In 2017, we launched Geo Key Manager, a service that allows Cloudflare customers to choose where they store their TLS certificate private keys. For example, if a US customer only wants its private keys stored in US data centers, we can make that happen. When a user from Tokyo makes a request to this website or API, it first hits the Tokyo data center. As the Tokyo data center lacks access to the private key, it contacts a data center in the US to terminate the TLS request. Once the TLS session is established, the Tokyo data center can serve future requests. For a detailed description of how this works, refer to this post on Geo Key Manager.
This is a story about the evolution of systems in response to increase in scale and scope. Geo Key Manager started off as a small research project and, as it got used more and more, wasn’t scaling as well as we wanted it to. This post describes the challenges Geo Key Manager is facing today, particularly from a networking standpoint, and some of the steps along its way to a truly scalable service.
Geo Key Manager started out as a research Continue reading
You wouldn’t believe the intricate network designs I created decades ago until I learned that having an uninterrupted sleep is worth more than proving I can get the impossible to work (see also: using EBGP instead of IGP in a 4-node data center fabric).
Once I started valuing my free time, I tried to design things to be as simple as possible. However, as my friend Nicola Modena once said, “Consultants must propose new technologies because they must be seen as bringing innovation,” and we all know complexity sells. Go figure.
You wouldn’t believe the intricate network designs I created decades ago until I learned that having uninterrupted sleep is worth more than proving I can get the impossible to work (see also: using EBGP instead of IGP in a 4-node data center fabric).
Once I started valuing my free time, I tried to design things to be as simple as possible. However, as my friend Nicola Modena once said, “Consultants must propose new technologies because they must be seen as bringing innovation,” and we all know complexity sells. Go figure.
Doing a lot on Nexus 9000 series datacenter boxes (N9K) lately? Sure you’re missing the good old ‘wr’ command to save your last startup-config into running-config. NXOS architecture guys decided that you should be really well concentrated when deciding to save your nice new configuration to survive device reboot and type: N9K_1(config)# copy running-config startup-config. Just typing ‘wr’ into the console would be too nice right? Let’s use the alias configuration and bring that command back to the box. N9K_1(config)# copy running-config startup-config 100% Copy complete, now saving to disk (please wait)... Copy complete. N9K_1(config)# If you try ‘wr’:
The post Missing good old ‘wr’ command on N9K? let’s bring it back! appeared first on How Does Internet Work.
Calico Cloud is an industry-first security and observability SaaS platform for Kubernetes, containers, and cloud. Since its launch, we have seen customers use Calico Cloud to address a range of security and observability problems for regulatory and compliance requirements in a matter of days and weeks. In addition, they only paid for the services used, instead of an upfront investment commitment, thus aligning their budgets with their business needs.
We are excited to announce recent Calico Cloud enhancements. Highlights include:
One of the most common vulnerabilities that many people face is the malicious Wi-Fi, which can be accessed without entering a password. Wi-Fi networks with no password are especially prone to cyber-attacks and data theft. A malicious Wi-Fi hotspot can be a nightmare for your cell phone. These hotspots are often used by hackers to intercept data exchanged between your phone and the internet.
It is important to update your operating system because it can make you vulnerable to threats and attacks. The OS will have all the latest updates that are released, so updating your OS will keep it secure in many ways. Some of the ways updating your OS keeps you safe are by having a better built-in firewall and antivirus software. Updating your OS is also important because it can improve the performance of your computer.
Public Wi-Fi is not secure and can lead to serious consequences. Public Wi-Fi networks are often unsecured. Unsecured networks can give cybercriminals access to your device and your personal data. If you use public Wi-Fi then you may be putting yourself at risk for identity theft because hackers can access your personal information Continue reading
Angelo Rossi, GNS LAN-WAN Architect at WSP joins Drew Conry-Murray of the Packet Pushers to explain how WSP automated their brownfield network with Gluware. If Gluware might be a fit for your network automation needs, visit here. Thanks! You can subscribe to the Packet Pushers’ YouTube channel for more videos as they are published. It’s […]
The post Flexible Automation For A Complex Enterprise: Gluware LiveStream Video [4/8] appeared first on Packet Pushers.
