SMT 2-4 Plaintext Communication Vulnerability

Summary

This script delves into the importance of secure communication in networks, highlighting the risks of plain text transmission. It introduces the CIA Triad—confidentiality, integrity, and availability—as key principles for information security. The script uses scenarios to illustrate how encryption protects data from unauthorized access and tampering, emphasizing the need for secure practices like using SSH over Telnet and HTTPS over HTTP to safeguard personal and payment information from cyber threats.

Takeaways

• 🔒 The importance of avoiding plain text communication in networks due to the risk of data exposure to unauthorized third parties.
• 📈 The evolution of networks from simple information exchange to complex systems handling sensitive personal and payment information, necessitating enhanced security measures.
• 👀 The visibility of network packets during transmission, making them susceptible to interception and misuse by attackers.
• 🛡️ The CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) as a framework for understanding and implementing information security.
• 🔑 Confidentiality is about restricting access to information to only those with proper authorization, ensuring data is not exposed during transmission.
• 🔄 Integrity ensures that data remains unaltered and reliable throughout its transmission, crucial for maintaining trust in data and systems.
• 🚫 Availability highlights the necessity of ensuring that services are accessible when needed, without interruptions or denial-of-service attacks.
• 🔒🔓 Encryption is a fundamental method to protect data confidentiality and integrity, but it must be properly implemented to ensure availability.
• 🔑🔄 Key exchange methods, like Diffie-Hellman, are essential for secure communication, allowing parties to exchange encrypted messages without exposing keys to eavesdroppers.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Demonstrating the vulnerability of plain text protocols like TELNET and HTTP through packet sniffing, and the security provided by encrypted protocols like SSH and HTTPS.
• 🔒 The use of HTTPS in web services to encrypt data transmission, protecting user information from being easily intercepted and ensuring a secure browsing experience.

Q & A

Why should we avoid plain text communication in networks?

We should avoid plain text communication because it exposes data to unauthorized third parties, making it vulnerable to eavesdropping and data breaches, especially as networks now carry sensitive personal and payment information.

What is the significance of the CIA Triad in information security?

The CIA Triad represents the three core aspects of information security: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It provides a framework for understanding and ensuring that data is protected from unauthorized access, remains accurate and reliable, and is accessible when needed.

How does the concept of confidentiality relate to data protection?

Confidentiality ensures that data is protected from exposure to unauthorized individuals. It involves measures to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as through encryption or access controls.

What is integrity in the context of information security?

Integrity in information security refers to the assurance that data is accurate, consistent, and has not been modified, tampered with, or altered in an unauthorized manner during transmission or storage.

Why is availability important for network services?

Availability ensures that authorized users have access to information and services when they need them. It is crucial for services to be reliable and operational to prevent downtime and ensure continuous service delivery.

How can encryption help maintain the integrity of data?

Encryption can help maintain data integrity by preventing unauthorized modification of data during transmission. It ensures that the data remains intact and can be verified as accurate and unaltered by the recipient.

What is the purpose of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange method mentioned in the script?

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange method is used to securely exchange cryptographic keys over a public channel without having to transmit the keys themselves, thus enabling secure communication between parties.

How does the script illustrate the difference between plain text and encrypted communication?

The script uses examples of eavesdropping on plain text communication (e.g., telnet) where data can be easily read and intercepted, versus encrypted communication (e.g., SSH) where data is protected and not visible to unauthorized parties.

What is the risk of using plain HTTP protocol for transmitting sensitive data like passwords?

Using plain HTTP protocol exposes sensitive data like passwords in plain text, making it easily accessible to attackers who can intercept the data during transmission, leading to potential data breaches.

How does HTTPS improve the security of web services?

HTTPS encrypts the communication between a user and a web service, making it difficult for third parties to read or modify the data being exchanged, thus enhancing the confidentiality and integrity of the transmitted information.

What does the lock icon in the browser's address bar signify?

