Set Up the Servers

Pre-Install Steps

Upgrade the Server BIOS

Before beginning the installation process, you should upgrade your servers’ BIOS to the most recent stable version available. This process will differ for each server make/model - if you are using one of the recommended NUC models, you can find instructions in BIOS Updates on the Servers.

Update BIOS Settings

Once the BIOS has been updated, you should boot into it again to disable any unused hardware, including:

  • wireless LAN and Bluetooth

  • Thunderbolt support

  • audio support (output, speakers, microphones)

  • other features supported by the hardware but not used by SecureDrop.

In most cases, you should enable support for LAN and USB ports only.

You should also check the servers’ boot settings. Ubuntu 20.04 supports both Legacy and UEFI boot modes, with UEFI preferred. You should also disable Secure Boot. SecureDrop uses a custom kernel with security patches, which is unsigned and will not boot if Secure Boot is enabled.

Our specific hardware recommendations enumerate recommended BIOS settings for hardware that we have tested.

Install Ubuntu

The SecureDrop Application Server and Monitor Server run Ubuntu Server 20.04.6 LTS (Focal Fossa). To install Ubuntu on the servers, you must first download and verify the Ubuntu installation media.

You should have already performed this step while setting up the Tails USB Disks, but if not, or if you would like a refresher, please review the Create USB Boot Disk documentation.

With the Ubuntu Server install USB ready, you may now proceed to the installation.

Perform the Installation

The steps below are the same for both the Application Server and the Monitor Server.

Start by inserting the Ubuntu installation media into the server. Boot or reboot the server with the installation media inserted, and enter the boot menu. To enter the boot menu, you need to press a key as soon as you turn the server on. This key varies depending on server model, but common choices are Esc, F2, F10, and F12. Often, the server will briefly display a message on boot that shows which key should be pressed to enter the boot menu. Once you’ve entered the boot menu, select the installation media (USB or CD) and press Enter to boot it.

On newer hardware, such as the NUC12s, you may need to use a newer Linux kernel than the one that ships by default in Ubuntu Server 20.04.6 in order to have more up-to-date hardware drivers. To use a newer Linux kernel, select Boot and Install with the HWE Kernel in the initial OS boot menu that appears prior to booting the Ubuntu image.

After booting the Ubuntu image, select Install Ubuntu Server.

Follow the steps to select your language, country and keyboard settings. Once that’s done, let the installation process continue.

Configure the Network

On the Network connections screen, the installer will ask you to configure at least one interface for use by the server. Your server should only have one available, corresponding to its Ethernet, usually named eno1. Select its list entry using the arrow keys and press Enter, then select Edit IPv4 and press Enter again.

The Edit eno1 IPv4 configuration dialog will be displayed. In the IPv4 Method menu, select Manual, then add your server-specific settings.

Note

For a production install with a pfSense network firewall in place, the Application Server and the Monitor Server are on separate networks. You may choose your own network settings at this point, but make sure the settings you choose are unique on the firewall’s network and remember to propagate your choices through the rest of the installation process.

Below are the configurations you should enter, assuming you used the default network settings from the network firewall guide. If you did not, adjust these settings accordingly.

  • Application Server:

  • Subnet: 10.20.2.0/24

  • Address: 10.20.2.2

  • Gateway: 10.20.2.1

  • Name servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4

  • Search domains: should be left blank

  • Monitor Server:

  • Subnet: 10.20.3.0/24

  • Address: 10.20.3.2

  • Gateway: 10.20.3.1

  • Name servers: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4

  • Search domains: should be left blank

Select Save and press Enter to apply your settings. Then select Done and press Enter.

The default values on the Configure Proxy and Configure Ubuntu archive mirror screens should not need to be changed. Select Done for both.

Full Disk Encryption - pros and cons

The use of Full Disk Encryption (FDE) with SecureDrop is not recommended. While FDE does offer data protection for devices that are powered down, SecureDrop’s servers are designed to be always-on, with the exception of a nightly reboot after automatic upgrades are applied. Given this update schedule, with FDE enabled, the servers would become unreachable once every 24 hours until an administrator entered the full-disk encryption passphrase via the console, and during that time, sources and journalists would be unable to access your instance.

