On Encryption

#1

Post by mtoledo » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 7:33 PM UTC

On Encryption
privateinternetaccess.com

Re: On Encryption

#2

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 8:59 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: On Encryption

#3

Post by coderrr » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:05 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

For OpenVPN - which is the only protocol we advise for real security (PPTP and IPSec/L2TP are fine for just hiding your IP) - we don't use pre-shared keys. OpenVPN uses TLS for exchanging strong symmetric keys. Your password is only used for authentication and its entropy isn't related to your session's security.

Re: On Encryption

#4

Post by tptacek » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:06 PM UTC

I would not make the assumption that 1024 bit conventional Diffie Hellman is safe.

Re: On Encryption

#5

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:12 PM UTC

coderrr wrote: post #3

[deleted] wrote: post #2

[deleted]

For OpenVPN - which is the only protocol we advise for real security (PPTP and IPSec/L2TP are fine for just hiding your IP) - we don't use pre-shared keys. OpenVPN uses TLS for exchanging strong symmetric keys. Your password is only used for authentication and its entropy isn't related to your session's security.

[deleted]

Re: On Encryption

#6

Post by coderrr » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:13 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #4

I would not make the assumption that 1024 bit conventional Diffie Hellman is safe.

You're probably right. We've already changed to 2048 DH everywhere. Do you have any opinion on if that is a strong enough default?

Re: On Encryption

#7

Post by hyperplane » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:26 PM UTC

coderrr wrote: post #6

tptacek wrote: post #4

I would not make the assumption that 1024 bit conventional Diffie Hellman is safe.

You're probably right. We've already changed to 2048 DH everywhere. Do you have any opinion on if that is a strong enough default?

Does OpenVPN support ECDH parameters yet? openssl supports ecparam[1], and polarssl is now supporting it in their development branch[2].

[1] http://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ecparam.html

[2] https://github.com/polarssl/polarssl/commit/577e006c2fe4a361...

Re: On Encryption

#8

Post by vezzy-fnord » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:30 PM UTC

This is somewhat of a red herring. It's more feasible for the NSA to attack from a side channel, and with their influence that's what they've been doing. No doubt they may have optimized some attacks on already previously weakened ciphers (such as RC4), but there's so many other links to strike.

Re: On Encryption

#9

Post by coderrr » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 9:40 PM UTC

hyperplane wrote: post #7

coderrr wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably right. We've already changed to 2048 DH everywhere. Do you have any opinion on if that is a strong enough default?

Does OpenVPN support ECDH parameters yet? openssl supports ecparam[1], and polarssl is now supporting it in their development branch[2]. [1] http://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ecparam.html [2] https://github.com/polarssl/polarssl/commit/577e006c2fe4a361...

We'll use standard DHE if the user selects an RSA cert (2048, 3072, or 4096). And we'll use ECDHE if the user selects an Elliptic Curve cert. We'll also be displaying a disclaimer about the potential issues with ECC (certain experts believe TLS curves may be compromised/weakened) if the user selects that.

Re: On Encryption

#10

Post by stock_toaster » Mon, Sep 09, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

  > We will also be adding support for something no other provider is currently offering called Elliptic Curve Cryptographic security, with both 256bit and 521bit curves.

Any particular reason to not offer 384bit as well?

ps. likely a typo: 521 should be 512?

edit: Nope. 521 is correct[1]. thanks @mtoledo

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_curve_cryptography#ci...