SSH Security
Scot L. Harris
webid at cfl.rr.com
Wed Dec 7 14:53:56 UTC 2005
On Wed, 2005-12-07 at 09:35, STYMA, ROBERT E (ROBERT) wrote:
> > Key based authentication is the right way to go. You should disable
> > root ssh access completely.
> >
>
> Key based authentication is good, but there is one caveat. Straight
> key based allows you to log in directly without typing a password.
> If you are ssh'ing from work to home from a UNIX machine, any sys-admin
> with the root password on your work machine can become you and then
> ssh to your home machine as you with no password. Maybe you don't care
> if your sysadmin is dinking around in your home machine and maybe you do.
>
> I am not saying not to use key based authentication, but it is not a
> cure all.
You are correct, there are no magic bullet solutions. Typically you
would still use a password/passphrase to use your private key. Of
course the same rules apply as to any password, use a good non-trivial
one that can not be guessed.
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