Network Security
Define IPSec Crypto Profiles
Table of Contents
Define IPSec Crypto Profiles
The IPSec Crypto profile is used in IKE Phase 2 to secure data within a tunnel, and
requires matching parameters between VPN peers for successful negotiation.
| Where Can I Use This? | What Do I Need? |
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The Internet
Protocol Security (IPSec) profiles provide information about the algorithms that are
used to authenticate, encrypt, and establish a shared secret between network sites
when you establish an IPSec tunnel.
The IPSec Crypto profile is invoked in IKE Phase 2. It specifies
how the data is secured within the tunnel when Auto Key IKE is used to generate keys
automatically for the IKE SAs.
Regardless of whether your VPN peer is from the same vendor or not, the VPN peers
must have the same IPSec parameters configured in order to perform a successful
IPSec negotiation.
IPSec negotiation will be successful when the following parameters match between the
VPN peers:
- IPSec Protocol (ESP or AH)
- DH Group (or PFS) for key exchange
- Encryption algorithms
- Authentication algorithms
For example, if you have configured VPN peer 1 with ESP for
IPSec protocol, group20 for DH group,
sha384 for authentication, and
aes-256-gcm for encryption. Then, VPN peer 2 with which
you want to establish the IPSec tunnel also should be configured exactly with the
same values.
By default, perfect forward secrecy (PFS) is enabled on IPSec tunnels to
generate a more randomized key. PFS does this by performing an additional key
exchange during IPSec SA negotiation to generate a new shared secret and combines it
into the new IPSec SA keys. When configuring PFS, ensure that both the VPN peers
have the same PFS configuration. Any failure in IPSec SA negotiation will result in
failure to establish the IPSec tunnel.
Follow this procedure to create an IPSec Crypto profile on a Palo Alto Networks
firewall.
Define IPSec Crypto Profiles (PAN-OS 10.1 and Later & )
- Create a new IPSec profile.
- Select and select Add.Enter a Name for the new profile.Select the IPSec Protocol—ESP or AH—that you want to apply to secure the data as it traverses across the tunnel.As a best practice, select ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload) over AH (Authentication Header) because ESP offers both confidentiality and authentication for the connection whereas AH offers only authentication.Click Add and select the Authentication and Encryption algorithms for ESP, and Authentication algorithms for AH, so that the IKE peers can negotiate the keys for the secure transfer of data across the tunnel.If you aren’t certain of what the IKE peers support, add multiple algorithms in the order of most-to-least secure as follows; the peers negotiate the strongest supported algorithm to establish the tunnel:
- Encryption—aes-256-gcm, aes-256-cbc, aes-192-cbc, aes-128-gcm, aes-128-ccm (the VM-Series firewall doesn’t support this option), aes-128-cbc, des , 3des.PAN-OS 10.1.0 and earlier releases support the Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm.As a best practice, choose the strongest authentication and encryption algorithms the peer can support. For the authentication algorithm, use SHA-256 or higher (SHA-384 or higher preferred for long-lived transactions). Don’t use SHA-1, MD5, or none. For the encryption algorithm, use AES; 3DES is weak and vulnerable.
- Authentication—sha512, sha384, sha256, sha1, md5.
Select the DH Group to use for the IPSec SA negotiations in IKE phase 2.From DH Group, select the key strength you want to use: group1, group2, group5, group14, group15, group16, group19, group20, or group21. For the highest security, choose the group with the highest number.Beginning with PAN-OS 10.2.0 and later releases, group15, group16, and group21 Diffie-Hellman (DH) groups are supported.If you don’t want to renew the key that the firewall creates during IKE phase 1, select no-pfs (no perfect forward secrecy); the firewall reuses the current key for the IPSec security association (SA) negotiations.Specify the duration of the key—time and volume of traffic.Using a combination of time and traffic volume allows you to ensure safety of data.Select the Lifetime or time period for which the key is valid in seconds, minutes, hours, or days (range is 3 minutes to 365 days). When the specified time expires, the firewall will renegotiate a new set of keys.Select the Lifesize or volume of data after which the keys must be renegotiated.Commit your IPSec profile.Click OK and click Commit.Attach the IPSec Profile to an IPSec tunnel configuration.See Set up key exchange.Define IPSec Crypto Profiles (Strata Cloud Manager)
Based on the IPSec device type you selected, Prisma Access provides a recommended set of IPSec protocol and key lifetime settings to secure data within the IPSec tunnel between your:- the private apps at your data center or headquarters location and Prisma Access in IKE Phase 2 for the Security Association (SA)—for a service connection
- branch device and Prisma Access in IKE Phase 2 for the Security Association (SA)—for a remote network site
You can use the recommended settings, or customize the settings as needed for your environment.- Customize the IPSec Crypto Profile to define how data is secured within the tunnel when Auto Key IKE automatically generates keys for the IKE SAs during IKE Phase 2.Prisma Access automatically configures a default IPSec crypto profile based on the Branch Device Type vendor. You can either use the default profile or create a custom profile.
- IPSec Protocol—Secure the data that traverses the VPN tunnel. The Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) protocol encrypts the data, authenticates the source, and verifies the data integrity. The Authentication Header (AH) protocol authenticates the source and verifies the data integrity.If you use ESP as the IPSec protocol, also specify the Encryption algorithm used in the IPSec SA negotiation.Prisma Access supports the following encryption algorithms: aes-256-gcm (256 bits), aes-256-cbc (256 bits), aes-192-cbc (192 bits), aes-128-gcm (128 bits), aes-128-cbc (128 bits), 3des (168 bits), and des (56 bits). You can also select null (no encryption).
Authentication—Specify the authentication algorithm used in the IPSec SA negotiation.Prisma Access supports the following authentication algorithms: sha1 (160 bits), sha256 (256 bits), sha384 (384 bits), sha512 (512 bits), and md5 (128 bits). If you set the IPSec Protocol to ESP, you can also select none (no authentication).DH Group—Specify the Diffie-Hellman (DH) groups for IKE in the IPSec security association (SA) negotiation.Prisma Access supports the following DH groups: Group 1 (768 bits), Group 2 (1024 bits—default), Group 5 (1536 bits), Group 14 (2048 bits), Group 19 (256-bit elliptic curve group), and Group 20 (384-bit elliptic curve group). For the strongest security, select the group with the highest number. If you don’t want to renew the key that Prisma Access creates during IKE phase 1, select no-pfs (no perfect forward secrecy). If you select this option, Prisma Access reuses the current key for the IPSec SA negotiation.Lifetime—Specify the unit and amount of time during which the negotiated key is valid (default is one hour).Lifesize—Specify the unit and amount of data that the key can use for encryption.
