Re: [logs] reinventing syslog [was: Secure Central Log Host]

From: tevfik (tevfikat_private)
Date: Wed Dec 04 2002 - 18:33:51 PST

  • Next message: Tom Perrine: "[logs] SDSC Secure Syslog"

    > On Wed, 2002-12-04 at 14:00, Tevfik Karagulle wrote:
    > >
    > > Wouldn't it be enough to configure your central log host as an NTP server
    > > for machines generating syslogs or other logs ?
    > 
    > Sometimes you cannot do that; think, for example, of the cases when you
    > need to "poke yet another hole" through some firewall to allow a 
    > host to send syslog datagrams to the logging server. In that case, 
    > poking two holes (syslog and NTP) instead of one (syslog) might make 
    > a big difference.
    > (If you don't believe one more protocol poked through the firewall 
    > can be the cause for a major fuss, go ask the closest security 
    > analyst :-P)
    > 
    
    I think that the idea about syncing time is a good one. If you need to poke 
    one well-defined port in your firewall to get that advantage, just do it! I 
    haven't seen too much security trouble around those NTP daemons ( I remember 
    an old one in xntpd !!).
    
    As you suggest, the real problem is syslog architecture and lacking security 
    features. Actually, I would be more cautious to open my defenses for syslog :-
    )). It is natural that intermediary solutions pops up !!. Hopefully we can 
    see some movements there.
     
    When it comes to dedicated NTP servers, that should be feasible for large 
    scale and high performance solutions. However, I don't see any problem 
    integrating this feature on a central log server when you have a 
    small/midsized environment. It all depends on your priorities.
    
    Regards
    
    Tevfik Karagulle
    ITEFIX Consulting
    
    
    
    _______________________________________________
    LogAnalysis mailing list
    LogAnalysisat_private
    http://lists.shmoo.com/mailman/listinfo/loganalysis
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Dec 04 2002 - 23:42:41 PST