1.
Data encryption
for Ruby web applications
Dmytro Shapovalov
Infrastructure Engineer @ Cossack Labs

2.
Who we are?
• UK-based data security products and services
company
• Building security tools to prevent sensitive data
leakage and to comply with data security
regulations
• Cryptographic tools, security consulting, training
• We are cryptographers, system engineers,
applied engineers, infrastructure engineers
• We support community, speak, teach, open
source a lot

3.
What we are going to talk
• Data breaches problem
• Approaches to the protection of sensitive data
• What we can and can not protect with encryption
• Integration encryption into a Rails application

4.
What does humanity have
to protect information?
Strong enough block crypto algorithms
Rijndael
(AES)
Twofish Serpent
Tons of structured information
+

5.
Data breaches continue rising
2018
• Facebook : 87 Million
• Under Armour : 150 Million
• Saks Fifth Avenue : 5 Million
• SingHealth : 1.5 Million
• British Airways : 0.38 Million
• Ticketfly : 26 Million
• Marriott : 500 Million
• Quora : 100 Million
• Instagram : plaintext passwords in the URL? Really?

6.
So what should we do?
1. Classify and specify data that we want to protect
2. Classify and analyze risks
3. Determine threats
4. Choose techniques and tools
5. Integrate into application

7.
Data classification and risks
All data
user service
• Biographical information
• Looks, appearance and
behaviour
• Private and subjective
• Workplace, education
• Health, sickness and genetics
• Accounts, passwords
• Certificates
• Keys, tokens

8.
Data classification and risks
All data
user service
• Compliance risk
• Legal risk
• Reputational risk
• Quality risk

9.
Types of data breaches
Unknown
15%
Physical loss
12%
Insider
1%
Disclosure
22%
Hacking
49%
https://www.privacyrights.org/data-breaches

10.
OWASP top 10 security risks — 2017
• Security
Misconfiguration
• Cross-Site Scripting
(XSS)
• Insure Deserialization
• Using Components with
Known Vulnerabilities
• Insufficient Logging &
Monitoring
• Injection
• Broken
Authentication
• Sensitive Data
Exposure
• XML External Entities
(XXE)
• Broken Access Control
https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10-2017_Top_10

11.
Typical web application
Frontend Backend DB

12.
Typical web application
reflection attacks
XSS
MITM
SQL injections code injections
execution flow attack
crypto-miners everywhere
Frontend Backend DB

13.
Ways to decrease risks
Administrative Technical
• Infrastructure
• Application

14.
Decrease risks in application
• Authentication & Authorization (inc. API), principle of least
privileges
• Filter input data, escaping output
• Implement weak-password checks
• Use less complex data formats
• Compartmentalization — classify data and apply controls
• Use strict DB queries
• Security by default
• Use secure connections
• Log everything
• Hash passwords and encrypt sensitive data

15.
Protection of passwords
Yes, plaintext passwords are a little insecure
• DO NOT operate with plaintext passwords
• use one-way hash functions whenever it possible

16.
Password hashes
• MD5
• SHA-1
• Argon2
• PBKDF2
• bcrypt
• script
• MD5
• SHA-1
https://dusted.codes/sha-256-is-not-a-secure-password-hashing-algorithm
• SHA-256
• SHA-512
pre-image attack
collision attack
lookup tables attack

17.
Data encryption implementation
• Choose algorithm
Expectations Reality
• Design architecture
• Choose abstraction
level
• Choose algorithm
• Choose algorithm
parameters
• Choose library
• Design key
management

18.
Encryption integrationcomplexity
abstraction level

19.
Encryption integrationcomplexity
abstraction level
Cipher
Library
Suite

20.
Encryption integrationcomplexity
abstraction level
Cipher
Library
Suite
Cryptographers Developers

21.
Why security fails?
83%
17%
Weak algorithms
Implementation mistakes
https://pdos.csail.mit.edu/papers/cryptobugs:apsys14.pdf

22.
Common data security mistakes
• TLS is enough
• Poor cryptographic design
• Using database storage encryption only
• Insecure key management model
• Poor authentication

23.
Quick review
Algorithms
• AES-256-GCM
Libraries
• bcrypt-ruby
• rbnacl
• rubythemis
Suites
• Acra
• axolotl
• hermes
• ssh
• truecrypt
• vault
• ZeroKit

24.
What the implementation
of data encryption
should look like?

25.
Architecture
usability
security

26.
Minimize attack surface area!

27.
Frontend Backend DB
Architecture : components & transport

28.
Architecture : components & transport
Frontend Backend
Decryption
proxy
DB

29.
Architecture : components & transport
Frontend Backend
Decryption
proxy
DB
input encrypt save
output process decrypt read
noop

30.
Architecture : components & transport
Frontend Backend
Decryption
proxy
DB
input encrypt save
output process decrypt read
noop
TLS TLS

31.
Architecture : keys
Frontend Backend
Decryption
proxy
DB
public private

32.
Integration Acra
• Acra
• Acra Engineering Demo
• rubygems.org project
Example based on:
https://github.com/rubygems/rubygems
https://github.com/cossacklabs/acra-engineering-demo
https://github.com/cossacklabs/acra

33.
Integration
Frontend Backend AcraServer DB
+ AcraWriter

34.
Integration
1. Add gem

35.
Integration
2. Modify models

36.
Integration
3. Modify secrets

37.
Integration
4. Change DB host to AcraServer
5. Convert DB columns to binary

38.
Integration
4. Change DB host to AcraServer
5. Convert DB columns to binary
Done!

39.
Integration of cryptography
should be simple!

40.
OWASP top 10 security risks — 2017
• Security
Misconfiguration
• Cross-Site Scripting
(XSS)
• Insure Deserialization
• Using Components with
Known Vulnerabilities
• Insufficient Logging &
Monitoring
• Injection
• Broken
Authentication
• Sensitive Data
Exposure
• XML External Entities
(XXE)
• Broken Access Control
https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10-2017_Top_10

41.
Acra Engineering Demo

42.
Acra Engineering Demo
https://github.com/cossacklabs/acra-engineering-demo
Try it!

43.
Links
• OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project)
https://www.owasp.org
• Acra
https://github.com/cossacklabs/acra
• Acra Engineering Demo
https://github.com/cossacklabs/acra-engineering-demo
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
https://www.privacyrights.org
• MITTRE ATT&CK Matrix
https://attack.mitre.org/

44.
Dmytro Shapovalov
Infrastructure Engineer @ Cossack Labs
Thank you!
shadinua
shad.in.ua
shad.in.ua