Subject: Re: is gitosis secure?

From: martin <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:02:57 +0700

[email-masked] wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Dec 2008, martin wrote:
>
>> Dear David.
>> Why do you trust VPN more than the SSH?
>> I ask because I have just removed the "first VPN then SSH" solution 
>> in favor for a SSH only solution using Gitosis just to get rid of the 
>> VPN which I believe is less secure than SSH (well until I read you 
>> comments below).
>> I thought I was doing something right for once but maybe I'm not?
>> Thanks and best regards
>> Martin
>
> in part it's that a VPN is a single point of control for all remote 
> access.
>
> If you use ssh you end up exposing all the individual machines
>
> 1. data leakage of just what machines exist to possibly hostile users.
>
> 2. the many machines are configured seperatly, frequently by different 
> people. this makes it far more likely that sometime some machine will 
> get misconfigured.
>
> 3. people who are focused on providing features have a strong 
> temptation to cut corners and just test that the feature works and not 
> test that everything that isn't supposed to work actually doesn't 
> work. as a result, in many companies there is a deliberate seperation 
> (and tension) between a group focused on controlling and auditing 
> access and one that is focused on creating fucntionality and features.
>
> also from a polical/social point of view everyone recognises that if 
> you grant someone VPN access you are trusting them, but people don't 
> seem to think the same way with ssh.
>
> David Lang
>

I opened port 22 in the firewall to just those hosts that I need to 
reach, which is one in this case...the rest of the machines I cannot reach.
I did a brief port scan and the thing is silent... so I don't think I 
reveal any of the other hosts... but I should not say is it's secure 
with your measures...

Your point two I don't understand...   If you are in charge of the 
firewall you also know what machines you let people reach. If these 
machines are numerous then I think there is a management problem 
somewhere else...

Point 3 is correct but I fail to see how this is less of a problem with 
VPN than SSH.

Thanks and Best regards
Martin