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VPN’s & Remote Access Issues David Trepp VP of Technology [email protected]

VPN Considerations 2002

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Page 1: VPN Considerations 2002

VPN’s & Remote Access Issues

David Trepp

VP of Technology

[email protected]

Page 2: VPN Considerations 2002

Housekeeping Issues

• Duration: 1.25 hours +/-

• Questions & comments: early and often

Page 3: VPN Considerations 2002

Why We’re Here

• Examine a brief summary of considerations surrounding successful VPN and remote access planning, deployment and management.

• Note other perimeter security issues.

Page 4: VPN Considerations 2002

What is a VPN?

• Virtual Private Network - A network that performs private, trusted data transmissions over a public, untrusted network (e.g. the Internet).

• Usage:– Point to Point(s)– Remote Access– Hybrid

Page 5: VPN Considerations 2002

Essential VPN Definitions

• Authentication – A method of establishing identity between systems or users.

• Authorization – The right to access a network service after authentication has taken place.

• CIA – Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability – The three primary ways your (or your customer’s) information can be compromised.

Page 6: VPN Considerations 2002

More EssentialVPN Definitions (Cont.)

• Encryption – The process of converting cleartext into what appears to be random characters (a.k.a. ciphertext) – FIPS standards include DES, 3DES, AES

• Tunneling – Encapsulation of packets within other packets, primarily for transmission across public IP networks (e.g. the Internet) – i.e. IPSec, L2TP, PPTP, PPP

Page 7: VPN Considerations 2002

VPN Economic Considerations

• VPN’s can be less expensive than WAN’s and more functional and secure than modem banks.

• Often cost-benefit compared with voice over solutions.

• Decision criteria include:– Current connectivity costs– Distances– Locations– # of sites– Type & volume of traffic– Existing equipment & software

Page 8: VPN Considerations 2002

Basic VPN Connectivity Steps

• Site-to-Site– 1) Authenticate once– 2) Encapsulate an IP packet– 3) Encrypt and transmit– 4) De-crypt– 5) Un-encapsulate

• Remote Access– 1) Authenticate each time a session begins– 2) See 2 – 5 above

Page 9: VPN Considerations 2002

VPN Scaling Considerations

• Processor Cycles: number of tunnels (hence, processor cycles) is greater for remote user deployments than for a single site-to-site connection (i.e. 10 remote users require more processor cycles than 100 users across a site-to-site VPN).

• Bandwidth: depends on how the applications are deployed, but the VPN tunnel itself adds approximately 10-30% overhead.

Page 10: VPN Considerations 2002

VPN Security Considerations

• Authentication & Authorization!

• Centrally manageable firewalls at remote sites and/or users.

• Generic O/S’s vs. pre-hardened firewall/VPN device O/S’s.

• Application security.

Page 11: VPN Considerations 2002

VPN Technical Considerations• Latency > 200ms causes application errors – (often

a problem for remote users with DSL connections).• Non-standard tunneling, encryption and

hardware/software solutions can cause problems.• Meshing site-to-site(s) VPN’s for fault tolerance is

complex.• VPN access for remote users does not mean

complete network/application access.• Every O/S on remote user PC’s has its own

idiosyncrasies.

Page 12: VPN Considerations 2002

Proven VPN & Remote Access Solutions

• CheckPoint VPN-1: + Management of remote site and user security + Runs on appliances w/ hardened O/S’s (e.g. Nokia)+ Supports many authentication schemes - $

• Citrix NFUSE with Secure Gateway+ Requires only browser and authentication mechanism+ Supports many authentication schemes- Not a complete solution for site-to-site VPN

• Cisco/Altiga VPN+ VPN concentrator has easy remote client setup+ Runs on appliance w/ hardened O/S+ Supports many authentication schemes- Limited management of remote user security

Page 13: VPN Considerations 2002

Other Perimeter Security Considerations

• Mail Relay/Virus Scanning

• Intrusion Detection

• Voice Systems

• Backdoors

• Web Servers

• Vendor/Business Partners

Page 14: VPN Considerations 2002

Regulatory Considerations

• FITSAF (any departments dealing with the federal government)– http://www.cio.gov/documents/

federal_it_security_assessment_framework_112800.html

• HIPAA (health departments)– http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/adminsimp/nprm/

seclist.htm

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References• http://www.rsasecurity.com/solutions/vpn/infocenter/ Good

white papers and such• http://www.internetwk.com/VPN/default.html Internet

Week VPN site• http://www.checkpoint.com/products/security/

gateway_vpnsolutions.html Check Point VPN site• http://www.citrix.com/press/news/releases/20011030_gateway.asp Citrix Secure gateway press release• http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/largeent/learn/

technologies/VPNs.html Cisco VPN site