certificate is issued just before the expiration
of the old one
• It may be desirable on occasion to revoke a certificate before
it expires for one of the following reasons:
• The user’s private key is assumed to be compromised
• The user is no longer certified by this CA; reasons for this include
subject’s name has changed, the certificate is superseded, or the
certificate was not issued in conformance with the CA’s policies
• The CA’s certificate is assumed to be compromised
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X.509 Version 3
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Key and policy information
• These extensions convey additional information about the
subject and issuer keys, plus indicators of certificate
policy
• A certificate policy is a named set of rules that indicates
the applicability of a certificate to a particular community
and/or class of application with common security
requirements
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Certificate subject and issuer
attributes
• These extensions support alternative names, in alternative
formats, for a certificate subject or certificate issuer and
can convey additional information about the certificate
subject to increase a certificate user’s confidence that the
certificate subject is a particular person or entity
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Certification path constraints
• These extensions allow constraint specifications to be
included in certificates issued for CAs by other CAs
• The constraints may restrict the types of certificates that
can be issued by the subject CA or that may occur
subsequently in a certification chain
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Summary
• Remote user authentication
• X.509 certificates
principles
• Certificates
• The NIST model for electronic
user authentication • X.509 Version 3
• Means of authentication
• Public-key infrastructure
• Symmetric key distribution • PKIX management functions
using symmetric encryption • PKIX management protocols
• Kerberos • Federated identity
• Version 4 management
• Version 5 • Identity management
• Identity federation
• Key distribution using
asymmetric encryption
• Public-key certificates
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• Public-key distribution of secret