NetBackup and Veritas Appliances Hardening Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (10.2, 5.1.1, 3.0), NetBackup (10.2, 5.1.1, 3.0)
Platform: NetBackup Appliance OS,Flex Appliance OS,Linux,UNIX,Windows
  1. Top recommendations to improve your NetBackup and Veritas appliances security posture
    1.  
      Introduction
    2.  
      Keeping all systems and software updated
    3.  
      Enabling multifactor authentication
    4.  
      Increasing the appliance security level
    5.  
      Implementing an immutable data vault
    6.  
      Securing credentials
    7.  
      Reducing network exposure
    8.  
      Enabling encryption
    9.  
      Enabling catalog protection
    10.  
      Enabling malware scanning and anomaly detection
    11.  
      Enabling security observability
    12.  
      Restricting user access
    13.  
      Configuring a sign-in banner
  2. Steps to protect Flex Appliance
    1.  
      About Flex Appliance hardening
    2. Managing single sign-on (SSO)
      1.  
        Managing identity providers (IDPs)
      2.  
        Importing single sign-on (SSO) users
    3.  
      Managing user authentication with smart cards or digital certificates
    4. About lockdown mode
      1.  
        Changing the lockdown mode
    5.  
      Using network access control
    6.  
      Using an external certificate
    7.  
      Forwarding logs
    8.  
      Creating a NetBackup WORM storage server instance
    9. Configuring an isolated recovery environment on a WORM storage server
      1.  
        Configuring data transmission between a production environment and an IRE WORM storage server
    10.  
      Protecting the NetBackup catalog on a WORM storage server
    11.  
      Using a sign-in banner
  3. Steps to protect NetBackup Appliance
    1.  
      About NetBackup Appliance hardening
    2. About single sign-on (SSO) authentication and authorization
      1.  
        Configure single sign-on (SSO) for a NetBackup Appliance
    3. About authentication using smart cards and digital certificates
      1.  
        2FA
      2.  
        Smart card Authentication for NetBackup Web UI
      3.  
        Smart card authentication for NetBackup Appliance Web UI
      4.  
        Smart card authentication for NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu
      5.  
        Configure role-based access control
      6.  
        Configure authentication for a smart card or digital certificate for the NetBackup Web UI
    4.  
      Disable user access to the NetBackup appliance operating system
    5.  
      About Network Access Control
    6. About data encryption
      1.  
        KMS support
    7.  
      FIPS 140-2 conformance for NetBackup Appliance
    8.  
      About implementing external certificates
    9. About forwarding logs to an external server
      1.  
        Uploading certificates for TLS
      2.  
        Enabling log forwarding
    10.  
      Creating the appliance login banner
  4. Steps to protect NetBackup
    1.  
      About NetBackup hardening
    2. Configure NetBackup for single sign-on (SSO)
      1.  
        Configure the SAML KeyStore
      2.  
        Configure the SAML keystore and add and enable the IDP configuration
      3.  
        Enroll the NetBackup primary server with the IDP
    3. Configure user authentication with smart cards or digital certificates
      1.  
        Configure smart card authentication with a domain
      2.  
        Configure smart card authentication without a domain
    4. Access codes
      1.  
        Get CLI access through web UI authentication
      2.  
        Approve your CLI access request
      3.  
        Approve CLI access requests of other users
    5. Workflow to configure immutable and indelible data
      1.  
        About configuring disk pool storage
      2.  
        Use WORM setting
      3.  
        Creating a backup policy
    6. Add a configuration for an external CMS server
      1.  
        Add a credential for CyberArk
    7. Configuring an isolated recovery environment on a NetBackup BYO media server
      1.  
        Configuring AIR for replicating backup images from production environment to IRE BYO environment
    8. About FIPS support in NetBackup
      1.  
        Enable FIPS mode on NetBackup during installation
      2.  
        Enable FIPS mode on a NetBackup host after installation
      3.  
        Enable FIPS mode for the NetBackup Authentication Broker service
      4.  
