gre ip tunnels and their security
 

hello,

i have just learned how to create a tunnel over the internet using gre to one of my linux boxes. however all this is well and good but what about security?

how secure are these gre tunnels and is it safe to leave it connected all the time?

+ what are your opinions on this topic?

thanks
antken

GRE tunnel are not encrypted... so they are not secure at all. for security I'd recommend you encrypt these via ipsec or pptp.

by the way??? may seem stupid but how do you create a gre tunnel in linux. I have only created them under cisco routers...

hi,

thanks for that, it kind of figures they are un encrypted, i was at one point going to use this as a solution to a problem but oh well :rolleyes:

i found the tutorial on the advanced routing how to at tldp.org ( if you go its called Linux Advanced Routing & Traffic Control HOWTO and its written by a load of people :) )

just one question then, if GRE is unencrypted why do people use it on cisco systems ( i.e. routers, firewalls and switches ), would it not be better to use an encrypted tunnel?

depending on the type of traffic you will pass through... It would have less over head and could also be run on a private network (for routing issues) not only it has to travel across the internet...

www.freeswan.com

^^ vpn / ipsec

Its pretty damn reliable. RSA keys are nice :)