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Communication between Workload Security and the agent
Workload Security and the agent communicate using the latest mutually-supported version of TLS.
Topics:
- Configure the heartbeat
- Configure communication directionality
- Supported cipher suites for communication
Configure the heartbeat
A heartbeat is a periodic communication between Workload Security and agent. During a heartbeat, Workload Security collects this information:
- the status of the drivers (on- or off-line)
- the status of the agent (including clock time)
- agent logs since the last heartbeat
- data to update counters
- a fingerprint of the agent security configuration (used to determine if it is up to date)
The heartbeat can be configured on a base or parent policy, on a subpolicy, or on an individual computer.
The time between heartbeats is 10 minutes and the number of heartbeats that can be missed before an alert is raised is two. These two properties are non-configurable.
Note that agents no longer support setting the heartbeat interval and the number of heartbeats that can be missed before sending an alert.
You can configure the following properties of the heartbeat:
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Raise Offline Errors For Inactive Virtual Machines: Defines whether or not an offline error is raised if the virtual machine is stopped.
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Open the Policy editor or the Computer editor for the policy or computer to configure. From the Computers or Policies menu, select a table row, then click Details.
- Go to Settings > General > Heartbeat.
- Change the properties as required.
- Click Save.
Configure communication directionality
For Workload Security, agent-initiated communication is enabled by default and you should not change this setting.
For macOS agents, only Agent Initiated communication is supported.
Configure whether the agent or Workload Security initiates communication. Communication includes the heartbeat and all other communications. The following options are available:
- Bidirectional: The agent normally initiates the heartbeat and also listens on the agent's listening port number for connections from Workload Security (see Workload Security port numbers). Workload Security can contact the agent to perform required operations. Workload Security can apply changes to the security configuration of the agent.
- Manager Initiated: Workload Security (the manager) initiates all communication with the agent. These communications include security configuration updates, heartbeat operations, and requests for event logs.
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Agent Initiated: The agent does not listen for connections from Workload Security. Instead they contact Workload Security on the port number where Workload Security listens for agent heartbeats (see Workload Security port numbers). Once the agent has established a TCP connection with Workload Security, all normal communication takes place: Workload Security first asks the agent for its status and for any events. This is the heartbeat operation. If there are outstanding operations that need to be performed on the computer (for example, the policy needs to be updated), these operations are performed before the connection is closed. Communications between Workload Security and the agent only occur on every heartbeat. If an agent's security configuration has changed, it is not updated until the next heartbeat. For instructions on how to configure agent-initiated activation and use deployments scripts to activate agents, see Activate and protect agents using agent-initiated activation and communication.
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Open the Policy editor or the Computer editor for the policy or computer to configure.
- Go to Settings > General > Communication Direction.
- In the Direction of Workload Security Manager to Agent/Appliance communication menu, select one of the three options - Manager Initiated, agent/appliance Initiated, or Bidirectional - or choose Inherited. If you select Inherited, the policy or computer inherits the setting from its parent policy. Selecting one of the other options overrides the inherited setting.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
To enable communications between Workload Security and the agents, Workload Security automatically implements a (hidden) firewall rule (priority four, Bypass) that opens the listening port number for heartbeats on the agents to incoming TCP/IP traffic. By default, it accepts connection attempts from any IP address and any MAC address. You can restrict incoming traffic on this port by creating a new priority 4, Force Allow or Bypass firewall rule that only allows incoming TCP/IP traffic from specific IP or MAC addresses, or both. This new firewall rule would replace the hidden firewall rule if the settings match these settings:
action: force allow or bypass
priority: 4 - highest
packet's direction: incoming
frame type: IP
protocol: TCP
packet's destination port: agent's listening port number for heartbeat connections from Workload Security, or a list that includes the port number. See agent listening port number.
While these settings are in effect, the new rule will replace the hidden rule. You can then type packet source information for IP or MAC addresses, or both, to restrict traffic to the computer.
Agents look for Workload Security on the network by the Workload Security hostname. Therefore the Workload Security hostname must be in your local DNS for agent-initiated or bidirectional communication to work.
Supported cipher suites for communication
Workload Security and the agent communicate using the latest mutually-supported version of TLS.
The agent supports the following cipher suites for communication with Workload Security. If you need to know the cipher suites supported by Workload Security, contact Trend Micro.
The cipher suites consist of a key exchange asymmetric algorithm, a symmetric data encryption algorithm and a hash function.
- Agent version 9.5 cipher suites
- Agent version 9.6 cipher suites
- Agent version 10.0 cipher suites
- Agent version 11.0 cipher suites
- Agent version 12.0 and Deep Security Agent 20 cipher suites
Agent version 9.5 cipher suites
Deep Security Agent 9.5 (without SPs, patches, or updates) supports these TLS 1.0 cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Deep Security Agent 9.5 SP1 - 9.5 SP1 Patch 3 Update 2 supports these cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Deep Security Agent 9.5 SP1 Patch 3 Update 3 - 8 supports these cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Agent version 9.6 cipher suites
Deep Security Agent 9.6 (without SPs, patches, or updates) - 9.6 Patch 1 supports these TLS 1.0 cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Deep Security Agent 9.6 Patch 2 - 9.6 SP1 Patch 1 Update 4 supports these cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Deep Security Agent 9.6 SP1 Patch 1 Updates 5 - 21 supports these cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
Agent version 10.0 cipher suites
Deep Security Agent 10.0 up to Update 15 supports these TLS 1.2 cipher suites:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
Deep Security Agent 10.0 Update 16 and later updates supports these TLS 1.2 cipher suites, out-of-box:
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
Agent version 11.0 cipher suites
Deep Security Agent 11.0 up to Update 4 supports these cipher suites:
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
- TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
Deep Security Agent 11.0 Update 6 and later updates supports these TLS 1.2 cipher suites:
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
Agent version 12.0 and Agent version 20 cipher suites
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
- TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256