D. Description of the Example Architectures#

As indicated in Architecture and Builds, this appendix contains the detailed description of the three example architectures for achieving visibility of TLS 1.3 encrypted network traffic.

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D.1 Description of the Bounded-lifetime DH Key Architecture#

The figure below depicts the high-level architecture components and interactions that achieve visibility of TLSv1.3 traffic using rotated bounded-lifetime ephemeral Diffie-Hellman keys (EDH) on the TLS server. In this approach, the Key Governance Platform generates a new EDH key pair at a designated interval. The key pair is then simultaneously pushed to the TLS server and the real-time decryptor. The post facto analytics platform can query the Key Governance Platform using the TLS server name and connection time (epoch) of the session as parameters to retrieve the EDH server key for decrypting the stored TLS traffic stream. Additional details for this architecture are available in Section 5.2 of NIST SP 1800-37B: Approach, Architecture, and Security Characteristics.

Image showing Bounded-lifetime Diffie Hellman Key Architecture

Bounded-lifetime Diffie Hellman Key Architecture#

In the lab build for this reference architecture, software or services used for each of the architecture components can be found in the table below.

Build Components for the Passive Decryption Using Bounded-Lifetime EDH Keys Reference Architecture#

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Enterprise PKI

DigiCert

CertCentral Certificate Management Platform

TLS Client

Mozilla Firefox Browser

Microsoft Edge Browser

Command-line Email Client & Mozilla Thunderbird

Tap

VMWare vSphere Distributed vSwitch port mirroring

TLS Servers

Nginx reverse proxy and containerized Keycloak IdAM application

Nginx reverse proxy and containerized Python test application

MariaDB Database Server

Postfix SMTP Server and Dovecot  IMAP Server

Key Management Agent

Not For Radio

Encryption Visibility Architecture Encryption Visibility Agent (EVA) Version 0.7.0

Real-time Decryptor

MIRA

Encrypted Traffic Orchestration (ETO) Version 2.1.0 build 2023.10.24-0009 Virtual Appliance

Key Governance Platform

AppViewX

appviewX Version 2020.3.10 build 55 Virtual Appliance

appviewX Software Security Module Version 2.6.1 Virtual Appliance

Real-time Analytics Platform

NetScout

nGeniusONE Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Omnis Cyber Intelligence (OCI) Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Post Facto Analytics Platform

vSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

vCYBERSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

Key Source

Thales TCT

Luna Network HSM T-5000 Firmware: Version 7.11.1 FIPS-validated

Return to Middlebox Architecture. Return to Architecture and Builds.

D.2 Description of the Exported Session Key Architecture#

The figure below depicts the high-level architecture components and interactions that achieve visibility of TLSv1.3 traffic through the export of TLS session keys from the TLS server. In this approach, a Key Capture and Registration Agent installed on the TLS server retrieves the symmetric keys of each TLS session and forwards the key to the Real-time Decryptor which relays the key to the Key Governance Platform. The post facto analytics platform can retrieve the session keys by querying the Key Governance Platform using the client random identifier from the subject traffic stream. Additional details for this architecture are available in Section 5.2 of NIST SP 1800-37B: Approach, Architecture, and Security Characteristics.

Image showing Reference Architecture for Passive Decryption Using Exported Session Keys

Reference Architecture for Active Break and Inspect Decryption#

In the lab build for this reference architecture, software or services used for each of the architecture components can be found in the table below.

Build Components for the Passive Decryption Using Exported Session Keys Reference Architecture#

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Enterprise PKI

DigiCert

CertCentral Certificate Management Platform

TLS Client

Mozilla Firefox Browser

Microsoft Edge Browser

Command-line Email Client & Mozilla Thunderbird

Tap

VMWare vSphere Distributed vSwitch port mirroring

TLS Server(s)

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Keycloak IdAM application

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Python test application

MariaDB Database Server

Containerized Postfix SMTP Server and Dovecot IMAP Server

Key Capture and Registration Agent

Not For Radio

Encryption Visibility Architecture Encryption Visibility Agent (EVA) Version 0.7.0