The lock icon in the browser's address bar indicates that the website is using HTTPS, meaning that the communication between the user and the website is encrypted and secure, providing a visual assurance of the site's security.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Importance of Network Security and the CIA Triad

The first paragraph introduces the necessity of understanding cyber threats and emphasizes the importance of practicing in a secure environment without breaching networks. It discusses the evolution of network usage from simple information exchange to a complex system involving personal data. The paragraph highlights the significance of protecting data in transit, introducing the CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) as fundamental concepts in information security. Confidentiality is about preventing unauthorized access to data, integrity ensures data remains unaltered, and availability guarantees access to services when needed. The CIA Triad is crucial for evaluating the security level of a network.

05:01

🛡️ Protecting Data Integrity and Availability in Cyberspace

The second paragraph delves deeper into the concepts of data integrity and availability. It explains how maintaining data integrity is vital to prevent unauthorized modifications that could lead to severe consequences, such as incorrect orders or altered financial transactions. The paragraph also addresses the importance of availability, illustrating how service disruptions or slow response times can compromise it. It discusses encryption as a method to safeguard both integrity and availability, using the analogy of a padlock to explain secure data exchange between parties. The paragraph concludes with a thought experiment on safely exchanging messages, hinting at cryptographic methods like the Diffie-Hellman key exchange.

10:03

🌐 The Risks of Plaintext Communication and the Benefits of Encryption

The third paragraph demonstrates the dangers of plaintext communication through practical examples, such as using Telnet and HTTP protocols, which expose sensitive information like login credentials and passwords. It contrasts plaintext communication with encrypted protocols like SSH and HTTPS, which protect data from being intercepted or altered by unauthorized parties. The paragraph illustrates the difference between secure and insecure communication by showing the encrypted nature of SSH packets and the readable data in HTTP packets. It concludes by highlighting the importance of the lock icon in web browsers, which indicates a secure HTTPS connection, thus promoting the use of encrypted protocols to safeguard personal and financial information.

Keywords

💡Cyber threats

Cyber threats refer to potential or active attacks against computer systems, networks, or digital infrastructure. In the video, the importance of understanding and mitigating these threats is emphasized to ensure the safety of data in network environments. The script mentions the need to practice in one's own environment to avoid breaching network security, highlighting the real-world implications of cyber threats.

💡Plain Text Communication

Plain text communication is the transmission of information in its readable form without encryption. The script warns against this practice on networks, explaining that it exposes data to unauthorized viewing and interception, which can compromise personal and sensitive information. The example of typing in a password in plain text during a login process illustrates this vulnerability.

💡Confidentiality

Confidentiality in the context of the video refers to the protection of information from unauthorized access or exposure. It is one of the three components of the CIA Triad and is crucial for ensuring that sensitive data remains private. The script discusses confidentiality breaches, such as eavesdropping on data transmission, and the importance of encryption to maintain it.

💡Integrity

Integrity ensures that data remains accurate, consistent, and unaltered during transmission. It is another key aspect of the CIA Triad. The script provides examples of integrity breaches, such as altering the content of an order or hacking into a system to modify data, which can lead to significant consequences.

💡Availability

Availability is the third element of the CIA Triad and it pertains to ensuring that authorized users have access to information and resources when needed. The video script discusses the importance of availability in services, such as being able to call a police station during an emergency, and how attacks can be aimed at disrupting this availability.

💡Encryption

Encryption is the process of converting data into a code to prevent unauthorized access. It is highlighted in the script as a method to protect confidentiality and integrity. The script uses the analogy of a locked box to explain how encryption works and the need for secure key exchange to ensure that only the intended recipient can decrypt the message.

💡Key Exchange

Key exchange is a method used in cryptography to securely share secret keys between parties. The script introduces the concept through the analogy of a padlock on a box, where both sender and receiver need to have the correct keys to access the contents. The Diffie-Hellman key exchange method is mentioned as a basis for secure communication.

