IRT Object
IRT: Incident Response Team - handles security incidents and/or cases of abuse of computer networks or its components.
TI: Trusted Introducer - this service is a trustbroker for IRTs. More information
How to Create an IRT Object
Manual creation
Requirements
If you are an IRT and want to create an irt object in the RIPE Database, you need to follow:
- A maintainer for that object. This should be a mntner object in the RIPE Database
- A key-cert object in the RIPE Database containing a public PGP key
- An IP address (range) for which you are responsible as an IRT. This should be in the form of an inet(6)num object in the RIPE Database.
- Any other information that is mandatory for an irt object
The Maintainer (MNTNER object)
A maintainer of an object in the RIPE Database is an entity, which can alone make changes to that object. A mntner object represents the maintainer. The maintainer authenticates change request either by using a PGP-Key, password or SSO account as specified in "auth:" attribute.
If you as a team are responsible for a range of IP addresses, there almost certainly will be an inet(6)num object in the database. The maintainer of this object can also maintain your irt object.
The RIPE NCC will not create a mntner object just for maintenance of an irt object.
The PGP Key and the KEY-CERT Object
A PGP key for secure email communication is mandatory for an IRT to create an irt object. Before creating one, you will have to create a key-cert object matching your PGP key in the RIPE Database.
You can create one by sending a completed template by email to auto-dbm@ripe.net
Here is an example:
key-cert: PGPKEY-6DFC4771
method: PGP
owner: DFN-CERT (2003), ENCRYPTION Key
fingerpr: E8 A7 18 F7 DF 3D 19 64 8D 26 C4 CC BF 2F 0C C4
certif: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
certif: Version: PGP Key Server 0.9.5
certif:
certif: mQENAz3SIaUAAAEIAKze7wWJ9BDa3iDcQpxZ9+YSVxq+j1prWPsnINMm8GyTMU2H
[...]
certif: epPs4s0AnjV6ncb6BrbHiU+zeVY8tcW1bopeAJ0VuW0D/+3joueFiL7fDGSV6KPu
certif: Uw==
certif: =DKvl
certif: -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
mnt-by: TRUSTED-INTRODUCER-MNT
notify: tiirt@stelvio.nl
notify: dfncert@cert.dfn.de
source: RIPE
As you can see, you also need a mntner for the key-cert object.
These are the fields of a key-cert object:
key-cert: [mandatory] [single] [primary/lookup key]
method: [generated] [single] [ ]
owner: [generated] [multiple] [ ]
fingerpr: [generated] [single] [inverse key]
certif: [mandatory] [multiple] [ ]
org: [optional] [multiple] [inverse key]
remarks: [optional] [multiple] [ ]
notify: [optional] [multiple] [inverse key]
admin-c: [optional] [multiple] [inverse key]
tech-c: [optional] [multiple] [inverse key]
mnt-by: [mandatory] [multiple] [inverse key]
created: [generated] [single] [ ]
last-modified: [generated] [single] [ ]
source: [mandatory] [single] [ ]
You can use the text above as a template.
The Creation Process
You start the process of creating an irt object by sending a completed template by e-mail to the RIPE NCC. As creation of an irt object is a manual process, you should address your email to ripe-dbm@ripe.net
In your mail, you need to explain why you want to create a new irt object. To prevent misuse of the object, the RIPE NCC will need to check your request, so include a full explanation. A good idea is the listing of the inet(6)num objects you, as an IRT, are responsible for and from which you want to link to from your new irt object.
You will get a reply from the RIPE NCC asking you to acknowledge your request.
Creation Through the Trusted Introducer (TI) Service
You need to become a TI accredited team. The TI will register and maintain your IRT object.
