Brute force attacks are a major security threat to servers whereby the attacker (which is generally an automated software program) systematically checks all possible passwords and pass-phrases on trial and error basis until the correct one is found. Alternatively, the attacker can attempt to guess the key, which is typically created from the password using a key derivation function.
A defense against this is to limit the number of consecutive unsuccessful login attempts on the system to five after which the user-id is automatically locked by the server. Only the authorized administrator with privileges can unlock the user id.
The SBC system admin controls are enhanced with the addition of an account management object, bruteForceAttackOS (Brute Force Attack OS), to protect against Linux OS brute force attacks. This object allows the administrator to limit the number of consecutive failed OS login attempts from 1 to 10, with the default of 3.
On the SBC Main screen, navigate to All > System > Admin > Account Management > Brute Force Attack OS. The Brute Force Attack OS window is displayed.
Brute Force Attack OS
The following parameters are described:
Brute Force Attack OS parameter descriptions
Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
OS State | Enable this flag to defend the Linux OS against brute force attacks.The options are:
|
Consecutive Failed OSAttempt Allowed | Specifies the number of consecutive failed login attempts allowed before the account is locked. The value ranges from 1 to 10 attempts and the default value is 3 attempts. |
| Enable this flag to automatically unlock the Linux OS account after a configurable number of seconds set by unlockOSTime parameter. The options are:
|
Unlock OSTime | Specifies the time interval after which the disabled Linux OS account will automatically unlock. The value ranges from 30 to 5400 seconds and the default value is 30 seconds. |
Overview
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