        Enable FIPS mode for the NetBackup Administration Console
      5.  
        NB_FIPS_MODE option for NetBackup servers and clients
    9.  
      Installing KMS
    10. Workflow for external KMS configuration
      1.  
        Validating KMS credentials
      2.  
        Configuring KMS credentials
      3.  
        Configuring KMS
      4.  
        Creating keys in an external KMS
      5. Workflow to configure data-in-transit encryption
        1.  
          Configure the global data-in-transit encryption setting
        2. Configure the DTE mode on a client
          1.  
            DTE_CLIENT_MODE for clients
        3. How DTE configuration settings work in various NetBackup operations
          1.  
            Backup
          2.  
            Restore
          3.  
            MSDP backup, restore, and optimized duplication
          4.  
            Universal-Share policy backup
          5.  
            Catalog backup and recovery
          6.  
            Duplication
          7.  
            Synthetic backup
          8.  
            Verify
          9.  
            Import
          10.  
            Replication
        4.  
          Configure the DTE mode on the media server
        5. Modify the DTE mode on a backup image
          1.  
            DTE_IGNORE_IMAGE_MODE for NetBackup servers
    11. Workflow to use external certificates for NetBackup host communication
      1. About certificate revocation lists for external CA
        1.  
          How CRLs from ECA_CRL_PATH are used
        2.  
          How CRLs from CDP URLs are used
      2.  
        Configuring an external certificate for the NetBackup web server
      3.  
        Configuring the primary server to use an external CA-signed certificate
      4. Configuring an external certificate for a clustered primary server
        1. Configuration options for external CA-signed certificates for a virtual name
          1.  
            CLUSTER_ECA_CERT_PATH for clustered primary server
          2.  
            CLUSTER_ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH for clustered primary server
          3.  
            CLUSTER_ECA_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH for clustered primary server
          4.  
            CLUSTER_ECA_KEY_PASSPHRASEFILE for clustered primary server
      5. Configuring a NetBackup host (media server, client, or cluster node) to use an external CA-signed certificate after installation
        1.  
          Enrolling an external certificate for a remote host
      6. Configuration options for external CA-signed certificates
        1. ECA_CERT_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
          1.  
            Specifying Windows certificate store for ECA_CERT_PATH
        2.  
          ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
        3.  
          ECA_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
        4.  
          ECA_KEY_PASSPHRASEFILE for NetBackup servers and clients
        5.  
          ECA_CRL_CHECK for NetBackup servers and clients
        6.  
          ECA_CRL_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
        7.  
          ECA_CRL_PATH_SYNC_HOURS for NetBackup servers and clients
        8.  
          ECA_CRL_REFRESH_HOURS for NetBackup servers and clients
        9.  
          ECA_DISABLE_AUTO_ENROLLMENT for NetBackup servers and clients
        10.  
          ECA_DR_BKUP_WIN_CERT_STORE for NetBackup servers and clients
        11.  
          MANAGE_WIN_CERT_STORE_PRIVATE_KEY option for NetBackup primary servers
    12.  
      Guidelines for managing the primary server NetBackup catalog
    13. About protecting the MSDP catalog
      1. About the MSDP shadow catalog
        1.  
          Changing the MSDP shadow catalog path
        2.  
          Changing the MSDP shadow catalog schedule
        3.  
          Changing the number of MSDP catalog shadow copies
      2.  
        About the MSDP catalog backup policy
    14. How to set up malware scanning
      1.  
        Prerequisites for a scan host
      2.  
        Configuring a new scan host pool
    15. About backup anomaly detection
      1.  
        Detecting backup anomalies on the primary server
      2.  
        Detecting backup anomalies on the media server
      3.  
        Configure anomaly detection settings
      4.  
        View anomalies
    16.  
      Send audit events to system logs
    17.  
      Send audit events to log forwarding endpoints
    18.  
      Display a banner to users when they sign in