Here is an example:
This is the body of an example e-mail with which the TI creates object for a newly accredited team:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
irt: IRT-TCERT
address: Telia AB, HQ
address: TeliaCERT
address: SE-123 86 Farsta
address: Sweden
phone: +46 8 713 1872
fax-no: +46 706 175 101
e-mail: tcert@telia.se
signature: PGPKEY-D47485CF
encryption: PGPKEY-D47485CF
admin-c: TI123-RIPE
tech-c: TI123-RIPE
auth: PGPKEY-D47485CF
remarks: Emergency telephone number +46 8 713 1872 (GMT+1/GMT+2 with DST)
remarks: http://www.trusted-introducer.org/teams/tcert.html
remarks: This is an accredited IRT (level 2)
irt-nfy: tcert@telia.se
notify: tiirt@s-cure.nl
notify: tcert@telia.se
mnt-by: TRUSTED-INTRODUCER-MNT
source: RIPE
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (MingW32) - WinPT 0.5.13
iD8DBQE/O1yZHxjOrs1gxBcRAn5TAJ9lBL4op6txrM17m1SF1pIIjptTTgCcCt4n
P0fRecfQHzFxhvASPKfTt1Q=
=Q9fl
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
How to Link INET(6)NUM Objects to an IRT Object
Requirements
To link an inet(6)num object to an irt object you need:
- The authorisation of the team the irt object belongs to
- The authorisation of the maintainer of the inet(6)num object
Authorisation can be provided by a PGP signature, password or SSO account. All possibilities are represented by the "auth:" field in the irt object.
Link a Single INET(6)NUM Object to an IRT Object
This is done by sending an email to auto-dbm@ripe.net. You provide the inet(6)num object with the necessary changes. In most cases you just need to add a "mnt-irt:" attribute.
Here is an example:
An inet(6)num object as you find it in the RIPE Database before the change:
inetnum: 193.174.13.0 - 193.174.13.255
netname: DFNCERT-NET
descr: DFN-CERT Zentrum fuer sichere Netzdienste GmbH
country: DE
admin-c: KM4692-RIPE
tech-c: KM4692-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
created: 2022-08-14T11:48:28Z
last-modified: 2022-10-25T12:22:39Z
source: RIPE
And this is the same object linked to an irt object:
inetnum: 193.174.13.0 - 193.174.13.255
netname: DFNCERT-NET
descr: DFN-CERT Zentrum fuer sichere Netzdienste GmbH
country: DE
admin-c: KM4692-RIPE
tech-c: KM4692-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
mnt-irt: IRT-DFN-CERT
created: 2022-08-14T11:48:28Z
last-modified: 2022-10-25T12:22:39Z
source: RIPE
Now both the team and the maintainer of the inet(6)num object have to authorise the link request.
If Both Parties Use (different) PGP Keys for Authorisation
Both need to sign the request e-mail. It does not matter in which order this signing occurs as long as both parties sign the request.
If Only One Party Uses a password or SSO for Authorisation
In this case, whoever is using PGP should initially sign the request and send it to the other. They forward it to the RIPE NCC, together with their password. This maintains password confidentiality. It is strongly recommended that anyone using passwords, switch to PGP authentication. It is a more secure way to handle requests made to the RIPE NCC.
If using SSO for authentication, then login to RIPE NCC access and send the request using Syncupdate.
If Both Parties Use Password or SSO Authorisation
In this case, at least one, if not both parties should consider switching to PGP authentication.
If the IRT Object and INET(6)NUM Object are Maintained by the Same Maintainer
In this case, the process is straightforward.
Step-by-Step Guide
How to link a single inet(6)num object to a single irt object.
Exact the inet(6)num object from the RIPE Database:
whois -h whois.ripe.net -r <ipadress> > inetnum.txt
Alternatively you can search for any other entry in that object with -i, for example for the "mntner:" attribute.
whois -h whois.ripe.net -i mnt-by <mntner-name> > inetnum.txt
Here is an example:
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net -r 193.174.13.99 > inetnum.txt
$ cat inetnum.txt
inetnum: 193.174.13.0 - 193.174.13.255
netname: DFNCERT-NET
descr: DFN-CERT Zentrum fuer sichere Netzdienste GmbH
country: DE
admin-c: KM4692-RIPE
tech-c: KM4692-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
created: 2022-08-14T11:48:28Z
last-modified: 2022-10-25T12:22:39Z
source: RIPE
Add an mnt-irt: attribute. If you have only inet(6)num to change, you can do this by hand using a standard text editor.
