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Event Information

  • The v1.compute.targetHttpsProxies.setSslPolicy event in GCP for Compute refers to an action taken to set the SSL policy for a target HTTPS proxy.
  • This event indicates that a change has been made to the SSL policy associated with a target HTTPS proxy in GCP’s Compute Engine.
  • The SSL policy determines the level of security and encryption protocols that are enforced for HTTPS traffic handled by the target HTTPS proxy.

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Examples

  1. Insecure SSL/TLS configuration: If the SSL policy set for a target HTTPS proxy in GCP Compute Engine is not properly configured, it can lead to insecure SSL/TLS connections. This can result in potential security vulnerabilities, such as weak encryption algorithms, outdated SSL/TLS versions, or missing security headers.
  2. Certificate validation issues: When setting the SSL policy for a target HTTPS proxy, it is important to ensure that the SSL certificates used for the backend services are valid and trusted. If the certificates are expired, self-signed, or issued by untrusted certificate authorities, it can compromise the security of the connections and expose sensitive data to potential attackers.
  3. Weak cipher suites and protocols: The SSL policy set for a target HTTPS proxy should enforce strong cipher suites and protocols to ensure secure communication. If weak cipher suites or outdated SSL/TLS protocols are allowed, it can make the connections vulnerable to attacks like POODLE, BEAST, or DROWN. It is crucial to configure the SSL policy with up-to-date and secure cipher suites and protocols to mitigate these risks.

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Remediation

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Using Console

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP Compute using the GCP console, you can follow these step-by-step instructions:
  1. Restricting SSH access:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the Compute Engine section.
    • Select the instance for which you want to restrict SSH access.
    • Click on the “Edit” button at the top of the page.
    • Scroll down to the “Firewalls” section and click on “Add firewall rule”.
    • Provide a name for the firewall rule and set the “Targets” to “All instances in the network”.
    • In the “Source IP ranges” field, enter the IP range from which you want to allow SSH access (e.g., your organization’s IP range).
    • Set the “Protocols and ports” to allow SSH (port 22) traffic.
    • Click on the “Create” button to save the firewall rule.
  2. Enabling VPC Flow Logs:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the VPC Network section.
    • Select the VPC network for which you want to enable flow logs.
    • Click on the “Edit” button at the top of the page.
    • Scroll down to the “Flow logs” section and click on “Add flow log”.
    • Provide a name for the flow log and select the desired configuration options (e.g., sampling rate, metadata inclusion).
    • Choose the desired destination for the flow logs (e.g., Stackdriver Logging, Cloud Storage).
    • Click on the “Create” button to enable flow logs for the VPC network.
  3. Implementing IAM best practices:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the IAM & Admin section.
    • Select the project for which you want to implement IAM best practices.
    • Click on the “IAM” tab to view the IAM roles and permissions.
    • Review the existing IAM roles and identify any unnecessary or overly permissive roles.
    • Remove any unnecessary roles and adjust the permissions of existing roles to follow the principle of least privilege.
    • Consider creating custom IAM roles with specific permissions tailored to the needs of different user groups.
    • Regularly review and audit the IAM roles and permissions to ensure they align with the organization’s security requirements.

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Using CLI

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP Compute using GCP CLI, you can follow these steps:
  1. Disable SSH access for the default service account:
    • Use the following command to get the email address of the default service account: 
      gcloud iam service-accounts list --filter="displayName:Compute Engine default service account"
    • Once you have the email address, use the following command to remove the roles associated with SSH access: 
      gcloud projects remove-iam-policy-binding PROJECT_ID --member=serviceAccount:EMAIL_ADDRESS --role=roles/compute.osLogin
  2. Enable VPC Flow Logs for network monitoring:
    • Use the following command to enable VPC Flow Logs for a specific subnet: 
      gcloud compute networks subnets update SUBNET_NAME --region=REGION --enable-flow-logs
  3. Restrict public access to Cloud Storage buckets:
    • Use the following command to update the bucket ACL and remove all public access: 
      gsutil iam ch allUsers:legacyObjectReader gs://BUCKET_NAME
Please note that you need to replace the placeholders (PROJECT_ID, EMAIL_ADDRESS, SUBNET_NAME, REGION, and BUCKET_NAME) with the actual values specific to your GCP environment.

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Using Python

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP Compute using Python, you can use the following approaches:
  1. Enforce strong passwords:
    • Use the Google Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) API to create a custom role with the necessary permissions to manage user accounts.
    • Write a Python script that utilizes the IAM API to enforce strong password policies for GCP Compute instances.
    • The script should iterate through all the instances and update the passwords for the user accounts based on the defined policy.
  2. Enable disk encryption:
    • Use the Google Cloud Key Management Service (KMS) API to create a key ring and a key for encrypting the disks.
    • Write a Python script that utilizes the Compute Engine API to enable disk encryption for all the Compute instances.
    • The script should iterate through all the instances and enable disk encryption by attaching the created key to the instance’s disks.
  3. Implement network security groups:
    • Use the Google Cloud Firewall API to create network security groups (firewall rules) that restrict inbound and outbound traffic.
    • Write a Python script that utilizes the Firewall API to implement network security groups for the Compute instances.
    • The script should iterate through all the instances and apply the necessary firewall rules to restrict traffic based on the defined policies.
Please note that the provided scripts are just high-level examples, and you may need to modify them based on your specific requirements and environment setup.