Internet Engineering Task Force Proposes Standard for Network Time Security

guest · Oct 3, 2020

Internet Engineering Task Force Proposes Standard for Network Time Security
October 2, 2020
https://www.securityweek.com/internet-engineering-task-force-proposes-standard-network-time-security

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has published RFC8915, its proposed standard for network time security (NTS). It has been five years in the making and is designed to remedy the issues and vulnerabilities that exist in the current network time protocol (NTP).

Accurately synchronized time between different computers over packet-switched, variable-latency data networks is essential. This becomes even more critical in the age of the fourth industrial revolution, where the accurate timing and sequence of different processes is vital.

However, over the last 35 years it has become apparent that various vulnerabilities and issues in NTP demonstrate that it requires an increased level of security. NTS is designed to provide that security.
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The existing issues affecting basic NTP include DDoS amplification, packet manipulation, and replay attacks -- the last two being implemented by man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks that can forge messages and falsify the time.

The primary solution has been the introduction of asymmetric cryptography to the initial server authentication. This can prevent MiTM attacks.
However, as RFC8915 notes, "a successful DDoS attack on an NTS-KE server separated from the NTP service it supports will not affect NTP users that have already performed initial authentication, AEAD key extraction, and cookie exchange."
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The proposed standard also warns that NTS does not fully protect against attacks from on-path adversaries.
However, NTS does largely prevent the use of some NTP implementations in DDoS amplification attacks.

"The publication of RFC8915 is an important moment both for the development of NTS and for security on the Internet in general," comments Lars Michael Jogback, the CEO of Netno
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Internet Society: NTS RFC Published: New Standard to Ensure Secure Time on the Internet

The Internet Society is pleased to see the publication of RFC 8915: Network Time Security for the Network Time Protocol by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). This standard represents a new security mechanism for one of the oldest protocols on the Internet, the Network Time Protocol (NTP).
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