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authorThomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100
committerThomas Voss <mail@thomasvoss.com> 2024-11-27 20:54:24 +0100
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+Network Working Group D. Eastlake, III
+Request for Comments: 1455 Digital Equipment Corporation
+ May 1993
+
+
+ Physical Link Security Type of Service
+
+Status of this Memo
+
+ This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
+ community. Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
+ Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol
+ Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol.
+ Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+
+Abstract
+
+ This RFC documents an experimental protocol providing a Type of
+ Service (TOS) to request maximum physical link security. This is an
+ addition to the types of service enumerated in RFC 1349: Type of
+ Service in the Internet Protocol Suite. The new TOS requests the
+ network to provide what protection it can against surreptitious
+ observation by outside agents of traffic so labeled. The purpose is
+ protection against traffic analysis and as an additional possible
+ level of data confidentiality. This TOS is consistent with all other
+ defined types of service for IP version 4 in that it is based on link
+ level characteristics and will not provide any particular guaranteed
+ level of service.
+
+1. Nature of Requirement
+
+ This Internet Protocol addition addresses two potential security
+ requirements: resistance to traffic analysis and confidentiality.
+ These are described in the two subsections below followed by a
+ discussion of why links have different levels of physical security so
+ that it is meaningful to request that more secure links be used.
+
+1.1 Traffic Analysis
+
+ At this time all Internet Protocol (IP) packets must have most of
+ their header information, including the "from" and "to" addresses, in
+ the clear. This is required for routers to properly handle the
+ traffic even if a higher level protocol fully encrypts all bytes in
+ the packet after the IP header. This renders even end-to-end
+ encrypted IP packets subject to traffic analysis if the data stream
+ can be observed. While traffic statistics are normally less
+ sensitive than the data content of packets, in some cases activities
+ of hosts or users are deducible from traffic information.
+
+
+
+Eastlake [Page 1]
+
+RFC 1455 Link Security TOS May 1993
+
+
+ It is essential that routers have access to header information, so it
+ is hard to protect traffic statistics from an adversary with inside
+ access to the network. However, use of more secure physical links
+ will make traffic observation by entities outside of the network more
+ difficult thus improving protection from traffic analysis.
+
+ No doubt users would like to be able to request a guaranteed level of
+ link security, just as they would like to be able to request a
+ guaranteed bandwidth or delay through the network. However, such
+ guarantees require a resource reservation and/or policy routing
+ scheme and are beyond the scope of the current IP Type of Service
+ facility.
+
+ Although the TOS field is provided in all current Internet packets
+ and routing based on TOS is provided in routing protocols such as
+ OSPF [See 5,6,7], there is no realistic chance that all of the
+ Internet will implement this additional TOS any time in the
+ foreseeable future. Nevertheless, users concerned about traffic
+ analysis need to be able to request that the physical security of the
+ links over which their packets will be pass be maximized in
+ preference to other link characteristics. The proposed TOS provides
+ this capability.
+
+1.2 Confidentiality
+
+ Use of physical links with greater physical security provides a layer
+ of protection for the confidentiality of the data in the packets as
+ well as traffic analysis protection. If the content of the packets
+ are otherwise protected by end-to-end encryption, using secure links
+ makes it harder for an external adversary to obtain the encrypted
+ data to attack. If the content of the packets is unencrypted plain
+ text, secure links may provide the only protection of data
+ confidentiality.
+
+ There are cases where end-to-end encryption can not be used.
+ Examples include paths which incorporate links within nations which
+ restrict encryption, such as France or Australia, and paths which
+ incorporate an amateur radio link, where encryption is prohibited.
+ In these cases, link security is generally the only type of
+ confidentiality available. The proposed TOS will provide a way of
+ requesting the best that the network can do for the security of such
+ unencrypted data.
+
+ This TOS is required for improved confidentiality, especially in
+ cases where encryption can not be used, despite the fact that it does
+ not provide the guarantees that many users would like. See
+ discussion at the end of the Traffic Analysis section above.
+
+
+
+
+Eastlake [Page 2]
+
+RFC 1455 Link Security TOS May 1993
+
+
+1.3 Link Physical Security Characteristics
+
+ Physical links, which are composed of lines and routers, differ
+ widely in their susceptibility to surreptitious observation of the
+ information flowing over them. For examples of line security see the
+ following list:
+
+ 1) Land line media is usually harder to intercept than radio
+ broadcast media.
+
+ 2) Between different radio broadcast media, spread spectrum or
+ other low probability of intercept systems, are harder to
+ intercept than normal broadcast systems. At the other extreme,
+ systems with a large footprint on the earth, such as some
+ satellite down links, may be particularly accessible.
+
+ 3) Between land lines, point to point systems are generally harder
+ to intercept than multi-point systems such as Ethernet or FDDI.
+
+ 4) Fiber optic land lines are generally harder to intercept than
+ metallic paths because fiber is harder to tap.
+
+ 5) A secure land line, such as one in pressurized conduit with
+ pressure alarms or one installed so as to be observable by
+ guards, is harder to intercept than an unsecured land line.