Real-time Decryptor

MIRA

Encrypted Traffic Orchestration (ETO) Version 2.1.0 build 2023.10.24-0009 Virtual Appliance

Key Governance Platform

AppViewX

appviewX Version 2020.3.10 build 55 Virtual Appliance

Redis database

Real-time Analytics Platform

NetScout

nGeniusONE Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Omnis Cyber Intelligence (OCI) Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Post Facto Analytics Platform

vSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

vCYBERSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

Key Source

Thales TCT

Luna Network HSM T-5000 Firmware: Version 7.11.1 FIPS-validated

Return to Middlebox Architecture. Return to Architecture and Builds.

D.3 Active Inspection Using a Break and Inspect Middlebox#

The figure below depicts the high-level architecture components and interactions that achieve visibility of TLSv1.3 traffic using active break and inspect middleboxes. In this approach, each TLS connection from a TLS client is terminated at the middlebox. The middlebox then initiates a second TLS connection to the target TLS server. The middlebox copies the TLS traffic from the client-facing TLS connection to the server-facing TLS connection while passing the clear text of the traffic to the Real-time Analytics Platform. Finally, the middlebox registers the ephemeral session key for each TLS session with the Key Governance Platform. The post facto analytics platform can retrieve the ephemeral keys by querying the Key Governance Platform using the client random identifier of the TLS session to be decrypted. Additional details for this architecture are available in Section 5.3 of NIST SP 1800-37B: Approach, Architecture, and Security Characteristics.

Image showing Reference Architecture for Active Break and Inspect Decryption

Reference Architecture for Active Break and Inspect Decryption#

The lab has two builds of this reference architecture: one that operates on traffic at the OSI Layer 3 level, and one that operates on the OSI Layer 2 level. In the lab build for the Layer 3 version of this reference architecture, the software or services used for each of the architecture components can be found in the tables below.

Build Components for the Active Inspection Using a Break and Inspect Middlebox Architecture (Layer 3 Implementation)#

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Enterprise PKI

DigiCert

CertCentral Certificate Management Platform

TLS Client

Mozilla Firefox Browser

Microsoft Edge Browser

Command-line Email Client & Mozilla Thunderbird

Break and Inspect Device (Layer 3)

F5

BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator Version 17.0.0 build 0.0.22

F5 Syslog Receiver / Redis Forwarder Server

TLS Server(s)

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Keycloak IdAM application

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Python test app

Key Governance Platform

AppViewX

appviewX Version 2020.3.10 build 55 Virtual Appliance

Redis database

Real-time Analytics Platform

NetScout

nGeniusONE Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Omnis Cyber Intelligence (OCI) Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Post Facto Analytics Platform

vSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

vCYBERSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

Key Source

Thales TCT

Luna Network HSM T-5000 Firmware: Version 7.11.1 FIPS-validated

Build Components for the Active Inspection Using a Break and Inspect Middlebox Architecture (Layer 2 Implementation)#

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Architecture Component

Collaborator

Product Information

Enterprise PKI

DigiCert

CertCentral Certificate Management Platform

TLS Client

Mozilla Firefox Browser

Microsoft Edge Browser

Command-line Email Client & Mozilla Thunderbird

Break and Inspect Device (Layer 2)

MIRA

Encrypted Traffic Orchestration (ETO) Version 3.1.0-2024.11.28-4781 Virtual Appliance

TLS Server(s)

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Keycloak IdAM application

Containerized nginx reverse proxy and Python test app

Key Governance Platform

AppViewX

appviewX Version 2020.3.10 build 55 Virtual Appliance

Redis database

Real-time Analytics Platform

NetScout

nGeniusONE Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Omnis Cyber Intelligence (OCI) Version 6.3.5 build 2416

Post Facto Analytics Platform

vSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

vCYBERSTREAM ISNG Version 6.3.5 build 946

Key Source

Thales TCT

Luna Network HSM T-5000 Firmware: Version 7.11.1 FIPS-validated

Return to Middlebox Architecture. Return to Architecture and Builds.