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Port knocking

en.wikipedia.org

11–20 of 185 posts

Re: Port knocking

#11
post #9

And to save other folks a search, this is pretty awesome: https://linux.die.net/man/1/knockd

If someone intercepts the traffic to my server, they could see the knock sequence and re-use it. Is there any way to get knockd to use a google authenticator-like sequence of port knocks?

I use fwknop[0] on my servers. It does single-packet authorization rather than straight port knocking, which solves the replay issue.

[0] https://www.cipherdyne.org/fwknop/

Re: Port knocking

#12
I implemented a physical port-knocking daemon, once. I lived in a block of flats — you needed an expensive fob to open the outer gate, and it didn’t even work reliably.

I lost my fob. So I took my intercom apart and wired a band pass filter circuit between the buzzer input and actuator output. If you pressed my buzzer with the right steady pattern, it would automatically let you in.

It worked great and I didn’t buy a replacement fob.

A few months later I started getting woken up by someone buzzing my buzzer. They would always scurry in before I could open my door to see who it was.

Turns out my upstairs neighbor saw my shenanigans a few times and started freeloading off my invention. Honestly amazed he/she reverse engineered what was going on!

Needless to say, I bought a new fob.

Re: Port knocking

#13
One-time knocking via changing the ports for every connection / every X seconds with a OTP is something else you can do to further contribute to the defense-in-depth idea. Port knocking is great on it's own, but curious to hear from those who have set it up this way. Love the 'honey port' idea mentioned elsewhere in the thread.

Re: Port knocking

#15
post #8
post #3

Port knocking is great theatre but not much good for anything else. I guess it can keep logs clear feom some drive by script kiddies.

I would think that if you are going to disparage it, you would at least give one example of why it's unnecessary.

I was not disparaging it. Indeed I commended its theatrics and suggested it may help to make logs less cluttered. As for its supposed security benefits, this is something that needs to be proven by actual security research. Not by anecdotes on the internet.

Re: Port knocking

#16

I implemented a physical port-knocking daemon, once. I lived in a block of flats — you needed an expensive fob to open the outer gate, and it didn’t even work reliably. I lost my fob. So I took my intercom apart and wired a band pass filter circuit between the buzzer input and actuator output. If you pressed my buzzer with the right steady pattern, it would automatically let you in. It worked great and I didn’t buy a…

I enjoyed your story, but can you please elaborate on what your intercom is / was for?

I understand the key fob/card concept for access purposes, but have never heard of an “intercom” in the context of home/apartment/etc security.

Re: Port knocking

#17
If you’re a fan or not of port knocking, single packet authorization is along the same lines, and has a much more robust mechanism that addresses most of the criticisms of port knocking. Your packet is cryptographically signed.

Take a look at fwknop for the implementation. The only issue with it is there’s no easy install for pfsense.

Re: Port knocking

#18
post #7
post #5

I've been in this business for a long, long time and have come across all manner of innovations regarding network security. Port knocking (which I think I learned about first at defcon ... perhaps 18 years ago ?) stands out as one of the very few things that made my network(s) substantially safer at nearly zero cost. I love, and continue to love, both the idea and the implementation. Pay no attention to the nay-sayer…

any tips or where one would get best practice for configuring/setting up/using knockd? I wrote up how having a server on the internet is scary now ( http://redgreenrepeat.com/2020/03/20/why-you-should-secure-y... ) and how to protect it ( http://redgreenrepeat.com/2020/04/10/how-to-secure-your-serv... ) One thing I didn't get into more was port knocking/knockd as there were not many resources for it. I'd love to lear…

vpn + port knocking should be good enough but I am not sure how to implement it in an efficient way (I currently only use a VPN)

https://www.howtogeek.com/105693/how-to-knock-into-your-netw...

Re: Port knocking

#19

I implemented a physical port-knocking daemon, once. I lived in a block of flats — you needed an expensive fob to open the outer gate, and it didn’t even work reliably. I lost my fob. So I took my intercom apart and wired a band pass filter circuit between the buzzer input and actuator output. If you pressed my buzzer with the right steady pattern, it would automatically let you in. It worked great and I didn’t buy a…

I enjoyed your story, but can you please elaborate on what your intercom is / was for? I understand the key fob/card concept for access purposes, but have never heard of an “intercom” in the context of home/apartment/etc security.

An intercom that lets someone at the gate talk to the apartment in question to try to convince them to buzz them in?

Re: Port knocking

#20

I implemented a physical port-knocking daemon, once. I lived in a block of flats — you needed an expensive fob to open the outer gate, and it didn’t even work reliably. I lost my fob. So I took my intercom apart and wired a band pass filter circuit between the buzzer input and actuator output. If you pressed my buzzer with the right steady pattern, it would automatically let you in. It worked great and I didn’t buy a…

I enjoyed your story, but can you please elaborate on what your intercom is / was for? I understand the key fob/card concept for access purposes, but have never heard of an “intercom” in the context of home/apartment/etc security.

It's a system like a local telephone system, where you dial up to a certain apartment and then they press a button that opens the door for you.
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