Trusted Realms
Trusted Realms
A deployment is an RSA Authentication Manager installation that consists of a primary instance and, optionally, one or more replica instances.
A realm is an organizational unit that includes all of the objects managed within a single deployment, such as users and user groups, tokens, password policies, and agents. Each deployment has only one realm.
For example, a corporation with headquarters in London has an office in New York. The London office and the New York office each have a deployment of AM. The objects managed in each deployment constitute a realm: the London realm and the New York realm.
Two or more realms can have a trust relationship, which gives users on one realm permission to authenticate to another realm and access the resources on that realm.
For example, the London realm has a trust relationship with the New York realm. This means that the New York realm “trusts” users from the London realm and gives users from the London realm the same privileges as users in the New York realm. When users from the London office are in New York, they can authenticate at the New York office like all of the other New York users.
Note: You can create a trusted realm to allow users who are not in an AM identity source or the internal database to use SecurID Authenticate Tokencodes on RSA authentication agents. For more information, see RSA SecurID Authenticate Tokencode.
You create a trust relationship by performing the following tasks:
Add an external realm as a trusted realm.
Specify an agent to authenticate trusted users from the trusted realm.
Specify the trusted users. You may not want to give all users from the trusted realm permission to authenticate on your realm, so you can designate which users from the trusted realm are trusted users. Only trusted users have permission to authenticate.
A trust relationship can be either a one-way trust or a two-way trust. In a one-way trust, only trusted users on one realm are allowed to authenticate on the other realm.
For example, if the trust relationship between London and New York is one way, either trusted London users can authenticate on New York or trusted New York users can authenticate on London. In a two-way trust, trusted users on each realm can authenticate on the other. For example, if the trust relationship between London and New York is two way, London users can authenticate on New York and New York users can authenticate on London.
The following figure shows a one-way trust. London has added New York as a trusted realm. This allows Alice, who is a trusted user in the New York realm, to authenticate to the London realm when she is in London on business.
While in London, Alice attempts to access London’s virtual private network (VPN) using her New York realm credentials (user name and passcode). London’s VPN server is protected by an agent that is configured to support trusted realm authentications. This agent does not recognize Alice and looks for Alice in other trusted realms. After the agent finds Alice in the New York realm, the New York realm verifies Alice’s credentials, authenticates Alice, and tells the agent to grant Alice access.
The following figure shows a two-way trust. London has added New York as a trusted realm, and New York has added London as a trusted realm. This allows Alice, who is a trusted user in the New York realm, to authenticate to the London realm, and Bob, who is a trusted user in the London realm, to authenticate to the New York realm.
Trusted realms cannot inherit or transfer trust from other realms. Trusted realm authentication only occurs between realms that have a direct, explicit trust relationship. In the previous example, even if the London realm were to add Paris as a trusted realm, New York and Paris would not trust each other unless you created a trust relationship between New York and Paris.
Creating a Trust Relationship
You use the Security Console to create and manage trust relationships between two RSA Authentication Manager realms.
Procedure
- Add a Trusted Realm
- Configure an Agent for Trusted Realm Authentication
- Add a Trusted User
- (Optional) Add a Trusted User Group
- (Optional) Add Trusted Users to a Trusted User Group
Add a Trusted Realm
You can connect two or more realms through a trust relationship to enable users within one realm to authenticate in another realm within a network environment. Trust is not inherited or transferred from other realms; instead, you must explicitly establish it as needed.
Note: In an example where a New York realm is being joined to a London realm, it is important to note that the New York realm cannot be a cloned system of the London realm because the Authentication Manager database contains unique database identifiers. Trying to establish a trusted realm between two deployments with the same database identifiers will result in an error.
Before you begin
You and the administrator of the realm you are adding as a trusted realm need to perform this procedure at the same time.
You and the administrator of the realm you are adding as a trusted realm need to be able to communicate while you perform this procedure.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Add New.
Under Generate Trust Package, click Generate & Download.
After the trust package is generated, use a secure method to exchange your trust package with the trust package from the trusted realm administrator. Wait until you receive the trust package before you continue.
In the Trust Package from Trusted Realm field, enter the path to the trust package that you just received by browsing to the package file, and click Open.
Click Next.
Verify the trust package confirmation codes with the trusted realm administrator. Go to the next step only after verifying the confirmation codes.
Click Confirm and Next.
In the Trusted Realm Name field, enter a unique, user-friendly name that identifies the trusted realm, for example, London office.
For Authentication Status, select Authenticate Trusted Users if you want your realm to authenticate users from the trusted realm.
For Trusted Realm Status, select Enable Trusted Realm. When enabled, your realm can send authentication requests to the trusted realm.
