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Security Architecture

MIS 5214 - Section 001 - David Lanter

Security Architecture

MIS 5214.951 ■ Spring 2024 ■ Jose Gomez
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    • First Half of the Course
      • Unit 0a – Introduction
      • Unit 0b – The Threat Environment
      • Unit 1a – System Security Plan
      • Unit 1b – Planning and Policy
      • Unit 2a – Case Study 1 – A High Performance Computing Cluster Under Attack: The Titan Incident
      • Unit 2b – Cryptography
      • Unit 3a – Secure Networks
      • Unit 3b – Firewalls, Intrusion Detection and Protection Systems
    • Second Half of the Course
      • Unit 4b – Case Study 2 Data Breach at Equifax
      • Unit 5a – Access Control
      • Unit 5b Host Hardening
      • Unit 6a Application Security
      • Unit 6b Data Protection
      • Unit 7a – Incident and Disaster Response
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      • Case Study 1 – A High Performance Computing Cluster Under Attack: The Titan Incident
      • Case Study 2 – Data Breach at Equifax
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Public Key Infrastructure and X.509 Public Key Certificates

January 1, 2022 by Jose Gomez 25 Comments

Filed Under: 3a - Secure Networks Tagged With:

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  1. Chun Liu says

    February 28, 2024 at 11:23 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) describes the policies, standards, and software that govern or manipulate certificates and public and private keys. In practice, PKI refers to a system of digital certificates, certificate authorities (CAs), and other registries that check and verify the legitimacy of the parties involved in an electronic transaction. The standards for PKI are still evolving, even though they have been widely implemented as elements of e-commerce. Security requires many layers to ensure secure communications. A public key infrastructure (asymmetric key) generates mathematically related public and private keys, using one to encrypt a message and the other to decrypt it. This type of encryption helps to keep the message secret but does not verify the identity of the party receiving the message.

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  2. Guanhua Xiao says

    February 29, 2024 at 4:01 am

    X.509 public key certificate is an important part of public key infrastructure, it realizes information encryption, decryption and authentication through the pairing of public key and private key, and ensures the security of network communication.
    Public key is mainly composed of public key cryptography, digital certificate, certificate issuing authority and security policy about public key. PKI uses public key technology to provide a platform for the management of keys and certificates, and encryption and decryption algorithms run on this platform.

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  3. Xiaozhi Shi says

    February 29, 2024 at 7:07 am

    Public key infrastructure is described in this article. Public key encryption uses key pairs to encrypt and decrypt content. It should have a pair of mathematically related keys, one for the public key and one for the private key. One user needs to use one key to encrypt the message and another user needs to use one key to decrypt the message. A certificate authority (CA) typically accomplishes this by issuing a signed (encrypted) binary certificate that confirms the identity of the certificate user and binds that identity to the public key contained in the certificate. the CA signs the certificate with its private key. It uses the self-signed CA certificate to issue the corresponding public key to all relevant parties. The certificate signing process verifies that the public key has not been tampered with or corrupted during transmission.

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  4. Yawen Du says

    February 29, 2024 at 8:49 am

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a system for managing, distributing, revoking, and storing public key certificates, which provides a secure mechanism that allows communicating parties to exchange information securely.X.509 is the standard format of PKI, and X.509 certificates are everywhere, such as websites, mobile applications, electronic documents, and connected devices we use every day. X.509 certificates are everywhere, such as websites, mobile applications, electronic documents, and connected devices that we use every day. PKI and X.509 public key certificates play an important role in network security, they provide authentication, data encryption and integrity protection, etc. to ensure the security and reliability of network communications.

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  5. Shijie Yang says

    February 29, 2024 at 11:09 am

    This page describes the public key infrastructure. Public key encryption uses key pairs to encrypt and decrypt content. It should have a pair of mathematically relevant keys, a public key and a private key. One user needs a key to encrypt the information, and the other user needs a key to decrypt the information. A certificate authority (CA) typically does this by issuing a signed (encrypted) binary certificate that confirms the identity of the certificate subject and binds that identity to the public key contained in the certificate. The CA uses its private key to sign the certificate. It uses a self-signed CA certificate to issue the corresponding public key to all interested parties. The certificate signing process verifies that the public key has not been tampered with or corrupted during transmission.

