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thank you, I had this debate at work so many times. Sure it's not a security measure as such, but it's still a worthwile component to the overall defense syste
by dahcryn 5mo ago
thank you, I had this debate at work so many times.
Sure it's not a security measure as such, but it's still a worthwile component to the overall defense system.
- fsflover 5mo agoThe problem with this is, you spend a lot of effort for low benefit. You should spend it on actual security instead.
- literalAardvark 5mo agoChanging a port and enabling aslr are not "a lot of effort".
- nithril 5mo agoChanging the port is not the kind of security measure that will consume a lot of the attacker resources
- literalAardvark 5mo agoIt will conserve a lot of defender resources, it will completely bypass all mass scans, and it will make "determined attackers" much more visible as they will have to find the port first which will show up in logs and potentially land them in a tarpit.
- Sohcahtoa82 5mo agoSure, it'll do nothing to stop a determined attacker, but it does wonders to stop the noise from passive scanners. Are you familiar with the Swiss cheese model of risk management[0]? Obscurity is just another slice of Swiss cheese. It's not your only security measure. You still use all the other measures. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model
- alkonaut 5mo agoWhat would be "actual security" in this context? This isn't about security of the same kind as authentication/encryption etc where security by obscurity is a bad idea. This is an effort where obscurity is almost the only idea there is, and where even a marginal increase in difficulty for tampering/inspecting/exploiting is well worth it.
- fsflover 5mo agoThe one not described as "security through obscurity".
- alkonaut 5mo agoMy point is: the "security through obscurity is bad" and "security through obscurity isn't real security" are both incorrect. They apply to different threats and different contexts. When you have code running in the attackers' system, in normal privilege so they can pick it apart, then obscurity is basically all you have. So the only question to answer is: do you want a quick form of security through obscurity, or do you not? If it delivers tangible benefits that outweigh the costs, then why would you not? What one is aiming for here is just slowing an annoying down an attacker. Because it's the best you can do.