After over a year of development, the synchronization of the exact time project, ntpsec, has released version 1.2.4. Created as a fork of the reference implementation of the NTPV4 protocol (NTP Classic 4.3.34), ntpsec has focused on enhancing safety measures within the code base. The source code for ntpsec is distributed under licenses BSD, MIT, and NTP.
Lead by Erica Reimond (Eric Saymond), ntpsec is being developed with the participation of developers from the original NTP Classic, engineers from Hewlett Packard and Akamai Technologies, as well as projects like gpsd and rtems. Some key differences from NTP Classic include support for the NTS (Network Time Security) protocol, reduction in code base size (removing outdated capabilities and irrelevant platforms), implementation of battery life, prevention methods for attacks (such as filtering of system calls), and transitioning to secure functions for memory and lines.
In the latest version:
- Added “Extra Port XXXX” settings to receive requests on an additional network port, in addition to the main port, customized via NTS Port XXXX. This additional port can be useful for bypassing external NTP server blocking on certain networks.
- Assembly support on Linux systems with ARMHF architecture has been added.
- Support for NTPD operation on systems in FIPS mode has been included.
- The assembly system waf has been updated to version 2.1.4. In Debian, utilities like NTPQ and NTPMON are now installed in the directory “/usr/Local/Lib/Python3.xx/site-packages” instead of “/usr/local/Lib/PYTHON-PACKAGES”. The WAF Install team now tests installed executable files, and the WAF