Tag: Cobalt

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Cobalt 1.5 – New Capabilities

Overview

This release adds new functionality and features to Cobalt, our web based role and user provisioning tool. You can find out more about Cobalt here.

Multiple Cobalt Servers

This enhancement enables multiple Cobalt servers to be run against a single directory. There are two reasons for this.

  1. In a distributed environment it is useful to have multiple Cobalt servers at different locations, each connected to the local node of a multi-master directory.
  2. Where a read only directory is replicated, for example using Sodium Sync to a Mobile Unit, it is useful to run Cobalt (read only) against the replica, to allow local administrators to conveniently view the configuration using Cobalt.

Password Management and Password Policy

This update includes a number of enhancements relating to password management:

  1. Cobalt is now aware of password policy. A key change is that after administrator creation or change of password, when password policy requires user change, Cobalt will mark the password as requiring user change. To be useful in deployment, the applications used also need to be password policy aware.
  2. Cobalt added a user UI to enable password change/reset, to complement Administrator password change.
  3. Administrator option to email new password to user.

Security Management

  1. Directory Access Rights Management. M-Vault Directory Groups enable specification of user rights, to directory and messaging configuration in the directory. This can be configured by Cobalt by domain administrators.
  2. Certificate expiry checking. When managing a directory holding many certificates, it is important to keep them up to date. Cobalt provides a tool which can be run at intervals to determine certificates which have expired and certificates which will expire soon.

User Directory Viewer

Cobalt’s primary purpose is directory administration. This update adds a complementary tool which enables users to access information in the directory managed by Cobalt. This uses anonymous access for user convenience.

Miscellaneous

  1. Flexible Search. Cobalt administrators have the option to configure search fields available for users. Configuration is per-domain.
  2. Users, Roles and mailing list members now sorted alphabetically.
  3. Base DN can be specified for users for a domain. If specified, Cobalt allows browsing users under this DIT (entry) using subtree search. Add user operation is disabled if this is specified. This allows Cobalt to:
    1. Utilize User provision by other means, for reference from within Cobalt managed components.
    2. To modify the entries, but does not allow addition of new entries.
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Cobalt 1.4 – New Capabilities

Cobalt provides a web interface for provisioning users and roles in an LDAP directory. It enables the easy deployment of XMPP, Email and Military Messaging systems.

Listed below are the changes brought in with 1.4.

HSM Support

Cobalt is Isode’s tool for managing PKCS#11 Hardware Security Modules (HSM) which may be used to provide improved server security by protecting PKI private keys.

  • Cobalt provides a generic capability to initialize  HSMs and view keys
    • Multiple HSMs can be configured and one set to active
    • Tested with Nitrokey, Yubikey, SoftHSM and Gemalto networked HSM
  • Enables key pair generation and Certificate Signing Request (CSR) interaction with Certificate Authority (CA)
  • Support for S/MIME signing and encryption
    • User identities for email
    • Organization and Role identities for military messaging
  • Server identities that can be used for TLS with Isode servers

Isode Servers 

A new tab for Isode servers is added that:

  • Enables HSM identities to be provisioned
  • Enables a password to be set, which is needed for Isode servers that bind to directory to obtain authorization, authentication and other information
  • Facilitates adding Isode servers to a special directory access control group, that enables passwords (usually SCRAM hashed) to be read, to enable SCRAM and other SASL mechanisms to be used by the application

Profiler Enhancement

  • Extend the SIC rule so that multiple SICs or SIC patterns can be set in a single rule

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Cobalt 1.3 Release Features

Cobalt 1.3 depends on M-Vault 19.0 or subsequent versions

M-Vault Management Support

  • M-Vault Bootstrap.   Enables operation in conjunction with M-Vault 19.0 to support headless bootstrap.
  • Managing users in M-Vault groups, such as Directory Server Administrators  and Messaging Configuration Read/Write.  This enables Cobalt to control user and operator rights to access M-Vault.
  • AD/LDAP passthrough support
    • Allow users (per domain) to support mandatory or partial passthrough
    • Set and validate passthrough entry for user
    • Identify users in passthrough server that might be added to domain

Messaging Management

  • Profile Editor for supporting and managing M-Switch Profiler.
    • SIC Coverage UI. Provide full list of SICS, showing which addresses each one goes to.   This enables operator to ensure that all SICs are sensibly handled.
  • File Transfer By Email capability is now managed by Cobalt, replacing capability previously in MConsole.
  • For Organizations and Military DLs enable control manage capability functions:
    • Max Message Size
    • Max Line Length (for ACP 127 destinations)
    • Charset Restrictions (for ACP 127 destinations)
    • Allows/block attachments
  • Option to show for a user which DLs the user is in, and give easy addition to other DLs.  This facilitates managing DL membership.

New Views

  • Non-Human Users (Special Users).  Need to support accounts with passwords that are not humans.   For XMPP, Email or both.  
  • View for end users, rather than administrators.  User can:
    • Change password. 
    • See all of own entry and modify  attributes.   The list of modifiable attributes can be configured.
    • See references to entry and email list membership.
  • User Groups, to enable management of directory groups (Distinguished Names).

Cobalt Access Control

  • New Cobalt roles, that can enable selective control of which users can access directory admin controls, and which users can set OAUTH rights and can add OAUTH Clients.  
  • Restrict Password set/change rights, so that only selected Cobalt administrators can do this.

Security Enhancements

  • When deleting a user, remove the password.   This will make it safe for applications searching whole DIT as you can’t authenticate with a deleted user’s account. 
  • Security Clearance can be selected for any role or user, based on a configured catalogue.  This supports key M-Switch and Harrier feature to check clearances. 

Miscellaneous

  • When assigning a new email, search entire DIT for conflicts, not just Cobalt area.   This  helps SASL resilience
  • Can add Photos to Routed UAs and Organizations.  
  • Check References on Delete. Cobalt has a “References” button on user/role form that displays all references of a user/role.  On deleting, references are deleted as well.
  • Tool to check references to users in AD, so that when users in AD are deleted, dangling references can be picked up.
  • Remove default domain concept
  • On deletion of domain in Cobalt, give option to delete all the domain data
  • Option to end all  cobalt logged in sessions of an operator, to allow an operator to logout from all browsers with a single action
  • There is also an option for an operator with appropriate rights  to end sessions of another Cobalt operator.