Today we’re announcing a public demo and an open-sourced Go implementation of a next-generation, privacy-preserving compromised credential checking protocol called MIGP (“Might I Get Pwned”, a nod to Troy Hunt’s “Have I Been Pwned”). Compromised credential checking services are used to alert users when their credentials might have been exposed in data breaches. Critically, the ‘privacy-preserving’ property of the MIGP protocol means that clients can check for leaked credentials without leaking any information to the service about the queried password, and only a small amount of information about the queried username. Thus, not only can the service inform you when one of your usernames and passwords may have become compromised, but it does so without exposing any unnecessary information, keeping credential checking from becoming a vulnerability itself. The ‘next-generation’ property comes from the fact that MIGP advances upon the current state of the art in credential checking services by allowing clients to not only check if their exact password is present in a data breach, but to check if similar passwords have been exposed as well.
For example, suppose your password last year was amazon20\$, and you change your password each year (so your current password is amazon21\$). Continue reading
At large operational scales, IP addressing stifles innovation in network- and web-oriented services. For every architectural change, and certainly when starting to design new systems, the first set of questions we are forced to ask are:
Having to stop and worry about IP addresses costs time, money, resources. This may sound surprising, given the visionary and resilient advent of IP, 40+ years ago. By their very design, IP addresses should be the last thing that any network has to think about. However, if the Internet has laid anything bare, it’s that small or seemingly unimportant weaknesses — often invisible or impossible to see at design time — always show up at sufficient scale.
One thing we do know: “more addresses” should never be the answer. In IPv4 that type of thinking only contributes to their scarcity, driving up further their market prices. IPv6 is absolutely necessary, Continue reading
As Internet users, we all deal with passwords every day. With so many different services, each with their own login systems, we have to somehow keep track of the credentials we use with each of these services. This situation leads some users to delegate credential storage to password managers like LastPass or a browser-based password manager, but this is far from universal. Instead, many people still rely on old-fashioned human memory, which has its limitations — leading to reused passwords and to security problems. This blog post discusses how Cloudflare Research is exploring how to minimize password exposure and thwart password attacks.
Because it’s too difficult to remember many distinct passwords, people often reuse them across different online services. When breached password datasets are leaked online, attackers can take advantage of these to conduct “credential stuffing attacks”. In a credential stuffing attack, an attacker tests breached credentials against multiple online login systems in an attempt to hijack user accounts. These attacks are highly effective because users tend to reuse the same credentials across different websites, and they have quickly become one of the most prevalent types of online guessing attacks. Automated attacks can be run Continue reading
Almost a decade ago I described a scenario in which a perfectly valid IBGP topology could result in a permanent routing loop. While one wouldn’t expect to see such a scenario in a well designed network, it’s been known for ages1 that using BGP route reflectors could result in suboptimal forwarding.
Here’s a simple description of how that could happen:
Almost a decade ago I described a scenario in which a perfectly valid IBGP topology could result in a permanent routing loop. While one wouldn’t expect to see such a scenario in a well designed network, it’s been known for ages1 that using BGP route reflectors could result in suboptimal forwarding.
Here’s a simple description of how that could happen:
Automation is often put forward as the answer to all our problems—but without a map, how can we be certain we are moving in the right direction? David Gee joins Tom Ammon and Russ White on this episode of the Hedge to talk about automata without a map. Where did we come from, what are we doing with automation right now, and what do we need to do to map out a truly better future?
Ethan Banks & Ned Bellavance have a tech discussion with CEO Doug Murray and CTO Vishal Jain about multi-cloud security startup Valtix. Along the way, we find out that Valtix is a cloud-delivered security control-plane paired with a data-plane of enforcement points (sort of firewalls, but not exactly) delivered between any two points in the cloud you need them. Engineers should walk away from this chat with a solid idea of Valtix architecture and how it fits into their cloud design.
The post Day Two Cloud 119: Unifying Multi-Cloud Security With Valtix (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.