Algo

Algo (short for "Al Gore", the Vice President of Networks everywhere for inventing the Internet) is a set of Ansible scripts that simplifies the setup of an IPSEC VPN. It contains the most secure defaults available, works with common cloud providers, and does not require client software on most devices.

Features

• Supports only IKEv2
• Supports only AES GCM, SHA2 HMAC, and P-256 DH
• Generates mobileconfig profiles to auto-configure Apple devices
• Provides helper scripts to add and remove users
• Blocks ads with an included HTTP proxy (optional)
• Based on current versions of Ubuntu and StrongSwan

Anti-features

• Does not support legacy cipher suites or protocols like L2TP, IKEv1, or RSA
• Does not install Tor, OpenVPN, or other insecure servers
• Does not depend on the security of TLS
• Does not require client software on most platforms
• Does not claim to provide anonymity
• Does not claim to protect you from the FSB, MSS, DGSE, or FSM

Requirements

• ansible >= 2.2.0
• python >= 2.6
• libselinux-python (For RedHat base distros)
• dopy=0.3.5

Usage

• Open the file config.cfg in your favorite text editor. Change server_name and specify users in the users list.
• Start the deploy and follow the instructions:

ansible-playbook deploy.yml -e "provider=PROVIDER"

Available providers: digiocean - Digital Ocean ec2 - Amazon AWS EC2 (see EC2 section below)

• When the process is done, you can find .mobileconfig files and certificates in the configs directory. Send the .mobileconfig profile to your users on iOS or macOS (note: Profile installation is supported over AirDrop) or send the X.509 certificates to those using other clients, like Windows or Android.
• When the deploy proccess is done a new server will be placed in the local inventory file inventory_users.
• If you want to add or delete users, update the users list in config.cfg and run the playbook users.yml. This command will update users on all the servers in the file inventory_users. If you want to limit servers it updates, you can use -l flag.

ansible-playbook users.yml -i inventory_users
ansible-playbook users.yml -i inventory_users -l example.com

EC2

Deployment

Before using the AWS EC2 playbook you must setup ENV vars with your credentials.

declare -x AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
declare -x AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx"

User management

User management for EC2 currently uses Algo's inventory_users NOT EC2 dynamic inventory. This may be subject to change in the future.

ansible-playbook users.yml -u ubuntu -i inventory_users

FAQ

Has this been audited?

No. This project is under active development. We're happy to accept and fix issues as they are identified. Use algo at your own risk.

Why aren't you using Tor?

The goal of this project is not to provide anonymity, but to ensure confidentiality of network traffic while traveling. Tor introduces new risks that are unsuitable for algo's intended users. Namely, with algo, users are in control over the gateway routing their traffic. With Tor, users are at the mercy of actively malicious exit nodes.

Why aren't you using Racoon, LibreSwan, or OpenSwan?

Raccoon does not support IKEv2. Racoon2 supports IKEv2 but is not actively maintained. When we looked, the documentation for StrongSwan was better than the corresponding documentation for LibreSwan or OpenSwan. StrongSwan also has the benefit of a from-scratch rewrite to support IKEv2. We consider such rewrites a positive step when supporting a major new protocol version.

Why aren't you using a memory-safe or verified IKE daemon?

I would, but I don't know of any. Do you? If you're in the position to fund the development of such a project, contact us. We would be interested in leading such an effort. At the very least, we plan to make modifications to StrongSwan and the environment it's deployed in that prevent or significantly complicate exploitation of any latent issues.

Why aren't you using OpenVPN?

Among other reasons, there is no out-of-the-box client support for OpenVPN on any major desktop or mobile platform and it depends on the security of TLS.