Authentication Process

The enormous world of internet is often considered as one of the most unsafe when it comes to securing the integrity of data and information. This is why the technology of VPN or Virtual Private Networks was developed to provide a safe and intricately encrypted connection on the internet, which is considered as an otherwise less secured network [3]. VPN allows remote users and branch offices to have secured access over the applications they use as well as the resources. However, it is still a dicey situation from the perspective of a user on the other end. Therefore, the following report would put forward an idea on how the internet browser ensures that the link provided is being communicated to the correct server, the authentication process of digital signatures and the communication to the right client. Further, the report would provide a detailed confidentiality and integrity process for the Virtual Private network Processes and the Protection against the replay attacks. Thus, a clear view about the security models of the VPN would be attainable with the report.

Generally, a browser uses the functions for the fundamental operating systems as well as their infrastructure for looking up on the IP addresses for the domain as provided by the user in the URL or the Universal Resource Locator. The connection is then established to the IP address for exchanging data. However, this process has a tendency to falter in several ways [4]. It can even be a case where any malicious attacker can interfere with the DNS lookup, therefore changing the IP lookup to the IP address that the attacker wishes the user to be redirected to. In addition to this HTTPs also do not provide much security to the IP communications.

Thus, Virtual Private Network or VPN introduces IPSec, an Internet Protocol security service that ensures that a user is redirected to the correct web server. IPSec enables that the services that are requested by a user selects as well as negotiates between the correct security protocols, secret keys and single or multiple algorithms. It provides a user with the basic set of authentication and data integrity models with state of the art encryption services that ensures that a user does not end up redirected to unprotected viewing of websites by hackers and experience data modifications. An IPSec secured website can be identified with the security lock image followed by the word “Secure” located the extreme left hand of the address bar, following with the URL beginning with HTTPS notation instead of the HTTP.

                                                                                                       (Source: Google Homepage)

Ensuring communication to the right server

Working process of digital signatures in maintaining authenticity of messages: The mathematical scheme that is used for presenting the authenticity of a document containing digital messages is called digital signature. Digital signature protects the dignity of a digital message sent via the network services providing a full protection by authenticating the sender, characterizing the messages as non-repudiate such that the sender cannot deny the sending of the message, and protecting the integrity of the message by making it unalterable within transit [6]. The ways by which the digital messages are authenticated can be described in the following ways:

• Data Integrity: Generally, it is found that the digital signatures include hashing algorithms in the digital messages. The integrity of the data is verified with the help of digital signatures by proofing the correct hash over the data as signed by the sender [3]. For example, cryptographic message syntax is used to verify that both the receiver and sender have the same hash data signed by both the parties to check for the data integrity.
• Non-repudiation: This is a process by which the sender of a digital message cannot deny sending the message since a digital signature has the ability to find out the exact data signed by the sender at the very beginning.
• Unalterable within transit: The property of a digital signature is to authenticate even the signing of the digital message by the person controlling the private key. Therefore, with this property, the digital message in a signed file cannot be altered while transition; thus maintaining the integrity of the contents of an encrypted file.

                                                                                        (Source: Making digital signatures with a browser, 2018)

The property of a Virtual Private Network or VPN adopts security protocols that ensure that varied ranges of security protocols are provided to the servers as well as the client. A VPN always ensures two-way or three-way security protocol. The protocol by which VPN ensures that the communication is being established to the right client is known as the Layer 2 Tunnelling Protocol (L2TP)/IPSec. This protocol is the combination of the L2TP and IPSec protocols that ensures that a VPN client is highly secured [5]. The L2TP protocol cannot ensure encryption; however, it generates a tunnel providing the IPSec protocol to generate the encryption, integration of data and security of channels. This ensures that all the packets are sent and received in equal quantities having a proof that none of them were compromised, thus proving that the clients are authentic in nature.

