Very nice! I use something client side like this on my Mac, and if my terminal was Linux I'd want this too.
The host key section makes me wonder about doing this with servers, but what are the security guarantees in places like the cloud with that? Are you relegated to a software TPM, and if so, what guarantees does a software TPM have?
My question after reading the README.md: what are the requirements from the OS? Can it be Windows, Linux, etc?
Foxboron•1h ago
> The host key section makes me wonder about doing this with servers, but what are the security guarantees in places like the cloud with that? Are you relegated to a software TPM, and if so, what guarantees does a software TPM have?
For the cloud? You would probably have a software TPM so not super secure, but you would still prevent the keys from being extracted away from the server. And if you don't trust your hypervisor/cloud provider you probably have other issues?
In my head the security guarantees are more straightforward for physical servers where you have a fTPM or a dTPM.
> My question after reading the README.md: what are the requirements from the OS? Can it be Windows, Linux, etc?
This only supports Linux.
epistasis•1h ago
Thanks for the quick answers! I don't know much about TPMs, so I'll have to read about software ones to find out about that model.
One of my clients has security audits where even certs result in fights about "secrets on the machine" and having this one level of indirection for host keys may help out, even if a SWTPM doesn't provide much. At least, depending on how the SWTPM presents on the filesystem.
epistasis•1h ago
The host key section makes me wonder about doing this with servers, but what are the security guarantees in places like the cloud with that? Are you relegated to a software TPM, and if so, what guarantees does a software TPM have?
My question after reading the README.md: what are the requirements from the OS? Can it be Windows, Linux, etc?
Foxboron•1h ago
For the cloud? You would probably have a software TPM so not super secure, but you would still prevent the keys from being extracted away from the server. And if you don't trust your hypervisor/cloud provider you probably have other issues?
In my head the security guarantees are more straightforward for physical servers where you have a fTPM or a dTPM.
> My question after reading the README.md: what are the requirements from the OS? Can it be Windows, Linux, etc?
This only supports Linux.
epistasis•1h ago
One of my clients has security audits where even certs result in fights about "secrets on the machine" and having this one level of indirection for host keys may help out, even if a SWTPM doesn't provide much. At least, depending on how the SWTPM presents on the filesystem.