💡Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping in the video refers to the act of secretly listening to or monitoring a communication channel without the permission of the parties involved. The script warns of the risks of eavesdropping on plain text communications, where attackers can easily access transmitted data.

💡HTTPS

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and is a protocol for secure communication over a computer network. The script contrasts HTTP with HTTPS, emphasizing that the latter encrypts data to protect confidentiality and integrity. The lock icon in the browser's address bar is used as an indicator of HTTPS encryption.

💡SSH

SSH stands for Secure Shell and is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. The script demonstrates the security of SSH by showing that it encrypts data, preventing attackers from viewing or modifying transmitted information.

💡Telnet

Telnet is a network protocol used to provide a command-line interface for communicating with a remote device or server via a terminal emulator. The script mentions Telnet as an example of a plain text communication protocol that can be easily eavesdropped on, contrasting it with the security of SSH.

Highlights

The importance of not breaching network environments without approval and practicing in personal environments first.

The vulnerability of plain text communication and the risks associated with transmitting sensitive data.

The evolution from simple information exchange to internet-based services requiring login processes and personal information transmission.

The necessity of protecting data in transit due to its visibility to potential attackers.

Introduction of the CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) as fundamental concepts in information protection.

The definition and importance of confidentiality in protecting data from unauthorized exposure.

Methods to ensure confidentiality, such as restricting access to key information only to authorized individuals.

The concept of integrity and its significance in maintaining the accuracy and reliability of data.

Examples illustrating the consequences of integrity breaches, such as incorrect orders or altered bank information.

Techniques to maintain data integrity, including the use of hash algorithms and encryption.

The concept of availability and its role in ensuring timely access to services and data.

The impact of availability breaches, such as service downtime or slow response times, on user experience.

The role of encryption in maintaining confidentiality and integrity, with a hypothetical scenario involving Alice, Bob, and Eve.

The importance of key exchange methods, such as the Diffie-Hellman method, for secure communication.

A practical demonstration of the risks of plain text communication using telnet and the benefits of encrypted SSH.

The comparison between HTTP and HTTPS protocols, emphasizing the encryption and security provided by HTTPS.

The significance of the lock icon in web browsers as an indicator of a secure and encrypted connection.