Confidentiality in SSL communications: The SSL communication makes use of asymmetric and symmetric encryption to make sure that the privacy of the messages sent or received can be maintained. SSL communication follows a handshake algorithm methodology and a shared secret key, which is valid just for a single session [6]. The SSL communication makes sure that all the messages are encrypted using the secret key and algorithm shared between the client and the server, thus even when the communication is intercepted, the confidentiality would not be compromised. In addition to that, the secret keys used for the SSL communication are supported by asymmetric encryption to ensure no distribution problem.

Integrity provision in SSL communication: The SSL communication protects the integrity of a sent or received by with the help of the calculation of the message digest. However, it has to be made sure that the CipherSpec in the channel definition makes use of a hash algorithm.

The server and the client agree on the use of one single cipher suite to be negotiated while establishing a secure channel connection (HTTPS) by being familiar with the specifications of the SSL or Secret Socket Layers and the TSL or the Transport Socket Layer [2].

Digital signatures and their role in authentication process

It is quite difficult to understand the functions of a symmetric encryption and the hash algorithms during an SSL communication. Each of these has specific functionalities and can be implemented with the help of robust communication encryption solution [5]. The role of symmetric encryption and hash algorithm in SSL or Secret Socket Layer communication can be described as below:

Symmetric Encryption: The property of the shared secret encryption or shared key of Symmetric Encryption has the potential of being extremely fast and they are also comparatively less complex than the other encryption formats. Therefore, it allows an easier implementation in the hardware; although, it ensures proper implementation only after all configured hosts have participated to the secret key through external means.

Hash Algorithms: A hash algorithm is different from the encryption process as this is a form of cryptographic security, which provides a two-step process defining encryption and decryption of a message [4]. It provides condensation of a message into a fixed length value of irreversible format known as hash. This process is used in SSL for the verification of data.

                                                                                                            (Source: Ninocrudele, 2018)

There are mitigation strategies in SSL communication that ensures anti-replay attacks and these are done in the following ways as listed below:

• Time-stamped or time-valued packets
• Non-repeating serial numbers
• IPSec secure protocol including authentication and encryption [6]

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded by stating that VPN or Virtual Private Networks are the most secured technology that ensures that the less secured networks like the internet are also safe and encrypted. This can be ensured by stating the authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and anti-replay mitigation process provided by the technology. The following report thus puts forward an idea on how the internet browser ensures that the link provided is being communicated to the correct server, the authentication process of digital signatures and the communication to the right client. Further, the report would provide a detailed confidentiality and integrity process for the Virtual Private network Processes and the Protection against the replay attacks. The report also clearly states how SSL communications provide confidentiality and integrity to transferred messages and how proper anti-replay attacks are mitigated in these kinds of communications. Thus, a clear view about the security models of the VPN would be attainable with the report.

References

Making digital signatures with a browser.. Retrieved September 03, 2018, from Federal Public Service Finances: https://ccff02.minfin.fgov.be/CCFF_Authentication/views/login/signature/signatureHelp.html, 2018.

Ninocrudele. AzureLeap – AES encryption and Hash algorithm concepts and best practices in cloud. Retrieved September 03, 2018, from AzureLeap: https://ninocrudele.com/azureleap-aes-encryption-and-hash-algorithm-concepts-and-best-practices-in-cloud. 2018, April 03.

Gallo, Crescenzio, Michelangelo De Bonis, and Michele Perilli. “Virtual Private Networks.” Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition. IGI Global, 2015. 6347-6356.

[Jyothi, K. Karuna, and B. Indira Reddy. “Study on Virtual Private Network (VPN), VPN’s Protocols And Security.” (2018).

Jalalzai, M. H., W. B. Shahid, and M. M. W. Iqbal. “DNS security challenges and best practices to deploy secure DNS with digital signatures.” Applied Sciences and Technology (IBCAST), 2015 12th International Bhurban Conference on. IEEE, 2015.

Dragomir, Dan, et al. “A Survey on Secure Communication Protocols for IoT Systems.” Secure Internet of Things (SIoT), 2016 International Workshop on. IEEE, 2016.