Designing A Secure Directory; About Security Threats - Red Hat DIRECTORY SERVER 8.1 - DEPLOYMENT Deployment Manual

Chapter 8.

Designing a Secure Directory

How the data in Red Hat Directory Server are secured affects all of the previous design areas. Any
security design needs to protect the data contained by the directory and meet the security and privacy
needs of the users and applications.
This chapter describes how to analyze the security needs and explains how to design the directory to
meet these needs.

8.1. About Security Threats

There are many potential threats to the security of the directory. Understanding the most common
threats helps outline the overall security design. Threats to directory security fall into three main
categories:
• Unauthorized access
• Unauthorized tampering
• Denial of service
8.1.1. Unauthorized Access
Protecting the directory from unauthorized access may seem straightforward, but implementing a
secure solution may be more complex than it first appears. A number of potential access points exist
on the directory information delivery path where an unauthorized client may gain access to data.
For example, an unauthorized client can use another client's credentials to access the data. This is
particularly likely when the directory uses unprotected passwords. An unauthorized client can also
eavesdrop on the information exchanged between a legitimate client and Directory Server.
Unauthorized access can occur from inside the company or, if the company is connected to an
extranet or to the Internet, from outside the company.
The following scenarios describe just a few examples of how an unauthorized client might access the
directory data.
The authentication methods, password policies, and access control mechanisms provided by the
Directory Server offer efficient ways of preventing unauthorized access. See the following sections for
more information:
Section 8.4, "Selecting Appropriate Authentication Methods"
•
Section 8.6, "Designing a Password Policy"
•
Section 8.7, "Designing Access Control"
•
8.1.2. Unauthorized Tampering
If intruders gain access to the directory or intercept communications between Directory Server and a
client application, they have the potential to modify (or tamper with) the directory data. The directory
service is useless if the data can no longer be trusted by clients or if the directory itself cannot trust the
modifications and queries it receives from clients.
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