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projects:secure_ocf_webhosting

Project Scope

The OCF (through Kinn) has contacted us to provide Web Hosting Security. This project consists of 2 parts (projected).

Software Tool

  • Create a software tool to scan Wordpress sites for malicious plugins
  • Protect student orgs and the OCF from malware

Project Report

  • Provide policy / soft guidelines for OCF Staff
  • Write / research policies for student org website hosting

Meeting Notes - 9/30

Thanks Nia!

https://wiki.1337.berkeley.edu/

- Use gpg username & password to sign in to Wiki

What is OCF (the Open Computing Facility)?

They run a lot of the student-run hosted infrastructure

What is Our Job?

  • Figure out a way to prevent and detect insecure information that makes its way to the OCF through ill informed student orgs
  • Supply OCF with the tools to do so
  • People make changes to the Word Press site, save their work, and download files with potential vulnerabilities, which end up negatively impacting OCF's websites (they've been
  • hacked several times in the past)
  • Probably should do mini write-ups along the way in order to supply the major write-up at the end
  • Consider those who might be editing the work in the future
  • Also consider those who might be using the tools in the future
  • What info might be useful for these groups to know? (leave comments & include info in write-ups)
  • Goal: Have something working by the end of the semester

OUR FIRST TASK

* Create a development environment that mimics the OCF structure as much as possible * Using DOCKER * Should include an Apache server with a bunch of different users on it, each of whom has their own home directory on the server (each user has their own website files) * Correction: User data is its own container * Apache container is separate * BY NEXT WEEK → Need a working development environment

Brainstorming for How to Solve "The Problem" (Detection Options)

* Whitelist / Blacklist * Must be up-to-date * WPS-Scan * DVWN * Number of downloads? Ratings? * Flag plugins * Need to know which plugins * Signature-based * Idea: Check for suspicious files, IPs, URLs with VirusTotal.com * Version? * Last update? * Logging Aggregation

ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Everyone knows what they need to do

Questions to have answers to:

  • Is this solution viable?
  • Where would we actually implement it so that it's most useful? (Apache? User data? Somewhere in the middle?)
  • Ask questions if unsure
  • Extra info that could be useful to know?
  • Should we use this tool? Yes or no?

Meeting Notes - 10/14

Agenda

  • Docker updates
  • Project/issue updates

Action Items

Meeting Notes - 10/07

Setting up Docker:

Follow the instructions on the README

To rebuild:

docker compose down && docker compose up -d

Assignments

Scanning through Wordpress sites ()

  • WP-Scan - make an API request and it just scans through recommended
  • WP Pro (i think that's what it's called) - API request that goes through directory and scans for files associated with malicious plugins

Metrics ()

  • Public API for gathering info for plugins
  • 59,000 plugins there
  • Python script written to scrape plugins!
    • Calculate mean, median, std for values
    • if above / below percentile should flag
  • Rating system? - feed in factors to create a threat / vulnerability score

Whitelist / Blacklist ()

  • Wordfence - known blacklist database
  • Patchsack - blacklist database
  • Can combine with WP-Scan, basically aggregating databases

Docker Stuff (Pratham)

  • Need to make it more robust, more like the actual project
  • Probably continuous

Logging Aggregation (Nia)

  • Format and Structure
  • Ease / Velocity
  • Cost / Maintenance Burden - definitely selfhosted
  • Elkstack, Fluentd Gragana, Loki, rsyslog, Greylog, Logalize, ELSA
  • Chat's recs: Grafana, Loki
  • Needs to be a separate container

Signature Based Detection (Nia)

  • Yara, ClamAV, other stuff that I didn't catch :(

Agenda

  1. Docker setup
  2. Go through assignments from last week
  3. Gitea Issues
  4. Assign to Groups

Action Items

Next Steps

Meeting Notes - 10/21

Userdata volumes exist now, there's an open issue to add data to them. Current plan with 3 volumes:

  • userdata1 is default - no plugins
  • userdata2 is good - plugins that are legit
  • userdata3 is malicious - as many plugins as we can find that are bad bad bad

Assignments

Whitelist Blacklist - big json file pushed of vulnerabilities

Signature Detection - YARA

  • Some preset YARA Rules for detecting wordpress added

Logging Aggregation

  • Alloy (replace Promtail)
  • apparently harder to teach than Promtail
  • need to write documentation for the tool
  • GrafanaLoki + Fluent Bit are current stack, may not even need alloy / promtail
  • infosession 10/22 9 am for GrafanaLoki (I would go but I have class :/ - JQ)

Wordpress Site Scanning

  • probably not feasible: you only get 25 requests per API key

Agenda

  1. Infra changes
  2. Issues

Action Items

Next Steps

projects/secure_ocf_webhosting.txt · Last modified: by serrindipity