The increased responsibility for administrators, as well as the daily downtime and limited scenarios in which FDE would be a net security benefit, inform this recommendation, but you may make a decision based on your own requirements. (See this GitHub issue for more information.)

Setting up storage

On the Guided storage configuration screen, verify that Use an entire disk is checked, and that the server’s local disk is selected. Also verify that Set up this disk as an LVM group is selected.

If you decided to set up FDE, despite the implications for administration overhead, select Encrypt the LVM group with LUKS, and enter and confirm the disk passphrase. Store this passphrase securely, as it will be required to unlock storage on every reboot.

Select Done and press Enter to move to the Storage Configuration screen. Review the configuration and select Done and press Enter to continue. Then, choose Continue on the Confirm destructive action dialog.

Configure account and hostname

On the Profile setup screen, configure the server’s hostname and the administration account. The administrator account username and password should be the same for both servers:

  • Your name: Specify the administrator account name, e.g. SecureDrop Admin

  • Your server’s name: Use app for the Application Server, and mon for the Monitor Server

  • Pick a username: Specify the administrator account username, e.g. sdadmin

  • Choose a password: Specify a strong password for the administrator account. A Diceware-generated passphrase is recommended.

  • Confirm your password: Enter the password chosen above.

Select Done and press Enter to proceed.

Ignore Enable Ubuntu Advantage

On the Enable Ubuntu Advantage screen, choose Done to proceed without entering a token. The SecureDrop servers should not be registered with Ubuntu Advantage.

Set up SSH access

On the SSH Setup screen, enable Install OpenSSH server. Verify that No is selected for the Import SSH Identity option, as a custom SSH key will be created for the administration account later in the installation process.

Verify that Allow password authentication over SSH is selected, and choose Done to proceed.

Finish the Installation

On the Featured server snaps screen, ensure that no snaps are selected and choose Done to start the server installation process.

Once the server installation is complete, choose Reboot Now to reboot the system.

Save the Configurations

When you are done, make sure you save the following information:

  • The IP address of the Application Server

  • The IP address of the Monitor Server

  • The non-root user’s name and passphrase for the servers.

Test Connectivity

Now that the firewall is set up, you can plug the Application Server and the Monitor Server into the firewall. If you are using a setup where there is a switch on the LAN port, plug the Application Server into the switch and plug the Monitor Server into the OPT1 port.

You should make sure you can connect from the Admin Workstation to both of the servers before continuing with the installation.

In a terminal, verify that you can SSH into both servers, authenticating with your passphrase:

$ ssh <username>@<App IP address> hostname
app
$ ssh <username>@<Monitor IP address> hostname
mon

Tip

If you cannot connect, check the network firewall logs for clues.

Set Up SSH Keys

Ubuntu’s default SSH configuration authenticates users with their passphrases; however, public key authentication is more secure, and once it’s set up it is also easier to use. In this section, you will create a new SSH key for authenticating to both servers. Since the Admin Workstation was set up with SSH Client Persistence, this key will be saved on the Admin Workstation and can be used in the future to authenticate to the servers in order to perform administrative tasks.

First, generate the new SSH keypair:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

You’ll be asked to “Enter file in which to save the key” Type Enter to use the default location.

Given that this key is on the encrypted persistence of a Tails USB, you do not need to add an additional passphrase to protect the key. If you do elect to use a passphrase, note that you will need to manually type it (Tails’ pinentry will not allow you to copy and paste a passphrase).

Once the key has finished generating, you need to copy the public key to both servers. Use ssh-copy-id to copy the public key to each server, authenticating with your passphrase:

ssh-copy-id <username>@<App IP address>
ssh-copy-id <username>@<Mon IP address>

Verify that you are able to authenticate to both servers by running the below commands. You should not be prompted for a passphrase (unless you chose to passphrase-protect the key you just created).

$ ssh <username>@<App IP address> hostname
app
$ ssh <username>@<Monitor IP address> hostname
mon

If you have successfully connected to the server via SSH, the terminal output will be name of the server to which you have connected (‘app’ or ‘mon’) as shown above.