Okay first, what is it? SSO is a capability
that enables end users to enter their credentials one time; then they ca
The most commonly used
authentication protocol on the market at present is Kerberos. Fun fact: if the
name sounds familiar to you it’s because it is named after Cerberus, (Greek
Mythology), the three-headed dog that guards the entrance (gates) to the underworld.
MIT is so clever! So, essentially Kerberos was created (by MIT) – food for
thought – Cerberus doesn’t only guard the gate, he also prevents the dead from leaving. (disclaimer: I always make
learning fun so you will repeatedly see puns and references on my blog, there
is no reason learning needs to be boring)!
Why am I even saying this to you? Lol, think
for a moment – every Cybersecurity Practitioner, regardless of Job Title, knows
that “The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block
of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards—and even then I
have my doubts.” —Eugene H. Spafford. Clearly, we need to use our computers,
mobile phones, tablets, what have you during the day to complete our work and
business tasks, so this is an unrealistic expectation. However, Kerberos was
brilliantly thought up by MIT in order to do just the same – protect your internal
system (assets) from the extremely unsecured use of the internet.
How does it work? So, Kerberos uses
Symmetric Cryptography in order for a client to verify it’s identity to a
server, known as a KDC. The KDC then acts as an automated distribution center which operates by storing,
distributing, and maintaining session and secret keys. The KDC then generates a
ticket from the Ticket Granting Service (TGS). Long story short, this TGS operates
on a set of principles which is known as a realm in Kerberos. I won’t go into
detail here but if you want to learn more about the potential of using Kerberos
in your network and its advantages – by all means send me an email and we can
talk! I also want to point out before we leave that Kerberos was developed as a
part of MIT’s “Project Athena,” Which makes perfect sense considering the
clever name of the best SSO technology available to us. Thank you, MIT. (I am a
frequent Redhat Linux user, so this definitely resonates with me)
Ashley J. Oliver
Oliver COM Solutions, d/b/a
n access resources in both primary and secondary network domains. Why is this relevant? Well, time is essential, especially in the Cybersecurity realm, and we need a product that can speed up that authentication time!
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