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  6. Xinyi Peng says

    February 29, 2024 at 9:29 pm

    PKI and X.509 certificates play a fundamental role in establishing trust, enabling secure communication, and facilitating authentication in modern digital environments. They provide the foundation for secure online transactions, data exchange, and identity verification across a wide range of applications and industries.

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  7. Yuanjun Xie says

    February 29, 2024 at 9:48 pm

    A key point I got from this article was that security requires many layers in order to make sure communication is secure. Public key infrastructure has solved one of its major flaws, the possibility of the public key being tampered with, by adding a certification authority to the encryption and decryption process. This is done by having the private key sign a certification authority, which tells the receiving end that the public key being issued is indeed the one issued by the trusted party. What stood out to me here was the additional layer being added to maintain security. This was the result of the public key infrastructure evolving to protect public keys against man-in-the-middle attacks. I am wondering if evolving security threats will continue causing public key infrastructure to add more and more levels of certification.The certificate authority (CA) usually achieved by issuing a signed (encrypted) binary certificate, which confirms the identity of the certificate subject and binds that identity to the public key contained in the certificate. The CA uses its private key to sign the certificate. It uses a self-signed CA certificate to issue corresponding public keys to all relevant parties. The certificate signing process verifies that the public key has not been tampered with or damaged during transmission.

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  8. Zhang Yunpeng says

    February 29, 2024 at 10:28 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a crucial component in establishing trust, enabling secure communication, and facilitating authentication in modern digital environments. It encompasses policies, standards, and software that govern or manipulate certificates and public and private keys. In practice, PKI refers to a system of digital certificates, certificate authorities (CAs), and other registries that check and verify the legitimacy of the parties involved in an electronic transaction. The standards for PKI are constantly evolving, yet they have been widely implemented as integral elements of e-commerce. A key aspect of PKI is the generation of mathematically related public and private keys (known as asymmetric keys), where one key is used to encrypt a message and the other to decrypt it. This type of encryption ensures the confidentiality of the message but does not verify the identity of the receiving party.

    PKI, particularly in conjunction with X.509 certificates, plays a pivotal role in providing the foundation for secure online transactions, data exchange, and identity verification across a diverse range of applications and industries. These certificates, issued by trusted certificate authorities, act as digital identifiers, verifying the authenticity and integrity of the information exchanged between parties. By leveraging PKI and X.509 certificates, modern digital systems can ensure secure, authenticated, and reliable communication, crucial for facilitating trust and confidence in today’s interconnected world.

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  9. Yujie Cao says

    February 29, 2024 at 11:03 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) describes the policies, standards, and software that control or manipulate certificates and public and private keys. In practice, PKI refers to a system of digital certificates, certificate authorities (CA), and other registries that check and verify the legitimacy of the parties involved in an electronic transaction. Public key certificates, often called certificates, authenticate and secure data exchange on the Internet, Extranet, and Intranet. Certificate Authority (CA) is the issuer and signer of certificates are known as Certificate Authority (CA). A public-key certificate is a digitally signed statement that binds the value of a public key to the subject’s identity (person, device, and service) holding the corresponding private key. By signing the certificate, the CA can verify that the private key corresponding to the public key on the certificate is owned by the subject specified in the certificate.
    Certificates can be issued for a variety of purposes, such as Web user authentication, Web server authentication, secure e-mail using Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), IP Security ), Secure Sockets Layer/Transaction Layer Security (SSL/TLS), and code signing.