Here is an example:
$ cat inetnum-irt.txt
inetnum: 193.174.13.0 - 193.174.13.255
netname: DFNCERT-NET
descr: DFN-CERT Zentrum fuer sichere Netzdienste GmbH
country: DE
admin-c: KM4692-RIPE
tech-c: KM4692-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
mnt-irt: IRT-DFN-CERT
created: 2022-08-14T11:48:28Z
last-modified: 2022-10-25T12:22:39Z
source: RIPE
Sign the new text file, making sure that the "auth:" section of your irt object contains your PGP key. You can find out the correct key by using:
whois -h whois.ripe.net <irt-object name> | grep auth
Here is an example:
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net irt-dfn-cert | grep auth
auth: PGPKEY-6DFC4771
$ gpg --clearsign -a -u 0x*234567 inetnum.txt
$ cat inetnum.txt.asc
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
inetnum: 193.174.13.0 - 193.174.13.255
netname: DFNCERT-NET
descr: DFN-CERT Zentrum fuer sichere Netzdienste GmbH
country: DE
admin-c: KM4692-RIPE
tech-c: KM4692-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
mnt-irt: IRT-DFN-CERT
created: 2022-08-14T11:48:28Z
last-modified: 2022-10-25T12:22:39Z
source: RIPE
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (SunOS)
iQEVAwUBP4VPg1FwV5Zt/EdxAQFk+Af/dUMEyjeQATGZ+8LVerSIyWHFmntjxh6Z
hQE3jP5dbtklCaRiCpdgRKw0sBiNG6fPyhmno4kcFYInKYxukhkLH+5HRXzQxk5R
Ay/oW4fn7K8hl1SgZn5cbN61UcMRDgDV88SeWOnCtc/CQ3bqv6N+l9TbTbzFS6kF
3e4a9G3G8tEKjilCWvDYgEhnYAlEPZr0+jvxFaEEN/4UuX2q0npE0269x2sybQlD
hfPQ++RtQ5vstablHW9/6m4r+bqlgfcAirVucmHaw/mgd4yK6CLrQEh9MRXcVest
0LVwuHI/HQGZ4bwbwUB+pnlMvU/W+wiD7ct3rwoqP2xKI8BUzPkjDg==
=7JK5
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Send the new file to the maintainer of the inet(6)num object. If you do not know the maintainer, you can find out the person behind the mntner object by using the RIPE Database:
whois -h whois.ripe.net -r <ipadress> | grep mnt-by
whois -h whois.ripe.net <mntner name> | grep e-mail
Here is an example:
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net -r 193.174.13.99 | grep mnt-by
mnt-by: DFN-LIR-MNT
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net DFN-LIR-MNT | grep e-mail
e-mail: hostmaster@dfn.de
Let the other maintainer also authenticate the request by either signing the file (inetnum.txt.asc) with the PGP key referenced in his mntner object. An alternative would be to send the file, along with this maintainer password to the RIPE NCC.
Send this authenticated request to auto-dbm@ripe.net
Both the maintainer of the inet(6)num object and the team who owns the irt object will receive a change notifications by e-mail, when the request has been completed. If there is an error, both will receive a notification.
Link More Than One INET(6)NUM object to an IRT Object
All INET(6)NUM Object Have the Same Maintainer Object
You should collect all the inet(6)num objects into one list. Make the appropriate changes and send the change request in one email to auto-dbm@ripe.net.
Some INET(6)NUM Objects Have Different Maintainer Objects
You need authorisation from each party involved. You should collect the inet(6)num objects maintained by different maintainers into separate lists. Authorise these separately and then send each in a separate email to auto-dbm@ripe.net.
Step-by-Step Guide
How to link multiple inet(6)num objects with the same maintainer to one single irt object.
Extract all the inet(6)num objects belonging to the mntner object from the RIPE Database:
whois -h whois.ripe.net -r -i mnt-by <maintainer name> > inetnums.txt
You will see a list of objects, separated by an empty line.
Here is an example:
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net -r -i mnt-by DFN-LIR-MNT > inetnums.txt
Add an "mnt-irt:" attribute to every object in the list.
Sign the new textfile with the PGP key from the "auth:" section of your irt object. You can find the correct key by issuing the following command:
whois -h whois.ripe.net <irt-object name> | grep auth
Here is an example:
$ whois -h whois.ripe.net irt-dfn-cert | grep auth auth: PGPKEY-6DFC4771 $ gpg --clearsign -a -u 0x6DFC4771 inetnums.txt
Send that file to the other maintainer. He should authenticate the request by either signing the file (inetnum.txt.asc) with the PGP key referenced in his mntner object or send the file, along with his RIPE maintainer password to the RIPE NCC. The address to use is auto-dbm@ripe.net
Both the maintainer of the inet(6)num object and the team who owns the irt object will receive a change notification by email, when the request has been completed. If there is an error, both will receive a notification.
This document was first published on the TERENA website. The author of the original document was: Marco Thorbrügge, DFN-CERT / thorbruegge@cert.dfn.de Subsequently updated by the RIPE NCC.