Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 1.2

Summary

The script delves into the AAA framework—Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting—crucial for secure access to systems. It illustrates the login process, explaining how identification and authentication confirm a user's identity, while authorization determines access rights. The example of logging into a VPN server clarifies the role of an AAA server. The video also explores certificate-based authentication for devices, the importance of a Certificate Authority, and the necessity of scalable authorization models to manage user access efficiently across large networks.

Takeaways

• 🔒 The login process involves identification, authentication, and authorization, collectively known as the AAA framework.
• 👤 Identification is claiming to be a particular user, while authentication verifies the user's identity through credentials like a password or additional factors.
• 🗝️ Authentication factors are used to prove identity, such as knowing a secret password or having additional authentication methods.
• 📋 Authorization determines the access level and resources a user can access based on their role or department.
• 📈 AAA servers centralize user authentication information, which is crucial for managing security across multiple systems.
• 🌐 Practical examples of AAA are demonstrated through scenarios like logging into a VPN server, which uses a concentrator and an AAA server for access control.
• 🖥️ Security professionals manage security on numerous systems that may be globally distributed, necessitating remote verification methods.
• 📜 Certificates, particularly those signed by a Certificate Authority (CA), are used for device authentication, ensuring devices are authorized to connect to a network.
• 🔑 The CA is responsible for managing and issuing certificates, which are essential for verifying the authenticity of devices and users.
• 🔄 The process of creating and verifying certificates involves the CA's own certificate signed by a root CA and device certificates signed by the CA.
• 📊 Authorization models are used to manage access to resources efficiently, especially when scaling for large numbers of users or resources.
• 🔄 Group-based access, where users are added to groups with predefined permissions, simplifies the administration of authorizations in large organizations.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of the login process?

The primary purpose of the login process is to identify and authenticate users to ensure they are who they claim to be, and then to authorize them to access appropriate resources on the system.

What are the three components of the AAA framework?

The three components of the AAA framework are Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting.

How does the AAA server verify a user's identity during the login process?

The AAA server verifies a user's identity by checking the provided username, password, and other authentication factors against its database to confirm if they match a valid user.

What is the role of a VPN concentrator in the AAA process?

The VPN concentrator acts as an intermediary between the client and the AAA server, prompting for login credentials and forwarding them to the AAA server for verification.

Why is it important to have a log of system access activities?

It is important to have a log of system access activities for security auditing, tracking user behavior, and ensuring accountability for actions performed within the system.

How can a device be authenticated without typing a password?

A device can be authenticated using a digital certificate that is signed by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This certificate can be used as an authentication factor during the login process.

What is a Certificate Authority (CA) and its role in security?

A Certificate Authority (CA) is a device or software responsible for managing all certificates in an environment. It issues and signs certificates that can be used to authenticate devices and users.

Why is it necessary to have a root CA signing the CA's certificate?

The root CA signing the CA's certificate establishes a chain of trust, ensuring that the CA is trusted and that the certificates it issues are also trustworthy.

What is an authorization model and how does it simplify access management?

An authorization model is a system that defines the access rights and permissions for users or groups, simplifying access management by allowing administrators to assign permissions to groups rather than individual users.

How does adding a user to a group in an authorization model streamline access management?

By adding a user to a group with predefined access rights, administrators can quickly grant the necessary permissions to multiple users without having to set up individual rights for each user.

What challenges arise when trying to scale a system without an authorization model?

Without an authorization model, managing access rights for a large number of users and resources becomes cumbersome and inefficient, as each user's permissions must be set up manually.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Authentication and the AAA Framework

The script introduces the fundamental concepts of the login process, encompassing identification and authentication using usernames, passwords, and additional factors. It explains the purpose of the AAA framework, which stands for Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting, as a system to manage user access and system security logs. The practical example of logging into a VPN server illustrates how the AAA server validates credentials and grants access to resources, emphasizing the role of security professionals in managing distributed systems and the use of certificates for device authentication.

05:02

🛡️ Certificate-Based Authentication and Authorization Models

This paragraph delves into the process of authenticating devices using certificates signed by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). It outlines the importance of comparing the CA's certificate with the device certificate to establish trust. The summary then transitions to the topic of authorization, discussing various models that can be used to grant access to network resources. The challenges of scaling permissions for a large number of users are highlighted, and the benefits of using an authorization model, such as role-based access control, are explained. The paragraph concludes with an example of how to simplify access management by assigning users to groups with predefined permissions, thus streamlining the administration process for large-scale infrastructures.

Keywords

💡Login Process

The login process is the method by which a user gains access to a system by providing credentials such as a username and password. It is fundamental to the security of any system, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access resources. In the video, the login process is described as the starting point for identification and authentication, setting the stage for the discussion on the AAA framework.

