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Oct 21, 2013 · Security through obscurity means that the security hinges on the algorithm being kept secret. For example, if I decide to use rot13 for my encryption, the security of the system relies on me making sure nobody else knows the algorithm I'm using.
In security engineering, security through obscurity is the practice of concealing the details or mechanisms of a system to enhance its security. This approach relies on the principle of hiding something in plain sight, akin to a magician's sleight of hand or the use of camouflage.
There aren’t many advantages to using security through obscurity because it’s essentially the absence of a security strategy. Let’s discuss security through obscurity's pros and cons to illustrate why that is.
- What Is Security Through Obscurity?
- History of Sto
- Obscurity in Architecture vs. Technique
- Good Obscurity Compared to Bad Obscurity
- Criticism of Sto
- Not A Standalone Security Method
- References
Obscurity means unknown. Security through obscurity seeks to keep a system secure by keeping knowledge of it secret. Inner mechanisms and workings of a system are kept on a “need to know” basis. If no one outside of the core group is aware of them, or the vulnerabilities, the system can remain secure. In theory, this works, but the margin of human ...
The concept of security through obscurity has a long-standing history, with early opponents dating back to the 1850s. It involved the concept of publishing how to successfully pick a state-of-the-art lock at the time. While there was much outrage, the argument was made that people working to break in already know how and exposing flaws in the desig...
Security by obscurity is in essence an insecure concept in that it means that the hidden secret, or unknown entity, is the key to unlocking the entire system. In this case, once the enemy has this key, they have access to everything. In technique, security by obscurity is an insecure concept when used in isolation. When used as part of a system’s a...
STO as the only method for protecting your assets is a bad idea, but when used in conjunction with other security measures, it can be a useful tool. Security by obfuscation serves to make reconnaissance from bad actors and unauthorized users harder. They will have a tougher time exploiting vulnerabilities of something that they cannot see in the fi...
The IT environment is becoming increasingly complex, and more users need access, which increases the number of people “in the know.” More and more users have advanced knowledge of how systems work, which can make it easy for them to guess the information that was withheld. For these reasons, STO is often criticized as an ineffective method, especia...
In short, security through obscurity by itself is not a good concept. It serves to replace actual security with secrecy, meaning that if anyone, such as a bad actor, learns the key or trick to the system, it is no longer secure. Security through obscurity can be a good complementary level of security when used in tandem with other security tools an...
Security Through Obscurity (STO). (July 2013). Techopedia. Kerckhoff’s Principle. (2020). Crypto-IT. Security Through Obscurity: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. (May 2020). The Cyber Patch.
Presumed security is a principle in security engineering that a system is safe from attack due to an attacker assuming, on the basis of probability, that it is secure. Presumed security is the opposite of security through obscurity.
Mar 18, 2024 · So, security by obscurity becomes a powerful method to reduce the chances of an attack on a system being successful. We can divide security methods into two main classes: the ones that reduce the probability of being attacked and the ones that reduce the impact of an attack.
Security Through Obscurity (STO) is a cybersecurity approach that relies on keeping the details of a system's design, implementation, or vulnerabilities secret. The fundamental idea is that if potential attackers are unaware of the system's weaknesses, they will be less likely to exploit them.