Transcripts

hello traines in this class I would like

to introduce various cyber threats that

can occur on the network one thing to

keep in mind is that it's good to follow

the practice during a class but never

breach any of the network environments

without approval if you want to practice

you have to build and test in your own

environment first let's look at the

vulnerability of plain Tex communication

if you think about how we normally talk

we don't talk in encrypted language but

why should we avoid plain text

Communication in networks first of all

the data sent and received on the

network has become more important than

in the past in the past networks were

used to Simply exchange information but

the number of users increased as

multiple networks were connected to form

an internet Network as the internet

became active we started to provide

services based on Authority which

required a login process currently not

only our login information but also much

personal information such as our name

address phone number and payment

information are transmitted and received

using the network that's why we want to

ensure the safety of the

data in the network data is transferred

toward the desired destination within

its own rules still should we protect

our data the answer is yes packets in

the network are transmitted from the

sender to the receiver but during the

transmission process the packets are

still visible to other people too there

are many reasons why attackers want to

access the packets such as to obtain

personal information in the data or to

use malware to produce the desired

result also they may just simply want to

prevent the target user from accessing

the normal internet condition therefore

you need to protect your data from these

attacks there is a concept called the C

A Triad that often appears when

explaining information protection the

CIA stands for confidentiality integrity

and availability the CIA Triad can be

applied to the field of security to

interpret and solve problems if these

three characteristics are well met the

network will be evaluated as highly

secure let's start with

confidentiality confidentiality refers

to the protection of data from exposure

to unauthorized third parties for

example if you write down all your

personal information to sign up for a

web service and some unreliable person

manages to read this data in the middle

of transmission to the web service it's

an attack that compromises

confidentiality from a network

perspective confidentiality breaches can

occur in the form of someone

eavesdropping on transmitting and

receiving data so how do we protect

confidentiality the key to

confidentiality is to prevent access to

key information by people who do not

have the right Authority hence only

people who have authority over the

information should have access to it

from a network perspective only the

sender and the receiver will have the

right to that data in the communication

process by allowing only two people to

view this data you can keep it

confidential so how do we make sure that

only these two people are able to see

the data in the process of transmitting

and receiving data this data goes

through a lot of networks and a lot of

equipment it is extremely dangerous to

trust all those Network equipment

because it means that there are a lot of

vectors that can access your data

anytime anywhere so we have to do

something about the data itself such as

encryption integrity means that when the

data arrives at the destination the data

initially sent by the sender arrives

intact without modification Integrity is

maintained when the data is accurate and

reliable for example during the war any

reports that are sent to the commanders

should not be modified or tampered with

under any situation inaccurate

information could affect their tactics

and in the worst case it could lead to

their loss in the war from a CEOs point

of view let's say you order 10 products

but the content is altered and you end

up ordering a th000 products then the

system used for the order will be

unreliable in other cases if some

hackers are targeting a certain company

for the purpose of damaging their

reputation they would exploit the

company's system vulnerabilities and

hack their system they could steal their

data for blackmail or to to give it to

the company's

competitors to give another example I

would like to initiate a wire transfer

to send money to my parents but if the

bank information is changed to a

hacker's account my parents will not be

able to receive it in fact Integrity

breaches can occur in a variety of ways

you can attack the service to modify the

contents of the database or you can

sneak between the two devices that are

communicating on the network and alter

the data however malicious cases are not

the only ones that cause the Integrity

breach in some cases data may also be

lost or altered unintentionally due to

network conditions therefore we have to

make sure that we transfer the data to a

Flawless Network various methods can be

used to maintain Integrity you can use

the hash algorithm to verify whether the

Integrity has been compromised

encryption can also often be a way to

maintain

Integrity next is availability even if

the confidentiality and integrity of the

data are maintained it will be useless

if communication is not made

availability means that the right person

must be able to access the service at

the right time of need for example if

there is a rubber in your house you

should call the police station but what

happens if the police station doesn't

answer the phone call because they are

having a day off the police will never

come to help you right from a web

service perspective users should be able

to access the web pages any time

anywhere in in addition if the service

is too slow to use or becomes

unavailable availability will not be

guaranteed

too from an attacker's point of view you

can understand availability in two ways

firstly maliciously exploiting a service

that would result in an attack that

compromises its availability think of a

situation where you sneak into the

network and Eaves drop or alter the data

secondly to prevent users from knowing

that they are being attacked they need

to maintain avail a ability by

forwarding packets that are received in

the middle interestingly they need to

maintain availability for successful

attacks while also avoiding

detection one way to maintain

confidentiality and integrity is

encryption so is encryption safe this is