💡Identification

Identification is the first step in the AAA framework, where a user claims an identity within a system. It is the act of stating who you are, typically by providing a username. The script emphasizes that identification is distinct from authentication, which is the verification of that identity.

💡Authentication

Authentication is the verification of the identity claimed during identification. It involves checking the provided credentials against stored data to confirm the user's identity. The script explains that this process might include a username, password, and additional authentication factors, and is crucial for proving that the user is who they claim to be.

💡Authorization

Authorization is the process of determining the access rights of an authenticated user. It is about granting or denying permissions to access specific resources within a system. The script uses the example of the shipping and receiving department to illustrate how authorization restricts access to resources relevant to a user's role.

💡Accounting

Accounting in the AAA framework refers to the logging of activities performed by users within a system. It records details such as login times, data transfers, and logout times. The script mentions accounting as an essential component for maintaining a security log of system access and actions.

💡AAA Framework

The AAA framework, which stands for Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting, is a comprehensive security model that encompasses the processes of verifying user identity, granting access rights, and logging user activities. The script describes the AAA framework as the overarching system that secures access to resources within an organization.

💡VPN Server

A VPN server, or Virtual Private Network server, is a centralized point that manages remote access to an organization's network. The script uses the example of logging into a VPN server to illustrate how the AAA framework operates in a practical scenario, with the VPN concentrator acting as an intermediary for authentication.

💡AAA Server

The AAA server is a central server that stores and manages user authentication information, such as usernames and passwords. In the script, the AAA server is depicted as the entity that receives authentication requests from the VPN concentrator and verifies the credentials against its database.

💡Certificate Authority (CA)

A Certificate Authority is an entity that issues and manages digital certificates used for authentication and encryption. The script explains that a CA is necessary for creating and signing certificates, which can then be used to authenticate devices or users, particularly in scenarios where a physical login is not feasible.

💡Digital Certificate

A digital certificate is an electronic document used to authenticate the identity of a user or a device. The script discusses how digital certificates, when signed by a trusted CA, can be used as an authentication factor, allowing devices to verify their identity during the login process.

💡Authorization Model

An authorization model is a framework that defines how permissions are assigned to users or groups within a system. The script highlights the importance of an authorization model in efficiently managing access rights for a large number of users and resources, using roles and attributes to streamline the process.

Highlights

Introduction to the login process involving identification, authentication, and authorization.

Explanation of the AAA framework: Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting.

Practical example of using AAA for logging into a VPN server.

Role of a central AAA server in managing authentication requests.

Challenge of verifying authorized devices on a network without physical access.

Use of digital certificates for device authentication.

Importance of a Certificate Authority (CA) in managing digital certificates.

Process of creating and verifying a device certificate signed by a CA.

Authorization models for granting access to network resources.

Scalability issues with individual rights and permissions for users.

Introduction of role-based access control for efficient authorization.

Benefits of using groups and roles in authorization models for large-scale infrastructures.

Abstraction in authorization models to separate users from the resources they access.

Example of adding users to a Shipping and Receiving group for streamlined access control.

Discussion on the simplification of user and resource management through authorization models.

Overview of the practical applications and scalability of the AAA framework in modern security systems.

Transcripts

We're all very familiar with the login process.

You put in your username, your password.

There might be some additional authentication factors.

And if all of those are correct, you

gain access to resources on that system.

This process begins with identification,

where you claim to be a particular user on that system.

The check between your username, your password,

and the other authentication factors

is referred to as authentication.

This proves that we really are who

we say we are because we knew the secret password,

or we had some additional authentication factors

that we could use to help prove that we are that person.

Now that we've identified who we are,

we now need to determine what type of access we have.

And that's done through authorization.

If we're part of the shipping and receiving department,

then we should have access to systems that should only

be available to shipping and receiving,

and we should not have access to information that might

be in the finance department.

And of course, all security systems

need to have a log of exactly what happened.

So we need to know what time someone logged in,

how much data may have been sent or received, and what time.

This person logged out.

We refer to this entire system as the AAA framework.

And this refers to Authentication, Authorization,

and Accounting.

Let's have a look at a practical example of using AAA.

We're going to use the example of logging in to a VPN server.

In this case, it would be a firewall or VPN

concentrator in the middle.

You're on one side of that concentrator,

and you need to use AAA to gain access to an internal file

server.

So we'll start with our client on the internet.

And we'll access the VPN concentrator,

which prompts us for a login.

So we're going to provide a username and password

and send that information over to the VPN concentrator.

The concentrator itself doesn't have any information

about usernames, passwords, authentication factors,

or anything else.

And in most organizations, all of that information

is stored on a central server.

And we refer to that as AAA server.