For Create Trusted Users in Security Domain, select the security domain that will own users from the trusted realm.
After your realm authenticates users from the trusted realm, the users must belong to a security domain in your realm. The security domain that you select must be configured to use the internal database as an identity source.
In the Trusted User Name Identifier field, enter a unique identifier for the trusted user, and click Add. The unique identifier could be the user's domain name or e-mail address and must be unique among trusted realms.
For example, suppose John Smith's identity in Realm A is jsmith. When jsmith tries to authenticate on Realm B, Realm B does not know the identity of jsmith or which realm he comes from. If you define Realm A as yourcompany.com, then jsmith is identified within Realm B as jsmith@your.company.com.
Click Save.
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Test the network connection between the trusted realms. Click the name of the trusted realm, and from the context menu, select Test Trusted Realm.
After you finish
Before trusted realm authentication can take place, you must enable an agent to process authentication requests from trusted users.
For more information, see Configure an Agent for Trusted Realm Authentication
Edit a Trusted Realm
You can edit a trusted realm to change its basic configuration settings.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Select the trusted realm that you want to edit.
From the context menu, click Edit.
Make any necessary changes. For more information, see Add a Trusted Realm.
Click Save.
Manage Existing Trusted Realm
Use this procedure to enable or disable a trusted realm.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted realm that you want to edit.
Select the trusted realm that you want to edit.
From the context menu, click Edit.
In the Trusted Realm Status field, select one of the following:
Enable Trusted Realm
Disable Trusted Realm
Click Save.
Enabling a trusted realm allows cross-realm authentication. For instructions, see Enable Authentication Between Realms.
Disabling a trusted realm prevents any cross-realm authentication from taking place. Configuration data and trusted users are not deleted from your realm. If you want to delete this data, you must delete the trusted realm. For instructions, see Delete a Trusted Realm.
You can still view a disabled trusted realm in the Security Console.
Delete a Trusted Realm
Deleting a trusted realm makes the following changes on your deployment:
All of the trusted realm's configuration data are deleted.
All users owned by the trusted realm are deleted.
If you want to reestablish the trust relationship, you must add again the trusted realm.
Procedure
- In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Select the trusted realm that you want to delete.
- From the context menu, click Delete.
Click OK.
View Trusted Realms
Use this procedure to view a list of all the trusted realms that have a trust relationship with your realm.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Test a Trusted Realm
For a trust relationship to work, your realm must be able to communicate with the trusted realm. You can verify communication between realms by testing the trusted realm.
Before you begin
Perform this test after you have added the trusted realm, or any time that cross-realm authentication continually fails. For more information, see Add a Trusted Realm.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Select the trusted realm that you want to test.
From the context menu, click Test Trusted Realm.
A message indicates whether the test succeeded or failed. If the test fails, try reimporting the trust package that you received from the trusted realm.
Enable Authentication Between Realms
You can enable authentication between realms to allow users to authenticate across deployments and access resources in another realm protected by AM. To enable authentication between realms, you enable your realm to authenticate users from the trusted realm, and the administrator of the trusted realm must perform the same procedure so that the trusted realm can authenticate users from your realm.
For a trust relationship to work, at least one realm must permit its users to send authentication requests to the other realm.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted realm that you want to edit.
Select the trusted realm that you want to edit.
From the context menu, click Edit.
Select Authenticate Trusted Users.
Click Save.
Configure an Agent for Trusted Realm Authentication
You must specify which authentication agents are available for trusted realm authentication.
On each agent in your realm, you specify one of the following:
Not open to trusted users
Open to all trusted users
Open only to trusted users in trusted user groups
For a one-way trust, the trusted realm administrator enables the agents for authentication in the trusted realm. For a two-way trust, you and the trusted realm administrator enable the agents in both your realms.
Before you begin
- Add a Trusted Realm
Create a new agent configuration file that specifies 25 seconds for a response from the server. For instructions, see Generate the Authentication Manager Configuration File.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Access > Authentication Agents > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the agent that you want to configure.
From the search results, click the authentication agent that you want to configure.
From the context menu, click Edit.
Do one of the following:
If you do not want trusted users to access this agent:
Under Trusted Realm Settings, ensure that Enable Trusted Realm Authentication is not selected.
Click Save.
If you want trusted users to access this agent:
Under Trusted Realm Settings, select Enable Trusted Realm Authentication.
For Trusted User Authentication, select one of the following:
Open to all Trusted Users. This option automatically designates users from a trusted realm as trusted users after successful authentication.
Only Trusted Users in Trusted User Groups with access to the agent can authenticate. These trusted users and trusted user groups are manually created by the administrator.
