TRUSTED COMPUTING GROUP
NETWORK EQUIPMENTESTABLISHING NETWORK EQUIPMENT SECURITY
Firewalls and gateway routers are already important components of any organization’s network security strategy. Butnetwork architects can often overlook the fact that the networking equipment itself can be attacked. Ensuring thesedevices are resistant to attacks is just as important as conventional security mechanisms that protect PCs and servers.
Attacks carried out on networking equipment can have devastating results:Unauthorized devices can gain access to networked data
Unauthorized code can interfere with safe network operation
Firmware implants can render network attacks invisible and are unremovable

For improved network
security, the Trusted
Computing Group(TCG) has developed
standards/guidance
that specificallyaddresses the securityof networkingequipment. The TCG
Guidance for Securing
Network Equipment is
open for review until
Sept. 11, 2017.
To understand thevarious systemaspects, Figure 1
shows a simplified
reference model for
network equipment
interactions common in communication networks. The interconnections between administrative domains and theprotection of end-user equipment are important in securing networking equipment.
To manage access and identity, the customer premise equipment (CPE) or residential gateways are frequently used tobridge between administrative domains, and may require special attention. Since CPE devices are often owned andmanaged by the service provider, but under the physical control of the Service Providers’ customers, TCG’s Trusted
Platform Module (TPM) can provide important security improvements.

ESTABLISHING NETWORK EQUIPMENT SECURITY

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TRUSTED COMPUTING GROUP
NETWORK EQUIPMENT

As a hardware-based root of trust, the TPM enables a more reliable approach to security than purely software-basedapproaches. To address network security, the TPM provides:

Secure storage of boot state and object hashes
Secure storage of cryptographic secrets, such as virtual private network (VPN) keys
Cryptographic-quality Random Number Generator (RNG)

In addition, the TPM includes resistance to physical attack, such as reverse-engineering, allowing network users to keep
private keys private.
An important aspect of network security is identity. Identity is knowing which device is which, even when situatedremotely, might be difficult to protect, and might be either inconvenient or impossible to identify without physicalpresence. The solution to this problem is a TPM that can be programmed with a unique cryptographic identifier basedon the device’s serial number, signed by the device supplier.
The IEEE 802.1AR standard, "Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Secure Device Identity," defines
unique per-device identifiers (DevID) that allow establishment of the trustworthiness of devices. Using Public Key
Cryptography, the TPM can assert its identity and then prove that it has possession of a difficult-to-steal private key,stored inside the TPM.
In networking equipment, cryptographic device identity has several applications, including:

Identity for network access
OEM device identity and counterfeit protection
Secure autoconfiguration
Remote device management

Identity for network access can be achieved by using cryptographic device identification, with keys stored in tamperresistant TPMs.
OEM device identity and counterfeit protection are assured by certificates signed by the manufacturer and with keysrooted in a TPM.
Devices using autoconfiguration (also known as zero touch configuration or provisioning) can use a TPM to reliably
identify themselves, and communicate through the network, to obtain the configuration information that specifies
policy for operational use.
Remote device management can also make use of the TPM for enhanced security.
In addition to establishing identity using IEEE 802.1AR Device Identity certificates, the guidelines address other securityrelated functions useful in networking: A cryptographic random number generator based on physical sources of entropy, contained in the TPM, iscritical to the generation of unpredictable keys
 Software attestation/health-check can prove that the device is running an authorized software version, and thatit has not been subject to unauthorized modification.

ESTABLISHING NETWORK EQUIPMENT SECURITY

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TRUSTED COMPUTING GROUP
NETWORK EQUIPMENTThe TCG Guidance for Securing Network Equipment covers a variety of other common security-related challenges innetworking gear: Securing secrets
 Protection of configuration data Licensed feature authorization on a network device Software inventory
 Inventory of composite devices
 Integrity-protected logs
 Deprovisioning
In addition to these specific items, the TPM can provide many other tools to improve network security.
Although the TCG Guidance for Securing Network Equipment is still under review within the TCG, it is currently possibleusing the TPM and other TCG specifications implemented by several suppliers to: Lock down firmware
 Implement a cryptographic Random Number Generator
 Use DevID to identify embedded devices

As the full guidance document is developed and implemented in products from various companies that support TCG
standards, network equipment security will improve even further. Vendors interested in learning more are invited tojoin TCG and participate.
The NetEq work can be seen here, https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/wpcontent/uploads/TCG_Guidance_for_Securing_NetEq_1_0r26b_Public-Review.pdf.. For more information about TCG
and membership, including participation in work groups, go to http://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/membership/.

ESTABLISHING NETWORK EQUIPMENT SECURITY

Copyright © TCG 2017