Configuring an isolated recovery environment on a NetBackup BYO media server

You can configure an isolated recovery environment (IRE) on a NetBackup BYO media server to create an air gap between your production environment and a copy of the protected data. The air gap restricts network access to the IRE environment all the time. This feature helps to protect against ransomware and malware. To configure an IRE, you need a production NetBackup environment and a NetBackup IRE environment with MSDP server configured in a BYO Media server. The production environment does not require any additional steps for this feature.

Use the following procedure to configure an IRE on a BYO media server.

To configure an IRE on a BYO media server

  1. Note that this procedure applies only to NetBackup 10.1 and later.

    Log in to the media server.

  2. This step is optional. Use this step in any of the following conditions:
    • You want to enable IRE on an existing system.

    • AIR SLP is already configured.

    • You want to configure the IRE schedule in step 4 based on the existing SLP window.

    Run the following command to show the SLP windows for replication from the primary server to the MSDP storage on the media server:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/show_slp_windows --production_primary_server production primary server name --production_primary_server_username production primary server username --ire_primary_server target primary server name --ire_primary_server_username target primary server username

    Where:

    • The production primary server name is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the primary server in your production environment.

    • The production primary server username is the username of a NetBackup user with permission to list SLPs and SLP windows in the production environment.

      The production primary server username must be in domain_name\user_name format on Windows.

    • The target primary server name is the FQDN of the primary server in the IRE. Use the same hostname that you used to configure the SLPs in the production environment.

    • The target primary server username is the username of a NetBackup user with permission to list the SLPs and storage units in the IRE environment.

      The target primary server username must be in domain_name\user_name format on Windows.

    For example:

    production_primary_server=examplePrimary.domain.com 
    production_primary_server_username=appadmin 
    ire_primary_server=exampleIREPrimary.domain.com 
    ire_primary_server_username=appadmin

    The following is an example output of the command:

    EveryDayAtNoon: SLPs: SLP1 Sunday start: 12:00:00 duration: 00:59:59 
    Monday start: 12:00:00 duration: 00:59:59 Tuesday start: 12:00:00 
    duration: 00:59:59 Wednesday start: 12:00:00 duration: 00:59:59 
    Thursday start: 12:00:00 duration: 00:59:59 Friday start: 12:00:00 
    duration: 00:59:59 Saturday start: 12:00:00 duration: 00:59:59 
    WeeklyWindow: SLPs: SLP2 Sunday start: 10:00:00 duration: 01:59:59 
    Monday NONE Tuesday NONE Wednesday NONE Thursday NONE Friday NONE 
    Saturday start: 10:00:00 duration: 01:59:59

    This example shows two SLP windows:

    • A daily window for one hour starting at noon.

    • A weekly window for 2 hours starting at 10 A.M.

    Note:

    If an SLP window is greater than 24 hours, the show-slp-windows may display the duration incorrectly.

  3. Based on the output for your environment, determine a daily schedule that accommodates the SLP windows and take note of it. In the previous example, a daily schedule from 10 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. accommodates both SLP windows.

    The start times in the output of this command are in the IRE server's time zone.

    Note:

    If the time zone of the production primary server is changed, you must restart the NetBackup services.

  4. Run the following command to configure the subnets and IP addresses that are allowed to access the media server:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/ire_network_control allow-subnets --subnets CIDR subnets or IP addresses

    Where the CIDR subnets or IP addresses field is a comma-separated list of the allowed IP addresses and subnets in CIDR notation.

    For example:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/ire_network_control allow-subnets --subnets 10.10.100.200,10.80.40.0/20

    Note:

    The IRE primary server, the IRE media servers, and the DNS server for the IRE environment must be included in the allowed list. If all these servers are in the same subnet, only the subnet is required to be in the allowed list.

    Note:

    If your network environment is dual stack, ensure that both IPv4 and IPv6 subnets and IP addresses of the IRE domain are configured in allowed subnets. For example, if you specify only IPv6 subnets in the allowed subnet, all the IPv4 addresses are not allowed to access the IRE storage server.

  5. Run the following command to set the daily air gap schedule:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/ire_network_control set-schedule --start_time time --duration duration [--weekday 0-6]

    weekday is optional. It starts from Sunday. You can configure different network and open or close window for a specific weekday. If it is not specified, the IRE schedule is the same on each day.

    For example:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/ire_network_control set-schedule --start_time 10:00:00 --duration 03:00:00

    Note:

    The SLP replication window on the production domain must be configured to be open at the same time as the IRE schedule. The IRE schedule window can be different for weekdays. You can configure a window for a specific weekday.

    For example:

    /usr/openv/pdde/shell/bin/ire_network_control set-schedule --start_time 11:00:00 --duration 10:00:00 --weekday 0

    Note:

    If the production and the IRE environments are in different time zones, the schedule must begin only once per day in both time zones.

    For example, if one environment is in the Asia/Kolkata time zone and the other is in the America/New_York time zone, the following schedule in Kolkata is not supported: Tuesday start time 22:00:00 and Wednesday start time 03:00:00. When these start times are converted to the New York time zone, they become Tuesday start time 12:30:00 and Tuesday start time 17:30:00, which is not supported.

    Note:

    If you want to open air gap network for 24 hours on all days, you do not need to configure IRE schedule. However, the IRE media server restricts the network access from the hosts that are not configured in the subnets that the air gap allows.