Click Save.
Add a Trusted User
Only trusted users can access the agents enabled for trusted realm authentication. An authentication agent can be configured to automatically designate all users from a trusted realm as trusted users. You can manually add trusted users if more restriction is necessary. When you manually add trusted users, only the users you add are trusted users.
Before you begin
Add a trusted realm. For instructions, see Add a Trusted Realm.
Configure an agent for trusted realm authentication. For instructions, see Configure an Agent for Trusted Realm Authentication.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted Users > Add New.
In the Trusted User ID field, enter the user's User ID.
From the Trusted Realm Name drop-down menu, select the trusted realm where the user belongs.
From the Security Domains drop-down menu, select the security domain where the policies for this trusted user are managed.
Only administrators whose administrative scope includes the security domain you select can manage the user.
In the Default Shell field, enter the shell that users employ to access a UNIX machine
Click Save.
Add a Trusted User Group
A trusted user group restricts access to an agent that is enabled for trusted realm authentication. When you create a trusted user group and enable associated agents, only members of the trusted user group can access that authentication agent.
By adding a trusted user group, only users who have a business need to access the resources protected by the agent are allowed to authenticate. For example, by creating a trusted user group for human resource workers, you can limit access to personnel records to those in the group.
Before you begin
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Add New.
In the Trusted User Group Name field, enter a unique name for the trusted user group.
The trusted user group name must not exceed 255 characters.
From the Security Domain drop-down menu, select the security domain select the security domain where the policies for this trusted user group are managed.
Only administrators whose administrative scope includes the security domain you select can manage the trusted user group.
Click Save.
View Trusted User Groups Allowed to Authenticate on Specific Agents
You can specify which trusted user groups are allowed to authenticate on a specific agent. Use this procedure to view the trusted user groups that are allowed to authenticate on a selected agent.
Procedure
On the Security Console, click Access > Authentication Agents > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to search for the agent that you want to view.
From the search results, click the agent that you want to view.
From the context menu, click Trusted User Groups with Access.
Edit a Trusted User Group
Edit a trusted user group to make changes to the name or security domain of the group.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted user group that you want to edit.
From the search results, click the trusted user group that you want to edit.
From the context menu, click Edit.
Make any necessary changes to the trusted user group record.
Click Save.
Set Restricted Access Times for Trusted User Groups
Restricted access times control when members of a trusted user group can authenticate through associated authentication agents. By default, no restricted access times are assigned to trusted user groups.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the user group you want to restrict.
From the search results, click the user group you want to restrict.
From the context menu, click Restricted Access Times.
(Optional) From the Access Time Templates drop-down list, select a template. Templates are predefined access times that can be assigned to a user group.
(Optional) From the Access Times drop-down menu, select the time zone where the user group you want to restrict is located. This allows you to set restrictions based on the time in the user group members' time zone.
Use the Access Times boxes to select access time restrictions.
Click the time you want the available access time to begin, press SHIFT, and click on the time you want available access to end. This selects a range of hours. The available access time is the highlighted area. The times that are not highlighted are restricted.
To select multiple, non-consecutive hours, press CTRL, and click the appropriate hours.
To deselect a selected hour, press CTRL, and click on the selected hour.
Click Save.
Delete a Trusted User Group
Delete a trusted user group to revoke a user group’s access privileges on a trusted realm.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted user group you want to delete.
From the search results, click the trusted user group you want to delete.
From the context menu, click Delete.
Click OK.
Grant a Trusted User Group Access to Agents
You can select which authentication agents that you want a trusted user group to have permission to access.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted user group that you want to grant access to an agent.
From the search results, click the trusted user group that you want to grant access to an agent.
From the context menu, click Grant Access to More.
Select the checkbox next to the agent that you want the user group to access.
Click the agent name, and select Grant Trusted User Group Access to Agent.
Add Trusted Users to a Trusted User Group
A trusted user group restricts access to an agent that is enabled for trusted realm authentication. When you create a trusted user group, only members of the trusted user group can access the agent that is enabled for trusted realm authentication.
You can add new trusted users to an existing trusted user group.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Trusted User Groups > Manage Existing.
Use the search fields to find the trusted user group where you are adding users.
From the search results, click the trusted user group name.
From the context menu, click Add More.
Select the checkbox next to the trusted users that you want to add.
Click Add to Trusted User Group.
Duplicate Agent Record for Access Control
You can control which users have access to an authentication agent in the trusted realm by adding a duplicate authentication record of the agent in the trusted realm. A duplicate authentication record allows you to restrict user access to members of a group. Only the users you assign to this group are able to access the agent in the trusted realm.
