[strongSwan] Security Comparison

[Tobias Brunner]

Hi Christian,

> I am also
> limited to the native OSX/Windows VPN clients which currently support a
> maximum of aes256-sha256-prfsha256-ecp256-modp2048 (Windows does not
> support ecp)

It does (at least on Windows 10), you just have to enable it via
PowerShell (see [1]).

> Apart from IPSEC being Layer 3 and HTTP being Layer 6, meaning that
> should a VPN client be infected with a worm, it is easier for that worm
> to infect the network, I’m struggling to see another security argument.

Probably depends on the IPsec policies (e.g. if split tunneling is used
or even only single protocols/ports are allowed) and the firewall rules
on the remote end vs. what is available via HTTPS connection (e.g. if
the latter creates a VPN too or the malware can hijack the VDI somehow).

> Data encrypted over RSA 4096 SHA-2 on paper seems a secure connection.

Nobody encrypts large amounts of data via RSA, if anything it's used to
encrypt a symmetric key that's then used to encrypt the data, but mostly
only for authentication (digital signatures).  The key exchange usually
happens via ephemeral DH (in IKE always and nowadays in TLS too).

>  Whereas IKE also uses a certificate to do the KeyExchange before
> logging in 

No, the key exchange is done via DH, the certificate is used for
authentication only (to prevent MITM attacks).

> and then encrypting the data with ESP, so the ciphers used on
> ESP I feel is the comparison that needs to be made.

The cryptographic strength of all ciphers in a cipher suite should be
consistent.  For instance, using AES-256 for ESP is basically wasted
when using MODP-2048 because that has only an estimated strength of 112
bits (same for ECP-256 whose estimated strength is 128 bits).

> I will have a read of that Cipher suites page, but if I remember
> correctly, it is not a comparison but a standpoint.

It mainly documents the available options (there are some warnings/notes
though).  [2] has some general pointers regarding the security of
IKE/IPsec connections.

Regards,
Tobias

[1]
https://wiki.strongswan.org/projects/strongswan/wiki/WindowsClients#AES-256-CBC-and-MODP2048
[2]
https://wiki.strongswan.org/projects/strongswan/wiki/SecurityRecommendations