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Security awareness and tools

This is an appendix to the CivicActions Security Policy containing details that can and should be updated regularly as new technologies or patterns of use develop, with a goal of providing team members the best tools with which to maintain the security of company confidential and personal information.

This is currently - and probably always will be - a work in progress. Pull Requests welcome.

Securing your laptop

The operating system and software applications on your laptop - and all computers, phones, tablets, etc. in your house - should be kept up to date with new versions and security patches that ensure it presents a minimal attack surface to potential adversaries. (This is mentioned in the Security Policy but is worth repeating.)

Additionally, your laptop should lock (require a password to resume) on screen close and after 15 minutes idle time.

Password management tools

A password manager will enable you to have unique, strong passwords for every service that you log into. Good password managers will generate new passwords for you, auto-fill web forms, allow extra protection for high-security accounts (like banking), and more. Choose a password manager that encrypts locally (in your browser, so you don't have to trust the provider to keep their data safe) and that has iPhone and Android apps that will auto-sync with the manager. At CivicActions, we currently recommend LastPass as it is the most full-featured, but we are keeping a close eye on the FOSS KeePass and Password Safe solutions.

LastPass

  • The LastPass password generator can easily create and maintain hundreds of different passwords. And LastPass has free iPhone and Android apps.
    • We recommend a minimum of 16 character passwords using all character types. (Some old systems will need you to lessen this level of security, but those are few.)
    • Once you have all your passwords in LastPass, take the "Security Challenge" - your score should be 80% or higher.
  • LastPass is required for members of the CivicActions System Admins and DevSecOps Team.
  • We recommend LastPass premium but do not require it. A premium account will enable unlimited sync across your devices and more robust two-factor authentication (e.g. with a YubiKey token).
  • Set up Two Factor Authentication on your LastPass Account (see below). LastPass will be storing all your passwords, so make it secure.
  • It is fine (and perhaps preferable, because your browser can only use one LastPass account at a time) to use a personal email address to create your LastPass account.
  • CivicActions also requires that you have a backup second factor authenticator for your LastPass account.

Disable browser password autofill

LastPass provides secure password management especially when unlocked via Two Factor Authentication. Storing new passwords created in LastPass in your browser completely defeats this security, enabling anyone with access to your browser access to all your sites. If asked by your browser "Do you want to save this password in your browser?" answer "No". Then disable this insecure action altogether:

  • In Chrome, go to chrome://settings/ and uncheck "Offer to save your web passwords"
  • In Firefox, go to about:preferences#privacy and uncheck "Ask to save logins and passwords for websites"
  • In Safari, go to Settings >> AutoFill and uncheck "User names and passwords"

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), sometimes known as Two-Factor Authentication (TFA or 2FA), greatly enhances login security by requiring two or more pieces of evidence (or factors) before granting access to a service. These factors may include something you know (e.g., your memorized password), something you have (e.g., your smartphone or a YubiKey), and something you are (e.g., your fingerprint or iris scan). CivicActions recommends you use multi-factor authentication for services that support it.

For example, as your password manager grows to have more passwords in it - not only CivicActions systems and clients but also your personal bank accounts, credit cards, school records, etc. - it becomes increasingly important to have it protected by more than just a password.

CivicActions requires that its employees and contractors that are given access to CivicActions Services - that include Gmail, Google Drive, Gitlab, and Slack - use multi-factor authentication on their CivicActions Google Account.

Multi-Factor Authenticators (MFA)

There are many hardware and software tools for creating secure "one time passwords" (OTP). Three that we frequently use internally are described below. (Note that Google Authenticator is no longer recommended as it does not support encrypted cloud backup.)

Do not rely on SMS text messages for general two-factor authentication as it is less secure than others listed here. At the time of this writing, however, setting up Multi-Factor Authentication on your Google account initially requires SMS verification. This is OK, and also serves as a "MFA Backup" mechanism (be sure to see the essential section below on Multi-Factor Redundancy and MFA Backup Codes).

LastPass Authenticator

Authy

YubiKey

Once set up, your YubiKey greatly simplifies the process of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). While at home, keep the key plugged into an unused USB port and simply touch the button if asked to authenticate. This saves time while enabling the strongest security. While on the road, the nearly indestructible YubiKey attaches easily to your keychain (and should only be inserted when authenticating).

While YubiKey is the easiest to use on a daily basis, if you lose it you could get locked out of all your systems so be sure that you have set up Multi-Factor Redundancy and MFA Backup Codes.

Partial list of MFA-Enabled services

Multi-Factor redundancy and MFA backup codes

As a final, crucially important step, you must have a backup second factor for all your MFA accounts. Imagine that you use a YubiKey to unlock LastPass and you lose it. Without a backup second factor, you would be effectively locked out of all of your accounts. So you need a backup.

SMS can often be an easy backup, but it is known to be insecure. Most services that provide MFA provide multiple second factor options, and we recommend that you set up at least one of several backup strategies for each MFA-enabled service you use:

  • Have a second YubiKey in safe keeping (the author of this article has three).
  • Authy and LastPass Authenticator provide ever-changing 6-digit codes and can securely backup to the cloud, so if you lose your phone you can pull your information back out of the cloud when setting up your new phone. Hint: store your cloud backup password in LastPass (but make sure you have another mechanism to unlock LastPass!)
  • Many services offer a downloadable set of single use "backup codes" that can be printed and kept in a safe place. Hint: you can store backup codes from other services in LastPass in the Notes section.

