> From: tech-boun...@lists.lopsa.org [mailto:tech-boun...@lists.lopsa.org] > On Behalf Of Yves Dorfsman > > Apps need to access database and other object stores, get access to other > servers via keys, use encrypted ssl certs etc... > > The two strategies to deal with that I usually see are > > - variations on a config file (text) and trusting the OS permissions > > - manually entering a master password to an encrypted text file at start > time > > > The former is simple and doesn't need human intervention but creates a > security issue if the host gets compromised, the latter limits automation. > > What other strategies have you seen successfully implemented?
Sometimes agents, such as ssh agent and pageant are used. Sometimes credentials are application specific - for example, my google account uses "app passwords" so there is a randomly generated password assigned to my phone that I entered once into my phone, and another randomly generated password I entered once into my tablet, and another for my python mail sender, etc etc. But there's no escaping it: You have precisely three options. Either you (a) store some form of credentials on disk in a format that an attacker could read if they can access your filesystem, or (b) you require manual interaction at startup, or (c) you use the TPM to store a secret and only release it if certain system metrics are met. _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lists.lopsa.org https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