For example, suppose that you are the London administrator for a company that has a trusted relationship between two realms: New York and London. The New York realm has an unrestricted VPN agent called “VPN1.” You want to restrict which London users can access VPN1, so you create a duplicate agent record, also called “VPN1,” in the London realm. This agent record contains the same data as the agent record in the New York realm, including IP address. You make VPN1 a restricted agent, and create a user group called “VPN users.” Only London members of VPN users have permission to access VPN1 in New York.
You assign the London-based user “jsmith” to the VPN users group. When jsmith travels to New York and attempts to access VPN1 on the New York realm, the New York realm does not recognize the user jsmith, and forwards the following information to the London realm: user name, agent name, and passcode. The London realm recognizes the user name and agent name, and immediately checks to see if the agent is restricted. Because the agent is restricted, and jsmith is a member of the London-based VPN users, the authentication request is approved and the New York realm allows jsmith to authenticate.
If you create a duplicate agent record, it is important to know if the corresponding agent in the trusted realm has trusted user groups. If a trusted user group in the duplicate agent record does not contain the same users as the group on the agent on the trusted realm, users might not be able to authenticate. Note the following:
In the above example, assume that VPN1 in the trusted realm has a trusted user group associated with it. If jsmith is not a member of the trusted user group, he cannot authenticate, even though he is a member of his realm’s corresponding user group.
In the above example, assume that a second London user, “sbrown,” is a member of the trusted user group, but is not a member of his realm’s corresponding user group. Despite being a member of the trusted user group, sbrown cannot authenticate because his realm has not given him access to the agent.
Duplicate Agent Record for Resolving Aliases
If you use aliases for user groups, users might attempt to log on to an authentication agent in the trusted realm using their aliases. To ensure successful authentications in this case, add a duplicate record of the agent in the trusted realm with associated user groups and aliases to your realm.
For example, suppose that your realm has a restricted VPN agent, “VPN2.” Only members of the VPN2 user group can access VPN2. In that user group, users have aliases, a special user name they use just for VPN2. For example, the user “jdoe” has the alias “jdoeVPN,” which he uses when he logs on to VPN2.
If jdoe attempts to authenticate to the trusted realm’s VPN agent, “VPN1” using his alias, “jdoeVPN,” the trusted realm does not recognize jdoe and sends his user name and agent information back to jdoe’s realm. Jdoe’s realm does not recognize the agent “VPN1” or the user name “jdoeVPN.” Therefore, access is denied and the user cannot authenticate.
If jdoe’s realm has a duplicate agent record, also called “VPN1” and VPN1 has an associated user group where jdoe is a member and has “jdoeVPN” as his alias, the problem is solved. Now when “jdoeVPN” tries to access VPN1 in the trusted realm, the trusted realm forwards the user name and agent information back to jdoe’s realm. Jdoe’s realm recognizes the agent name and the alias. Now jdoe can authenticate successfully.
View Trusted Realm Settings
Use the following procedure to view the realm settings for a trusted realm or for a trusted legacy realm. For a trusted realm, you can view the status of the trust relationship and the confirmation codes used to add the trusted realm. For a trusted legacy realm, you can view the connection settings for cross realm authentication.
Procedure
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Under Trusted Realm Name, select the trusted realm that you want to view.
From the context menu, select View.
Removing Trust Between Two Realms
You can stop cross-realm authentication between your realm and a trusted realm by doing one of the following:
Disable the trusted realm. This action prevents your realm from receiving authentication requests from the trusted realm. Trusted users are not deleted and configuration data is not removed. If the trusted realm disables your realm, no cross-realm authentication can take place. This action is easily reversible. You can reestablish the trust relationship by enabling the trusted realm. For more information, see Manage Existing Trusted Realm.
Delete the trusted realm. This action deletes all trusted realm configuration data and trusted users from your machine. This action is not easily reversible. If you want to reestablish the trust relationship, you must add the trusted realm again. For more information, see Delete a Trusted Realm .
Repair a Trust Relationship with a Realm
If you restore the RSA Authentication Manager primary instance on a machine with a new hostname, and you had a trust relationship previously with another realm, perform the following procedure to repair the trust between the two Authentication Manager deployments.
Note: In an example where a New York realm is being joined to a London realm, it is important to note that the New York realm cannot be a cloned system of the London realm because the Authentication Manager database contains unique database identifiers. Trying to establish a trusted realm between two deployments with the same database identifiers will result in an error.
Note: You can also repair a trust relationship between RSA Authentication Manager and RSA SecurID Access. For instructions, see the Help topic Repair the RSA Cloud Access Service Trusted Realm.