This AAA server is going to receive the request

from the VPN concentrator, asking

if the username, password, and other information that

was provided matches some type of user in the database.

And if the match is true, it sends back

information to the concentrator and says

those credentials are approved.

At that point, the concentrator knows that we really

are the person we claim to be, and it

allows us access into the internal file server.

As a security professional, you'll

be responsible for managing the security on hundreds or perhaps

even thousands of separate systems.

And in many cases, you'll never have physical access

or even be able to see where those systems might

be because they may be located anywhere in the world.

So the question now becomes, how can we

verify that a computer trying to connect to our network

is a computer that's authorized to be on our network?

This computer by itself obviously

can't type a password to prove who it might be.

And in most cases, you probably wouldn't

want to store a password on one of your systems

out in the field anyway.

So how can you really confirm that that system is allowed

to be on our internal network?

How do we provide that additional authentication?

In many cases, we use a certificate

that we put onto this device that is digitally signed.

And we check that authentication during the login process.

This allows anyone needing to provide that verification

with a way to confirm that that really

is a company-owned laptop.

This could be on a VPN concentrator

so that it can verify that the devices coming into the network

really are company devices.

Or perhaps it's management software

that can validate that end device that

may be either on our local network

or anywhere in the world.

The process for creating this certificate

is relatively straightforward.

But the one thing that you must have in your environment

is something called a Certificate Authority, or a CA.

This is a device or software that

is responsible for managing all of the certificates

in our environment.

On the CA itself, you would create a certificate just

for that laptop.

That certificate is now digitally signed

by the certificate authority so that, later on, we

can verify that it really is an original certificate

from our certificate authority.

Now we put that certificate on the laptop

and, anytime we want to perform an authentication,

we can use that certificate as an authentication factor

and verify that it really was digitally signed

by the certificate authority.

So as part of your security infrastructure,

you would have a certificate authority.

That certificate authority itself

has its own certificate that was signed by a root CA.

We also have our laptop in the field.

And we have previously created a device certificate just

for this machine.

And it has been signed by the CA.

Once we know the CA certificate and we know the device

certificate, we can then compare these two certificates.

And we can see that our device certificate was signed

by the certificate authority that we trust in our security

infrastructure.

Now that we've gone through the authentication process,

how do we authorize that device to have access to resources

within our network?

We would do that by using an authorization model.

And there are many different authorization models

to choose from.

We have a big list of these later on in the video series,

in section 4.6.

We would commonly authorize users and services

to have access to certain types of data and applications.

The challenge here is, how do you create this relationship

in a form that's able to easily scale for tens, hundreds,

or even thousands of users?

In many environments, we accomplish this

by taking the users and services and putting an authorization

model right in the middle before you access

the data and the applications.

These are commonly defined by roles, organizations,

attributes, and many other types of characteristics.

Let's say that you had no authorization model at all.

We would create a series of rights and permissions

where the user has rights to access the resource.

The problem is that this doesn't scale very well.

Let's take an example of somebody in the shipping

and receiving department.

This is someone who needs access to a large number of systems,

a lot of data.

Maybe there's tracking information, shipping labels,

databases of customers.

And we would create separate rights and permissions

so that any time this person logged in,

we would need to give them rights to create a shipping

label, track a shipment, view monthly shipment

reports, access customer data, and perhaps anything else they

need for their day-to-day operations.

Now, if this is the only person in shipping and receiving,

this is a relatively easy process.

But what if you're part of a larger organization that

has tens or hundreds of people in shipping and receiving?

You can see it would be difficult to take

every single user account and manually set up

rights and permissions for every single resource

that they need access to.

In this case, there's only three resources.

But imagine if there were tens or hundreds of resources.

You would need to set those up for the tens

or hundreds of users.

You can see now why this would be very difficult to scale.

To be able to scale, we would need

to use an authorization model.

Sometimes you'll hear this referred

to as an abstraction that allows us

to separate the users from the information they're

trying to access.

This greatly streamlines the process

of administering these large number of users

or large number of resources.

And we can support a very, very large infrastructure

just with a very simple set of abstractions.

Here's how this would work.

We'd have the same user in shipping and receiving,

and we will add them to a group called Shipping and Receiving.

We set this group up originally so that anybody

added to the Shipping and Receiving group

would have access to create a shipping label,

track a shipment, view monthly shipment reports,

have access to customer contact information, and anything else

you would need in Shipping and receiving.

Now let's add in our tens or hundreds of users.

Instead of manually mapping every single user

to the individual authorizations they need,

we just simply add all of the users to the Shipping

and Receiving group.

With this one single addition, we

can give tens or hundreds or thousands of users

access to the resources they might need, regardless

of how many users there are and regardless

of how many resources they need to access.