ntopng Network Monitor (Secure Edition)

A powerful network auditing tool that queries ntopng data directly from Redis via a secure SSH tunnel. This skill is built for network administrators and security professionals who need high-visibility into local network traffic.

⚠️ High Privilege Warning & Responsible Use

PROCEED WITH CAUTION: This skill performs high-privilege operations, including executing commands on your network gateway via SSH and reading internal network states.

1. Strict Audit Only: Intended for Lab, Test, or controlled Audit environments. Avoid use in critical production systems unless the agent's access is strictly isolated.
2. Explicit Consent: By default, autonomous invocation is disabled. You must manually approve each query to maintain full oversight of the data being accessed.
3. Security Posture: This tool uses SSH Key Authentication. Never use plain-text passwords. Ensure your SSH keys are protected with passphrases where applicable.
4. Data Sensitivity: Be aware that this tool exposes MAC addresses, internal IPs, and connection metadata. Handle output with the same care as your network configuration files.

Prerequisites

• SSH Key Access: Public key authentication must be configured between the OpenClaw host and the OPNsense/ntopng host.
• Binaries: ssh and jq must be available in the local environment.
• Backend: ntopng must be running with Redis persistence enabled on the target host.

Configuration

Declare these variables in your environment or agent configuration:

Available Commands

The helper script scripts/ntopng-helper.sh provides safe, read-only data extraction:

1. Network Inventory

./scripts/ntopng-helper.sh list [limit]

Lists detected devices with MAC, IP, total traffic volume, and last-seen timestamps.

2. Device Forensics

./scripts/ntopng-helper.sh device-info <ip|mac>

Provides granular traffic breakdown, packet counts, and inferred device classification.

3. Connection Audit

./scripts/ntopng-helper.sh connections <ip> [sample_size]

Extracts a sample of external domains contacted by a specific device from ntopng logs.

4. Health & Statistics

./scripts/ntopng-helper.sh status   # Verifies the ntopng service state
./scripts/ntopng-helper.sh stats    # Global network device counts

Data Interpretation Guide

• Exfiltration Pattern: An Upload:Download ratio higher than 5:1 on a non-server device is a high-priority anomaly.
• Device Spoofing: Unexpected MAC addresses or MACs with the DE:AD:BE:EF prefix (often VPN/Tunnel interfaces) should be verified.
• Protocol Anomalies: Use the app command to detect devices using protocols that violate your local security policy (e.g., unexpected SSH or HTTP servers).

Security Implementation

• No Secret Leaking: Scripts are hardened to never echo credentials or sensitive environment variables.
• Input Sanitization: Arguments are filtered to prevent shell injection attempts.
• Secure by Default: SSL verification is active unless explicitly overridden for lab use.