[logs] Re: Untamperable logs

From: Brian Hatch (loganalysisat_private)
Date: Wed Dec 05 2001 - 14:07:28 PST

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    > Is it reasonable to write logs to write-once media?
    
    One of my clients didn't want to invest in extra machines/media
    for secure logging for their Gauntlet firewall.  However they
    did want to have something non-destroyable, so they figured
    a direct attached printer would be the best bet.
    
    This was back when Gauntlet still shipped source, so I was able
    to add some code to direct all but benign logs to the printer as
    well.  This setup was obviously vulnerable to DOS simply by
    flooding it with log entries and using up all the paper.  A
    person would restock the paper every morning and evening.
    
    And the syslog-to-printer daemon needed to have enough memory to
    keep logs in memory until they made it to the (very slow) printer,
    lest the rest of the logging system hang waiting for the queues
    to empty, but that wasn't much trouble.  It held up under some
    pretty nasty load (~50 simultaneous satan and generic port scans,
    which should show you how long ago this was.)
    
    It was running fine when I left, and they were happy.  Unfortunately
    you couldn't exactly run any log analysis tools on the result.  It
    could only be consulted to verify the existing log integrity.  And
    I don't think they did that much, even.
    
    But the machine was locked away, and only the firewall administrators
    had the key.  Them logs were safe.  And you could tell when a potential
    attack was occuring by the sounds coming from the closet...
    
    --
    Brian Hatch                  Redmond WA -- Microsoft announced
       Systems and                today that the official release
       Security Engineer          date for the new operating system
    http://www.ifokr.org/bri/     "Windows 2000" will be delayed
                                  until the second quarter of 1901.
    Every message PGP signed
    
    
    



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