Note: You can also repair a trust relationship between RSA Authentication Manager and SecurID . For instructions, Repair the RSA Cloud Access Service Trusted Realm.
Before you begin
The administrator of the restored deployment and the administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired must be able to communicate directly while they perform this procedure.
Procedure
The administrator of the restored deployment performs the following steps to generate a trust package.
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Under Trusted Realm Name, click the trusted realm name to repair.
From the context menu, click Generate Trust Package, and save the file (TrustPackage.xml).
After the trust package is saved, use a secure method to send the trust package to the administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired.
The administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired performs the following steps to import the trust package.
After receiving the trust package, click Administration >Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Under Trusted Realm Name, click the trusted realm name to repair.
From the context menu, click Repair Trust.
In the Trust Package from Trusted Realm field, enter the path to the new trust package by browsing to the package file, and click Open.
Click Next, and contact the restored realm administrator.
The administrator of the restored deployment performs the following steps to share the confirmation code with the administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired.
In the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
Under Trusted Realm Name, click the trusted realm name to repair.
From the context menu, click View, locate the confirmation code under Current Realm ConfirmationCode, and read the code to the administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired to confirm that the trust package is valid.
The Current Realm Confirmation Code must match the administrator’s Trusted Realm Confirmation Code.
The administrator of the deployment where the trust will be repaired performs the following steps to repair the trust.
On the Update Trusted Realm page under Trusted Realm Confirmation Code, read the Trust Package Confirmation Code to the restored realm administrator to confirm that the trust package is valid.
The Trusted Realm Confirmation Code must match the restored realm administrator’s Current Realm Confirmation Code.
If the confirmation code does not match, ask the restored realm administrator to generate and send a new trust package.
Click Confirm and Next.
(Optional) For Authentication Status, select Authenticate Trusted Users if you want your realm to authenticate users from the trusted realm.
For Create Trusted Users in Security Domain, select the security domain that will own users from the trusted realm.
After your realm authenticates users from the trusted realm, the users must belong to a security domain in your realm. The security domain that you select must be configured to use the internal database as an identity source.
(Optional) In the Trusted User Name Identifier field, enter a unique identifier that your realm can recognize for the trusted user, and click Add. The unique identifier could be the user's domain name or e-mail address, such as jsmith@company.com. The value must be unique among trusted realms.
For example, suppose John Smith from Realm A is jsmith in his local realm. Your realm does not know the identity of jsmith. If you enter yourcompany.com in this field, this user will be identified within your realm as jsmith@yourcompany.com.
Click Save.
Repair the RSA Cloud Authentication Service Trusted Realm
In RSA Authentication Manager, you can use the repair feature to enter new information about a trusted realm. For example, you can update the hostname or IP address used to contact the Cloud Authentication Service.
If RSA AM has a new IP address or netmask, then you must provide this information to a Cloud Authentication Service administrator.
Before you begin
- This procedure requires the rsaadmin password.
- You must be a Super Admin or a Trust Administrator.
Procedure
- Log on to the appliance with the User ID rsaadmin and the operating system password that you defined during Quick Setup.
- Change directories to /opt/rsa/am/utils. Type:
cd /opt/rsa/am/utils/
and press ENTER.
- Modify the trusted realm. Type:
./rsautil manage-securid-access-trusts -a repair -t trusted_realm
where trusted_realm is the name of the RSA Cloud Authentication Service trusted realm that needs to be modified.
and press ENTER. You are prompted for the required information.
Note: Although it is possible to enter the administrator password on the command line along with the other options, this creates a potential security vulnerability. RSA recommends that you enter passwords only when prompted.
- When prompted, enter the Super Admin or Trust Administrator username, and press ENTER.
- When prompted, enter the Super Admin or Trust Administrator password, and press ENTER.
- When the RSA Cloud Authentication Service trusted realm is located, you are prompted to enter updated values for the following items:
- RSA REST API URL Prefix used to contact the Cloud Authentication Service. You might want to update the hostname or IP address.
- The Access ID and Access Key provided by the Cloud Authentication Service Super Admin.
- Trusted realm name.
- Whether the trusted realm is enabled.
- Whether the trusted realm is enabled for authentication.
- Optional notes.
Press ENTER for each item that you do not want to update.
- After the trusted realm is updated, RSA Authentication Manager tests the connection to the trusted realm. After 30 seconds, a message indicates whether the connection test succeeded or failed.
If the connection test fails, you can view the details in the imsTrace.log file in the /opt/rsa/am/server/logs directory.
- To verify the changed details in the Security Console, click Administration > Trusted Realms > Manage Existing.
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