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  10. Shuting Zhang says

    February 29, 2024 at 11:45 pm

    The Certificate Enrollment API is an essential component of the Microsoft public key infrastructure (PKI), which encompasses various elements. These elements include Certification Authorities, which provide services for authenticating the identity of individuals, computers, and other entities in a network. Public Key Certificates, including both root certification authorities and subordinate authorities, are used for this purpose.
    Another element of the PKI is the Certificate, which is responsible for saving certificate requests, issued and revoked certificates, and certificate requests. The Directory, specifically the Certificate Directory, plays a crucial role in saving encrypted private keys in the certificate database for recovery in case of loss.
    Additionally, the Key Recovery Server is an important component that facilitates the recovery of lost keys. It operates within the context of trust models and certificate request encoding, which are related topics in the PKI domain.

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  11. Hongli Ma says

    March 1, 2024 at 6:04 am

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and X.509 Public Key Certificates play a vital role in ensuring secure communication over the internet. PKI provides the framework for managing digital certificates, which are used to verify the authenticity of entities in a digital communication. X.509 certificates, a standard format for these certificates, contain key information such as the public key of the entity and the digital signature of the Certificate Authority (CA) that issued the certificate. This system enables secure transactions, email encryption, and other cryptographic operations by establishing trust between communicating parties. The complexity and effectiveness of PKI and X.509 certificates highlight the importance of robust security practices and the need for ongoing management and validation of digital certificates to maintain a secure digital environment.

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  12. Shuyi Dong says

    March 1, 2024 at 6:24 am

    A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a system that integrates a variety of key components that work together to ensure the security of Internet communications. These components include trusted third-party certificate authorities (CAs), certificate store databases, and registries. They work together to provide proof of the integrity and ownership of certificates for all parties to the communication.

    In PKI, the CA plays a central role. It is responsible for verifying the identity of individuals, systems, and other entities, and assigning and storing certificates for them. When proof of identity is required, these entities submit a certificate request to the registry. Once the identity is verified, the CA generates a pair of interrelated public and private keys.

    Next, the CA computes a hash value and signs it using the newly generated private key. This signing process ensures the authenticity and validity of the certificate. The public key in the certificate is publicly available, and users can verify the hash value to confirm the identity and validity of the certificate. In addition, the certificate contains key information such as the certificate issuer, the validity period, and the hashing algorithm used.

    Public key infrastructure plays a crucial role in the modern digital world. It not only ensures authentication of the sender and receiver of electronic messages, but also provides confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation in the communication process. These characteristics make PKI an integral part of modern network security, providing security and reliability for all kinds of online interactions.

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  13. Haoran Wang says

    March 1, 2024 at 9:25 am

    After I reading the article,I think the public key play a very important role for the cyber security .Public key can help the organization or users to manage the safety of the system and network.A typical PKI system includes public key encryption algorithm, certificate authority (CA), registration authority (RA), certificate repository, certificate revocation list (CRL) .I think PKI is a very good soultion for the system safety and network safety,it helps the organization have good security and reliability.

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  14. Yiwei Hu says

    March 1, 2024 at 9:40 am

    A public key infrastructure (PKI) consists of software and hardware elements that a trusted third party can use to establish the integrity and ownership of a public key. The trusted party that signs the document that associates the key with the device is called a Certificate Authority (CA). The PKI consists of the following five parts: certificate authority, registration authority, certificate database, certificate store, and key archive server. A CA certificate is used to validate any public certificate and establish a security key. X.509 certificate identification authenticates whether the public key belongs to the user or the computer identity requirements contained in the certificate.

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  15. Chenhao Zhang says

    March 1, 2024 at 9:13 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
    PKI is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and processes required to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. These certificates contain public keys that are used to encrypt data, ensuring secure and authenticated communication between two parties.
    The main components of PKI include:
    Certification Authority (CA): A trusted third party that issues and revokes digital certificates. The ca creates the certificate by verifying the identity of the certificate applicant and signing its public key with its own private key.
    Registration Authority (RA): Responsible for collecting and verifying the identity information of certificate applicants. The RAs forwards this information to the CA to issue a certificate.
    Repository: A secure location to store and distribute issued certificates. The repository can be online or offline, depending on the needs of the organization.
    X.509 Public Key Certificate:X.509 is the standard for public key certificates. These certificates are issued by the CA and contain the certificate holder’s public key, their identity information, the CA’s signature, and other relevant details. X.509 certificates are widely used on the Internet for secure communication protocols such as SSL/TLS.

