Originally Posted On: https://blog.axellio.com/understanding-tls-1.3-and-balancing-data-security-with-visibility-challenges

Understanding TLS 1.3 and Balancing Data Security with Visibility Challenges

Today’s threat landscape has made secure data transmission and encryption even more important to protect sensitive information. However, this extra layer of security creates a contradiction, the security that protects our data can limit our visibility of other threats in the network. The latest innovation in data security and privacy is the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol version 1.3, which represents a fundamental change in online security. The advancements it introduces give rise to implementation challenges that have the potential to hinder our capacity to monitor traffic for both internal and external threats.

The History of TLS (Transport Layer Security)

Created in 1999, the initial version of TLS paved the way for upcoming versions of encryption technology, which currently play a crucial role in securing most encrypted traffic across both corporate and public networks. With its introduction in 2018, TLS 1.3, is now firmly established in the market, representing a notable progression in data security. Since its debut in 2018, TLS 1.3 has quickly become a cornerstone of modern data security, marking a significant advancement. However, the shift towards more complex decryption for security analysis highlights the growing importance of navigating these changes amid escalating cyber threats.

As businesses demand end-to-end communication privacy and security, encryption has become the standard in network security. Network traffic encryption is widely used today, with over 90% of external (north/south) traffic and over 65% of the internal (east/west) traffic being encrypted.

What is TLS 1.3 and Why is it Important?

Recognized as a significant step forward in encryption technology, TLS 1.3 delivers a new standard of data security, considered impervious to most modern breaches. At the heart of this advancement lies TLS, a cryptographic protocol dedicated to safeguarding the privacy of communication between applications and users on the internet. TLS is the successor to the earlier Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, and TLS 1.3 is the latest version of the TLS protocol.

Here are the key features and improvements of TLS 1.3

1. Improved Security: TLS 1.3 discontinues support for outdated and less secure cryptographic algorithms and cipher suites. Instead, it relies on stronger and more modern cryptographic algorithms that (so far) have not been compromised. This improves overall security and privacy of online communication.
2. Forward Secrecy: Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) in cryptographic systems ensures that compromising a long-term private session key doesn’t jeopardize past or future communication confidentiality. In simpler terms, if a single session key is exposed, it won’t decrypt content from previous sessions or compromise future session security.
3. Simplified Cipher Suites: TLS 1.3 reduces the number of supported cipher suites by removing encryption that is known to be compromised. This reduction not only simplifies the configuration process but also enhances overall security and system reliability, reducing the likelihood of errors and potential vulnerabilities in the cryptographic configuration.
4. Removal of features that create vulnerabilities: TLS 1.3 eliminates various obsolete and insecure features present in earlier versions, contributing to a more robust and secure protocol. This ensures that the protocol stays effective in addressing vulnerabilities and stays in tune with the changing landscape of secure communication.
5. Faster Handshake: TLS 1.3 streamlines the initial handshake process between the client and the server, reducing latency and improving the speed of establishing a secure connection. TLS 1.3 ensures a more efficient and prompt initiation of secure communication, contributing to an overall smoother user experience and improved performance in secure online interactions.

TLS 1.3 goes beyond just technical upgrades, and it plays a crucial role in strengthening online security. By introducing improved protection, simplified configurations, and better performance, TLS 1.3 becomes a key element in safeguarding digital communications. Its implementation is essential in today’s connected digital world, where secure and reliable communication is a top priority. TLS 1.3 not only tackles current security issues but also sets a reliable foundation for meeting the ongoing requirements of secure data transmission in the future.

What are the advantages of TLS 1.3?

Earlier SSL and TLS versions utilized a visible-on-the-wire public key and a static private key known only to the conversation endpoints. TLS 1.3 introduces Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) which significantly boosts the security of encrypted communication by eliminating the repercussions of key compromises. With PFS, each session creates a unique session key, preventing an attacker from decrypting past or future communications even if the long-term key is compromised. If hackers uncover the private keys of one participant, their access is limited to a specific communication instance, not the entire communication between parties. This safeguard ensures the ongoing security of both past and future exchanges within the network.

What are the Visibility Challenges and Data Security Risks?

The predecessor to TLS, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and TLS versions up to 1.2 featured a key exchange that permitted the decryption of ciphers, providing visibility into encrypted traffic and enabling network traffic monitoring. This allowed for passive monitoring of encrypted connections, as the same private key was consistently used across all connections and could be shared with monitoring applications. However, TLS 1.3 marks a significant improvement through the above-described 0PFS mechanism, which enhances data privacy, but limits the effectiveness of traffic monitoring applications for security and performance management. These monitoring applications heavily depend on packet analysis to identify potential threats or compromises in communication and endpoints by threat actors. Consequently, a study conducted by Enterprise Management Associates in 2022 revealed a noteworthy statistic 44 percent of surveyed organizations that adopted TLS 1.3 had to revert to earlier versions as their security visibility within existing security monitoring solutions was substantially impacted.

Conclusion

These factors collectively create substantial gaps in the capabilities of security operations, preventing the analysis of encrypted traffic. However, it is crucial for enterprise security teams to attain comprehensive visibility into encrypted TLS traffic across their infrastructure, both externally and internally. This is essential to safeguard their organizations and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The adoption of TLS 1.3 underscores the delicate balance between ensuring end-to-end communication privacy and addressing the visibility challenges faced by security operations. As organizations navigate the complexities of implementing TLS 1.3, striking a balance between heightened security measures and effective traffic monitoring remains imperative in safeguarding digital environments from evolving cyber threats.