+
+ 6) An encrypted link would be preferable to an unencrypted link
+ because, even if it was accessed, it would be much more
+ difficult to obtain any useful information.
+
+ Routers also have different levels of security against interception
+ depending on the physical security of the router site and the like.
+
+ The above comparisons show that there are significant real
+ differences between the security of the physical links in use in the
+ Internet. Choosing links where it is hard for an outside observer to
+ observe the traffic improves confidentiality and protection against
+ traffic analysis.
+
+2. Protocol Specification
+
+ The value 15 decimal (F hex) in the four-bit Type of Service IP
+ header field requests routing the packet to minimize the chance of
+ surreptitious observation of its contents by agents external to the
+ network. (This value is chosen to be at the maximum hamming distance
+ from the existing other TOS values.)
+
+
+
+
+
+Eastlake [Page 3]
+
+RFC 1455 Link Security TOS May 1993
+
+
+3. Protocol Implementation
+
+ This TOS can be implemented in routing systems that offer TOS based
+ routing (as can be done with OSPF, see RFCs 1245 through 1247) by
+ assigning costs to links. Establishing the "cost" for different
+ links for this TOS is a local policy function.
+
+ In principle services are incomparable when criterion such as those
+ given in the Nature of Requirement section above conflict. For
+ example, a choice between an encrypted broadcast system and an
+ unencrypted fiber optic land line. In practice, link encryption
+ would probably dominate all other forms of protection and physical
+ security as mentioned in criterion 5 above would dominate other land
+ line distinctions.
+
+ An example of "costs" at a hypothetical router could be as follows:
+
+ Cost Type
+ 1 Strong encryption with secure key distribution
+ 2 Physically secure point-to-point line
+ 6 Typical point-to-point line
+ 8 Typical local multi-point media
+ 12 Metropolitan area multi-point media
+ 24 Local radio broadcast
+ 32 Satellite link
+
+ Link costs should be chosen so as to be in the same ratio as the
+ probability of interception. Thus the above example costs imply a
+ local policy assumption that interception is 32 times more likely on
+ a satellite link and associated router than on a strongly encrypted
+ line and its associated router. It is not necessary to estimate the
+ absolute probability of interception on any particular link. It is
+ sufficient to estimate the ratio between interception probabilities
+ on different links.
+
+ It should be noted that using costs such as the example given above
+ could result in using many more links than if the default type of
+ service were requested. For example, the use of over 50 highly
+ secure links could be better than using two insecure links, such as
+ an unencrypted satellite hop and radio link. However, if the costs
+ have been properly set in proportion to the probability of
+ interception, this larger number of links will be more secure than
+ the shorter default routing. This consideration should make it clear
+ why it is necessary to estimate router security as well as link
+ security. An excessive cost ratio based solely on the security of a
+ communications line could cause packets to go through many routers
+ which were less secure than the lines in question. This necessity to
+ take router characteristics into account is also present for all
+
+
+
+Eastlake [Page 4]
+
+RFC 1455 Link Security TOS May 1993
+
+
+ other defined TOS values.
+
+ It should also be noted that routing algorithms typically compute the
+ sum of the costs of the links. For this particular type of service,
+ the product of the link probabilities of secure transmission would be
+ more appropriate. However, the same problem is present for the high
+ reliability TOS and the use of a sum is an adequate approximation for
+ most uses as noted in RFC 1349.
+
+References
+
+ [1] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol - DARPA Internet Program Protocol
+ Specification", STD 5, RFC 791, DARPA, September 1981.
+
+ [2] Braden, R., Editor, "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
+ Communication Layers", STD 3, RFC 1122, IETF, October 1989.
+
+ [3] Braden, R., Editor, "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
+ Application and Support", STD 3, RFC 1123, IETF, October 1989.
+
+ [4] Almquist, P., "Type of Service in the Internet Protocol Suite",
+ RFC 1349, Consultant, July 1992.
+
+ [5] Moy, J., Editor, "OSPF Protocol Analysis", RFC 1245, Proteon,
+ Inc., July 1991.
+
+ [6] Moy, J., Editor, "Experience with the OSPF Protocol", RFC 1246,
+ Proteon, Inc., July 1991.
+
+ [7] Moy, J., "OSPF Version 2", RFC 1247, Proteon, Inc., July 1991.
+
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+Eastlake [Page 5]
+
+RFC 1455 Link Security TOS May 1993
+
+
+Security Considerations
+
+ The entirety of this memo concerns an Internet Protocol Type of
+ Service to request maximum physical link security against
+ surreptitious interception.
+
+Author's Address
+
+ Donald E. Eastlake, III
+ Digital Equipment Corporation*
+ 30 Porter Road, MS: LJO2/I4
+ Littleton, MA 01460
+
+ Phone: +1 508 486 2358 (w), +1 617 244 2679 (h)
+ Email: dee@ranger.enet.dec.com
+
+ *Company affiliation given for identification only. This document
+ does not constitute a statement, official or otherwise, by Digital
+ Equipment Corporation.
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+Eastlake [Page 6]
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