Key Management Best Practices

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  1. Key Management Best Practices
    1. Introduction

Key management is a critical, often overlooked, aspect of maintaining a secure and reliable MediaWiki installation. While much focus is placed on patching vulnerabilities and securing the server environment, poorly managed encryption keys can render those efforts useless. This article provides a comprehensive overview of key management best practices for MediaWiki administrators, catering especially to beginners. Effective key management ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data, safeguarding your wiki and its users. This includes securing the `$wgSecretKey` used for session management, the database password, and any other cryptographic keys employed by extensions. Ignoring these practices can lead to devastating consequences, including data breaches, unauthorized access, and a loss of user trust.

    1. Understanding the Importance of Key Management

Before diving into the specifics, let’s understand *why* robust key management is essential.

  • **Data Confidentiality:** Encryption keys protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. Without strong keys, even encrypted data is vulnerable.
  • **Integrity Protection:** Keys are used in digital signatures to ensure data hasn't been tampered with. Compromised keys allow attackers to forge signatures and modify data undetected.
  • **Authentication & Authorization:** Keys are central to many authentication and authorization mechanisms. Weak or stolen keys grant attackers access to privileged accounts.
  • **Compliance:** Many regulations (like GDPR) require organizations to implement appropriate data security measures, including strong key management.
  • **Disaster Recovery:** Securely stored and backed-up keys are vital for restoring data and functionality in the event of a disaster.

In the context of MediaWiki, compromised keys can lead to:

  • **Session Hijacking:** An attacker gaining access to a user’s session by stealing the `$wgSecretKey`.
  • **Database Breaches:** Access to the database containing user credentials, wiki content, and other sensitive information.
  • **Malicious Extension Installation:** An attacker using compromised keys to install and activate malicious extensions.
  • **Content Manipulation:** Unauthorized modification or deletion of wiki content.
    1. Key Management Lifecycle

Effective key management isn’t a one-time task; it’s a continuous lifecycle encompassing several stages:

1. **Key Generation:** Creating strong, unpredictable keys. 2. **Key Storage:** Securely storing keys to prevent unauthorized access. 3. **Key Distribution:** Safely distributing keys to authorized users or systems. 4. **Key Usage:** Controlling how keys are used to minimize risk. 5. **Key Rotation:** Regularly changing keys to limit the impact of a potential compromise. 6. **Key Revocation:** Immediately disabling compromised keys. 7. **Key Destruction:** Securely deleting keys when they are no longer needed.

    1. Best Practices for Key Generation
  • **Use Strong Random Number Generators:** Never rely on predictable methods for generating keys. Utilize cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators (CSPRNGs). The system's `/dev/urandom` (on Linux/Unix systems) is generally a good source of randomness. Avoid `/dev/random` for production systems as it can block if entropy is low. PHP’s `random_bytes()` function (available since PHP 7) is recommended for generating keys within MediaWiki.
  • **Key Length:** Use sufficiently long keys. For symmetric encryption, a key length of 256 bits is generally considered secure. For asymmetric encryption (like RSA), a key length of at least 2048 bits is recommended.
  • **Avoid Hardcoding:** Never, ever hardcode keys directly into your MediaWiki configuration files (LocalSettings.php). This is a major security vulnerability.
  • **Automated Generation:** Automate key generation whenever possible to ensure consistency and reduce the risk of human error.
    1. Best Practices for Key Storage

This is arguably the most important aspect of key management.

  • **Encryption at Rest:** Encrypt keys when they are stored on disk. This protects them even if the storage medium is compromised. Utilize a key encryption key (KEK) to encrypt the other keys.
  • **Hardware Security Modules (HSMs):** For highly sensitive environments, consider using HSMs. These are dedicated hardware devices designed to securely store and manage cryptographic keys. They provide a high level of security and tamper resistance. While expensive, they are the gold standard for key protection.
  • **Key Management Systems (KMS):** KMS solutions provide centralized key management capabilities, including key generation, storage, rotation, and revocation. They offer a balance between security and usability. [Vault](https://www.hashicorp.com/products/vault) is a popular open-source KMS.
  • **Restricted Access:** Limit access to key storage locations to only authorized personnel. Use strong authentication mechanisms (like multi-factor authentication) to control access.
  • **Regular Backups:** Back up keys regularly, but store the backups in a separate, secure location. Encrypt the backups as well.
  • **Avoid Version Control:** Never commit keys to version control systems (like Git). Even if the repository is private, there’s always a risk of exposure.
    1. Best Practices for Key Distribution and Usage
  • **Principle of Least Privilege:** Grant access to keys only to the users and systems that absolutely need them.
  • **Secure Channels:** Distribute keys through secure channels (e.g., encrypted communication protocols). Avoid sending keys via email or other insecure methods.
  • **Key Wrapping:** Encrypt keys before distributing them to prevent interception.
  • **Automated Key Injection:** Use automated tools to inject keys into applications and systems, rather than manually configuring them.
  • **Monitor Key Usage:** Log and monitor key usage to detect suspicious activity.
  • **Avoid Sharing:** Minimize key sharing as much as possible. Each service or application should ideally have its own unique key.
    1. Key Rotation
  • **Regular Intervals:** Rotate keys on a regular schedule, even if there is no evidence of compromise. The frequency of rotation depends on the sensitivity of the data and the risk tolerance of the organization. A common practice is to rotate keys every 90-180 days.
  • **Automated Rotation:** Automate key rotation to reduce the risk of human error and ensure consistency.
  • **Graceful Transition:** Implement a graceful transition period during key rotation to avoid disrupting services. This may involve using multiple keys simultaneously for a short period.
  • **Revoke Old Keys:** Immediately revoke old keys after rotating them.
    1. Key Revocation and Destruction
  • **Immediate Revocation:** If a key is suspected of being compromised, revoke it immediately.
  • **Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs):** If using public key infrastructure (PKI), use CRLs to distribute information about revoked certificates.
  • **Secure Deletion:** When a key is no longer needed, securely delete it. This involves overwriting the key data multiple times to prevent recovery. For HSMs, the destruction process is typically handled by the device itself.
  • **Logging:** Log all key revocation and destruction events.
    1. Specific MediaWiki Considerations
  • **`$wgSecretKey`:** This is *crucial* for session security. Generate a long, random string for this value in `LocalSettings.php` using `random_bytes(32)` and store it securely. Do *not* share this key. Regularly rotate this key.
  • **Database Password:** Use a strong, unique password for the MediaWiki database user. Store this password securely and follow the same best practices as for other keys. Consider using a dedicated database user for MediaWiki with limited privileges.
  • **Extension Keys:** Some extensions may require their own encryption keys. Follow the same best practices for these keys as for the `$wgSecretKey` and database password. Review the extension’s documentation for specific key management requirements.
  • **HTTPS/TLS:** Ensure your MediaWiki installation is served over HTTPS using a valid TLS certificate. Proper certificate management is essential for protecting data in transit. Utilize [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) for free and automated certificate issuance.
  • **Caching:** Be mindful of caching mechanisms and ensure that sensitive data is not cached in an insecure manner.
    1. Tools and Technologies
    1. Resources for Further Learning



Security Configuration Database Extensions HTTPS User Management LocalSettings.php Encryption Backups Disaster Recovery

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