Top 10 2014-I4 Lack of Transport Encryption

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Consider anyone who has access to the network the device is connected to, including external and internal users.

Attacker uses the lack of transport encryption to view data being passed over the network. Depending on setup, attack could come from external or internal users.

Lack of transport encryption allows data to be viewed as it travels over local networks or the internet. Lack of transport encryption is prevalent on local networks as it is easy to assume that local network traffic will not make its way out to the internet, however in the case of a local wireless network, misconfiguration of that wireless network can make traffic visible to anyone within range of that wireless network. Many Issues with transport encryption are easy to discover simply by viewing network traffic and searching for readable data. Automated tools can also look for implementation of common transport encryption such as SSL and TLS.

Lack of transport encryption can result in data loss or corruption and and can lead to complete compromise of the device or user accounts.

Consider the business impact of exposed data as it travels across various networks. Data could be stolen or modified. Could your users be harmed by having their data exposed?

Determining if the device uses transport encryption is fairly straightforward by reviewing network traffic of the device, its mobile application and any cloud connections to determine if any data is passed in the clear.

Ensuring sufficient transport encryption requires:
 * 1) Ensuring data is encrypted using protocols such as SSL and TLS while transiting networks.
 * 2) Ensuring other industry standard encryption techniques are utilized to protect data during transport if SSL or TLS are not available.

Scenario #1: The cloud interface uses only HTTP.

http://www.xyzcloudsite.com

Scenario #2: Username and password are transmitted in the clear over the network. http://www.xyzcloud.com/userid=3&password=1234

In the cases above, the attacker is able to either easily guess the password or is able to capture the credentials as they cross the network and decode it since the credentials are only protected using Base64 Encoding.