case one Alice and Bob are going to

exchange letters Eve who delivers the

letter in the middle is a malicious

person who reads the letter in the

process of delivering it Alice just sent

Bob a letter but Eve can also read the

letter very easily you can think of the

above communication as the normal plain

text communication process if a

malicious user comes in the middle he

can see the data we need to protect the

data from being read in the

middle this is case two this time Alice

applied encryption to the letter so that

no one can read it because it is an

encrypted letter Eve can no longer check

the message Alice has successfully

protected the confidentiality and

integrity of the letter is this correct

however the Letter's availability is not

protected Alice and Bob are the senders

and receivers of the letter so they are

the ones who should have access to see

and read the

letter however Bob will not be able to

view the letter because the key used for

encryption is not shared with Bob as a

result Alice's communication objectives

have not been achieved so both Alice's

and Bob's availability have not been

protected for this we need to create a

safe data method that only Bob and Alice

can

see how can Alice and Bob send and

receive messages safely think about it

Alice wants to send Bob a very precious

box as expected Eve is in the middle of

the process pretending to be a delivery

man but in fact he's going to open this

precious box this box is designed to be

locked with a padlock how can Alice and

Bob safely receive the contents of this

precious box without showing it to Eve

there can be more than one correct

answer if Alice and Bob can successfully

open the box safely so that Eve can't

see it then it's all correct I will tell

you the answer after 10 seconds pause

the recording and take a moment to think

about

it so how can Alice and Bob send and

receive messages safely if they both use

the logs they can safely exchange

messages without exchanging the keys

first Alice locks the padlock and sends

it to Bob the box is logged with Alice's

key and Bob can't check the contents

inside this time Bob also locks the

padlock and sends it again to Alice now

that Alice's padlock and Bob's padlock

are both hung Alice can't check the

contents either Alice unlocks her

padlock and sends it back to Bob then

Bob receives the box with only his own

padlock when he unlocks the padlock he

is now able to see what's inside the

box also in the process Eve is always

watching the box with the padlog but she

can never open it just applying

encryption like this doesn't mean it's

safe and it is important that you know

how it works in fact the Diffy Helman

key exchange method is the basis for

exchanging the required keys in

communication this part is about

cryptography not the network so if

you're interested in this it would be to

find out more in the related

chapter now you all know that plain text

communication is dangerous this time I

tried to EES drop on my computer so that

I could show you what the data looks

like when actually communicating as you

can see in the image here I'm trying to

access a remote computer the program I

use to connect with is a program called

telnet which helps me communicate using

the Tet protocol so what does it look

like if i e drop on the login process in

fact the image below is the result of a

wi tapping attempt as I will mention

later this program is called wies Shock

the image here captures the moment you

log into the server using a protocol

called tet on the network for your

information blue colored letters are the

incoming data and red colored ones are

the outgoing

data I received the text colly login in

the image here and the user entered the

ID collie in the packet below you can

see the Blu string collie login and you

can see that there is a string that

looks like collie overlapping in Reds

and blues can you guess why the string

collie seems to overlap the reason why

col is overlapped is that every time the

user Types on the keyboard letters are

printed on the screen so the input data

is received as it is after the input if

you look at the image again you can see

that the password string was printed and

it was entered by the user but it was

not printed on the screen for security

reasons however if you look at the

packet below you can see the data that

you actually entered because all of this

was plain text communication you can see

the data very easily therefore it is

recommended that you log into the server

using a cryptographic communication

based protocol such as SSH rather than a

plain text communication

teling I also Bugg the SSH communication

process the left side is the attempt to

log into SSH and the right side is the

Captured Moment of the action with wire

shock the image on the left gives a

rough idea of what data was exchanged in

sssh

communication however as shown on the

right SSH cannot find the sent anded

string because the packet is encrypted

in this case the attacker cannot view or

modify the data so it appears to

communicate

securely now let's try one of the most

popular protocols the HTTP protocol on

the left is a web server with HTTP

communication

the user will enter the password in the

input box you may think it's safe

because the password is covered however

if you look at the captured image of the

packet attempting to log in you can see

the password that you entered financial

services are often handled on the web as

the number of Internet users is

constantly increasing for the last few

years if my personal information is

easily accessible by a third party like

this my data is not protected and will

be easily breached you need to encrypt

your data to protect it when using the

https protocol it encrypts any

Communications involved when using the

web

service the image here captures the

moment you log into the web service

using the https protocol on the network

I don't see any readable data as if I

bugged SSH packets compared to

traditional HTTP Communications it is

not possible to determine what data is

sent and received when viewed by a third

party in this way web services can also

improve confidentiality and integrity

because strong encryption makes it

difficult to expose personal information

and alter key data when you communicate

with https the lock icon is activated in

the address window of the browser as

shown in the bottom right corner so if

you want to make sure that your current

homepage status is secured and encrypted

remember this icon