Implementing Network Time Security at the Hardware Level

Network Time Security (NTS) adds a vital layer of security to Network Time Protocol (NTP) services. Having carried out their software implementation of NTS back in 2019, Netnod has now implemented NTS at the hardware level.

At Netnod, we have been busy with Network Time Security (NTS) for some years now. We worked on the IETF proposed standard published in 2020 as RFC8915 and introduced an NTS-enabled time service in 2019 with NTS deployed in software. The next step was to implement NTS at a hardware level. This article will look at some of the challenges involved in this hardware deployment and how it helps provide even more secure time services.

Many devices connected to the Internet rely on the Network Time Protocol (NTP). However, NTP exposes networks to security issues. As the protocol was created in 1985, and not designed with security in mind, it is vulnerable to attack. This is especially problematic given that accurate and secure time is crucial for some of the key security technologies upon which networks and society as a whole depend. NTS has been designed to fix this.

NTS uses modern cryptography to add an important layer of security to NTP services. It prevents spoofing and MITM attacks by using authenticated packets. Amplification attacks are prevented by ensuring that request and response packets are always the same size.

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