Why ftp is not secure

In a nutshell: the idea that you have implicit security because you are on a local network is dubious and outdated. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Steffen Ullrich Steffen Ullrich k 27 27 gold badges silver badges bronze badges. While these are the big issues, its also worth noting that the default behaviour is to create a second socket connection for data compared with control on an arbitrary port which complicates defining firewall rules.

While FTPS in theory supports going back to plain control connection after having protected the login with TLS, this is not supported by all clients and even if supported it is usually not the default - which makes supporting strict port forwarding for FTPS in firewalls a nightmare and might often result in giving up and just opening all ports. Lets take a look at the pcap with strings: vsFTPd 3.

What about content of commands? LIST Here comes the directory listing. MNt drwxr-xr-x 2 Aug 28 Desktop drwxr-xr-x 2 Aug 28 Documents drwxr-xr-x 2 Aug 28 Downloads drwxr-xr-x 2 Aug 28 Music -rw-rw-r-- 1 Jun 12 pic1.

RETR pic1. Joe M Joe M 2, 1 1 gold badge 5 5 silver badges 13 13 bronze badges. How insecure… really… is FTP? As insecure as any other application layer protocol that is not encrypted, for example HTTP. The major risk is exposure to eavesdroppers on the network of all the data sent over FTP. Yes, those are exposed too. Even less secure than HTTP — curiousguy. Why less than HTTP?

Is this a nitpick or is there something substantial? I'm using HTTP as an example since it is it well-known application layer protocol. HTTP has zero protection against tempering of the content of the IP connection is not secure; IP can be made secure IPsec or inherently secure the loopback interface for local connections. FTP is deeply insecure because anyone can try to connect, knowing only the port, which has limited entropy or no entropy on many systems. Slowing down another program that is about to open a data connection allows you to inject data.

Difficult to do but if you have a way slow down other programs and retry many times, probably doable. How insecure… really… is FTP It's as insecure as your network is.

All completely in the clear, with very easy tools available to snarf them. Steve Sether Steve Sether Both are equally insecure, and equally susceptible to interception. HTTP is not "insecure", it offers no integrity and no secrecy not offered by the IP network; it can be argued that security is best provided at the IP level morally, practically it isn't generalized. HTTP over a secure network is secure. JimmyJames JimmyJames 2, 1 1 gold badge 16 16 silver badges 25 25 bronze badges. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.

Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. It is generally considered to be an insecure protocol because it relies on clear-text usernames and passwords for authentication and does not use encryption. Data sent via FTP is vulnerable to sniffing, spoofing, and brute force attacks, among other basic attack methods.

There are several common approaches to addressing these challenges and securing FTP usage. Network data loss prevention solutions are often used to secure data sent over FTP sessions. Network DLP solutions are able to inspect and control FTP traffic, blocking or allowing transfers based on policies governing what users can take what actions with data.

Network data loss prevention solutions also are crucial for FTP security in cases when employees may inadvertently share sensitive data and confidential files using FTP. By prompting users, encrypting files, or blocking unauthorized FTP transfers altogether, network DLP tools ensure that sensitive data is not being put at risk of interception or exfiltration.

View the discussion thread. Platform Overview. Popular Topics: Data Protection. Consequently, the use of FTP should be restricted to totally closed and trusted environments and anonymous access. We do not recommend configuring FTP servers.

For Windows, FileZilla Server is a possible alternative. We recommend using SFTP. Tectia SSH is a widely used server for Windows. It is commercially supported, with 24x7 support available.

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