Phishing and social engineering

Social engineering is the most common attack vector used to compromise computer systems. Social engineering relies heavily on human interaction and often involves tricking people into breaking normal security procedures. The following is a brief reminder of some of the methods used, but is in no way complete.

  • Phishing
    • Is the email from someone you know and contains expected information?
      • Emails from unknown people asking for some action on your part is the most common form of phishing.
    • Don't click on links or open attachments:
      • Unless you trust the sender and expect the link or attachment,
      • Even if you trust the source (a From: address can be spoofed) hover first and check the URL
    • If in doubt, ask an IT member (e.g. via Slack) or forward the email to an IT member
    • More on Phishing avoidance (from EFF)
  • Windows Technical Support
    • "Windows Technical Support has noticed that you have viruses or other malware on your computer..."
  • Baiting
    • Seemingly innocent (or interesting) abandoned USB, CD, DVD media with autorun
  • Public Wi-Fi (e.g., coffee shop, airport, library)
    • Turn off sharing
    • Don't automatically connect to unknown Wi-Fi hotspots
    • Confirm the network name - know the name of your hotspot!
      • Watch out for an "Evil Twin" - a hotspot that looks good but could be an access point set up by an attacker (e.g., "StarbucksGuest" or "DeltaFreeWifi")
    • Turn on your local firewall
    • Use a VPN if possible
      • CivicActions has an internal company VPN that has a static exit IP that can be whitelisted to CivicActions' client services
      • If you always use HTTPS and SSH for connectivity, you are essentially creating a trusted VPN tunnel with every connection. There could still be metadata collection and local DNS spoofing, but public Wi-Fi is now reasonably safe
    • As usual, never enter your name or password information:
      • when on an insecure (non-HTTPS or SSL encrypted) connection, or
      • to a site that you have not verified is correct (by examining at the URL)
    • More on public Wi-Fi network safety (from LifeHacker)

Keep your systems up-to-date

One of the best ways to protect yourself from being hacked (other than via a social engineering pathway) is to keep your software on your computers and phones up-to-date. Sometimes you may reasonably want to wait for a .1 or .2 release before updating after a new major release, but don't get far behind. Also, if you have a Windows machine, you must maintain an up-to-date anti-virus package on it.

Disk encryption and storage management

Most modern disks (and SSDs) have self-encrypting drive (SED) technology built in. CivicActions highly recommends SSDs for their increased speed and the hardware-based encryption (self-encrypting drive or "SED" technology) that will protect the drive when the machine is off. This is particularly important for laptops that can be easily stolen. When you buy a new disk or configure a new laptop, turn on the disk encryption. Some CivicActions clients will demand it. (Contact your product manager to see if you are eligible for a hard disk rebate.)

Software disk encryption

If you haven't set up your hard drive with hardware encryption, there are software alternatives that you can use until you get yourself a new drive. Note that these methods incur a small performance penalty with respect to hardware encryption, but they are relatively quick and easy to set up.

macOS: FileVault 2

CivicActions strongly recommends full disk encryption (FDE) with FileVault, and requires it on Macs supplied by CivicActions for specific client work.

Much more technical detail on securing your Mac: macOS-Security-and-Privacy-Guide. This is useful but well beyond what is required by CivicActions.

Windows: BitLocker or DiskCryptor

To see if BitLocker is supported on your version of Windows, open up Windows Explorer, right-click on C drive, and see if you have a "Turn on BitLocker" option (if you see a "Manage BitLocker" option, then congratulations, your disk is already encrypted.) If you don't have BitLocker available, google the open source DiskCryptor.

GNU/Linux: use the hardware

Unlike Mac and Windows, you can only encrypt your drive during system installation. Might as well buy a new SSD with hardware encryption or - during install - enable Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS) which comes standard with most distributions.

Backups

With more work captured in the cloud by Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, GitHub, etc. there is less that needs to be backed up. But you won't know what you'll miss until your system doesn't boot up because of an unrecoverable hard drive (or SSD) error. At the least, back up your security keys and personal preferences directories, such as (examples in GNU/Linux):

  • ~/.ssh/
  • ~/.gnupg/
  • ~/.config

Consider committing your personalization files (like ~/.bashrc) into a Git repository. Just make sure that you do not commit any files that may contain private keys or passwords.

While it's preferable that you not backup any company or client sensitive files or data, it is critical that such data is completely deleted from your machine(s) when you stop working for that client.

If you use any backup mechanism more complicated than simply copying the files to another medium, ensure that you know how to restore the files, too, as backups are worthless if you can't retrieve them.

Finally, there is no good reason not to be making backups: a one terabyte external USB drive costs less than $60 on Amazon.

Securely delete files and wipe disks

When you delete a file, it doesn't actually go away. Usually, all that occurs is the file name and a pointer to its bits are removed from a directory listing. With the proper tools, deleted files can be recovered. For this reason, it's important that old disks be securely wiped before being given or thrown away. Some pointers are given below:

GNU/Linux:

MacOS:

More information and resources:

Protecting your privacy

CivicActions believes that your privacy is a right, and that private communications can be beneficial to business. Here's some tips on how FOSS can help:

This page was last updated on August 17, 2023.