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  16. Zhaomeng Wang says

    March 1, 2024 at 10:02 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a set of hardware, software, policies, and standards used to manage digital certificates and public-private key pairs. PKI enables secure communication and authentication over an insecure network, such as the internet. It provides a framework for the creation, distribution, and management of digital certificates, which are used to verify the authenticity of entities and to establish secure communication channels.

    PKI typically involves the following components:

    1. **Certificate Authority (CA)**: A trusted entity responsible for issuing, revoking, and managing digital certificates. The CA digitally signs the certificates to ensure their authenticity.

    2. **Registration Authority (RA)**: A component that verifies the identity of individuals or entities requesting digital certificates before forwarding the request to the CA for issuance.

    3. **Certificate Repository**: A database or directory where issued certificates and their associated public keys are stored.

    4. **Certificate Revocation List (CRL)**: A list of revoked certificates that have not yet expired. It is maintained by the CA and made available to users to check the validity of certificates.

    5. **Certificate Policy and Certification Practice Statement (CPS)**: Documents that define the policies and practices followed by the CA in issuing and managing certificates.

    **X.509 Public Key Certificates**

    X.509 is a standard format for public key certificates defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). X.509 certificates are used in PKI to bind a public key to an entity, such as a person, organization, or device. These certificates are digitally signed by a CA and contain information about the entity, the public key, the digital signature, and other relevant data.

    The structure of an X.509 certificate includes the following components:

    1. **Version**: Indicates the version of the X.509 standard used for the certificate.

    2. **Serial Number**: A unique identifier assigned by the CA to each certificate it issues.

    3. **Subject**: Identifies the entity to which the certificate is issued, such as a person, organization, or device.

    4. **Issuer**: Identifies the CA that issued the certificate.

    5. **Validity Period**: Specifies the start and end dates during which the certificate is considered valid.

    6. **Public Key**: Contains the entity’s public key, which is used for encryption, digital signatures, and key exchange.

    7. **Digital Signature**: A signature created by the CA using its private key to bind the certificate to the entity and ensure its authenticity.

    8. **Extensions**: Additional information, such as key usage, subject alternative names, and policies, can be included in the extensions section.

    X.509 certificates play a crucial role in establishing secure communication, authenticating entities, and ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of data in various applications, including SSL/TLS for secure web browsing, email encryption, and digital signatures.

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  17. Hao Zhang says

    March 2, 2024 at 12:10 am

    A key takeaway I learned that public-key cryptography relies on a public and private key pair to encrypt and decrypt. The certificate authority gives each member their own particular one that they can choose to share with others. The x.509 public key infrastructure recognizes the requirements for a public key certificate. The signed certificate certifies the key to a person, computer, or organization. Since inception, the X.509 public-key standard has evolved 3 times, each time requiring more specific detail, the latest version (3) requires the issuer’s unique ID, subject unique ID, and extensions. As time goes on, these public key requirements will become more detailed in order to heighten security.

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  18. Yuming He says

    March 2, 2024 at 2:57 am

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a system used to create, store, distribute, verify, revoke, and manage digital certificates, used to verify the identity of the public key owner contained in the certificate.
    X. 509 standard defines the format of public key certificate used in many Internet encryption protocols, which is used for HTTPS, secure e-mail, code signature and digital signature of servers and clients.

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  19. Yue Wang says

    March 2, 2024 at 5:13 am

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is an essential component for building trust, enabling secure communications and facilitating authentication in the modern digital environment. It encompasses the policies, standards, and software that manage or manipulate Certificates as well as Public and Private Keys. In practice, PKI refers to the system of digital certificates, certificate authorities (CAs) and other registries used to check and verify the legitimacy of parties to electronic transactions.
    x.509 is a PKI-related

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  20. Nana Li says

    March 2, 2024 at 5:44 am

    Public-key cryptography uses a key pair to encrypt and decrypt content. A public key infrastructure (PKI) consists of software and hardware elements that a trusted third party can use to establish the integrity and ownership of a public key. The trusted party signing the document associating the key with the device is called a certificate authority (CA). The digital certificate like the passport to the citizen, it can establishes the identity of users within the ecosystem. A public key infrastructure relies on digital signature technology, the certificate signing process enables user can verify that the public key was not tampered with or corrupted during transit. A typical PKI consists of the following elements: Certification Authority, Registration Authority, Certificate Database, Certificate Store, Key Archival Server.

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  21. Xuanwen Zheng says

    March 2, 2024 at 5:49 am

    In practice, PKI refers to a system composed of digital certificates, certificate authorities (CA) and other registration institutions, whose main function is to review and verify the legitimacy of each participant in an electronic transaction. Although the standards of PKI are still evolving, they have been widely used in the e-commerce field. To ensure communication security, the security requirements cover multiple levels.

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  22. Chunqi Liu says

    March 2, 2024 at 5:57 am

    A strong cryptographic authentication is very well needed between computers with a reliable connection. This is where Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) comes in. It delivers a framework of encryption and data communication standards to secure communications over public networks. It also connects public keys with user identities by way of a certificate authority, which is a reliable third party that issues digital certificates and creates digital signatures. The X.509 certificate uses the PKI model to confirm that the public key belongs to the user or computer from that certificate.

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  23. Haixu Yao says

    March 2, 2024 at 10:03 pm

    Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a security architecture that provides key management services, which mainly involves the application of public key cryptography technology. In the field of information security, PKI plays a crucial role in managing, distributing and revoking digital certificates, as well as providing key generation, update, recovery and delegation. The core components of PKI include Certificate Authority (CA), Registration Authority (Registration Authority), Certificate Authority (Certificate Authority), and Certificate Authority (Certificate Authority). RA), Certificate Repository (Certificate Repository), and Key Management Center (Key Management Center).
    The X.509 Public Key certificate is a digital certificate standard used in PKI that follows the X.500 Directory Services standard. An X.509 certificate contains the public key of the certificate holder, the signature of the certificate issuer, the name of the certificate holder, and the validity period of the certificate.

    Public key infrastructure and X.509 public key certificate are important security mechanisms and technical standards in the field of information security, which provide a strong security guarantee for network communication and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of data. In practical applications, PKI and X.509 certificates are widely used in various security scenarios, such as online banking, e-commerce, enterprise internal networks, etc., providing more secure and convenient services for people’s life and work.

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  24. Yue Ma says

    March 3, 2024 at 12:43 am

    After reading these two materials I realized that why we need to deploy a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
    There are a host of reasons to deploy a PKI; a few are listed here:
    1. Control access to the network with 802.1x authentication
    2. Approve and authorize applications with Code Signing
    3. Protect user data with EFS
    4. Secure network traffic IPSec
    5. Protect LDAP-based directory queries Secure LDAP
    6. Implement two-factor authentication with Smart Cards
    7. Protect traffic to internal web-sites with SSL
    8. Implement Secure Email

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  25. Hao Li says

    March 3, 2024 at 6:11 am

    This chapter focuses on public key infrastructure (PKI). Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) describes the policies, standards, and software used to control or manipulate certificates and public and private keys.PKI certificates provide proof that they belong to a specific company. A Certificate Authority is responsible for issuing digital certificates. The registry organization verifies the companies that apply for digital certificates. The certificate database holds information about certificates. The certificate policy defines the PKI process.

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READINGS & CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

  • 0a – Introduction (1)
  • 0b – The Threat Environment (5)
  • 1a – System Security Plan (4)
  • 1b – Planning and Policy (4)
  • 2a – Case Study 1 (4)
  • 2b – Cryptography (4)
  • 3a – Secure Networks (5)
  • 3b – Firewalls and IDS and IPS (3)
  • 4b – Case Study 2 (4)
  • 5a – Access Control (5)
  • 5b – Host Hardening (3)
  • 6a – Application Security (4)
  • 6b – Data Protection (2)
  • 7a – Incident and Disaster Response (3)
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