Book Image

Mastering Linux Security and Hardening - Second Edition

By : Donald A. Tevault
Book Image

Mastering Linux Security and Hardening - Second Edition

By: Donald A. Tevault

Overview of this book

From creating networks and servers to automating the entire working environment, Linux has been extremely popular with system administrators for the last couple of decades. However, security has always been a major concern. With limited resources available in the Linux security domain, this book will be an invaluable guide in helping you get your Linux systems properly secured. Complete with in-depth explanations of essential concepts, practical examples, and self-assessment questions, this book begins by helping you set up a practice lab environment and takes you through the core functionalities of securing Linux. You'll practice various Linux hardening techniques and advance to setting up a locked-down Linux server. As you progress, you will also learn how to create user accounts with appropriate privilege levels, protect sensitive data by setting permissions and encryption, and configure a firewall. The book will help you set up mandatory access control, system auditing, security profiles, and kernel hardening, and finally cover best practices and troubleshooting techniques to secure your Linux environment efficiently. By the end of this Linux security book, you will be able to confidently set up a Linux server that will be much harder for malicious actors to compromise.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Section 1: Setting up a Secure Linux System
8
Section 2: Mastering File and Directory Access Control (DAC)
11
Section 3: Advanced System Hardening Techniques

Summary

We've reached yet another milestone in our journey, and we saw some cool stuff. We started with a discussion about the basics of setting up Snort as a NIDS. Then, I showed you how to seriously cheat by deploying a specialty Linux distro that already has Snort set up and ready to go. As a bonus, I showed you a quick and easy edge firewall appliance that comes with a built-in Network Intrusion Prevention System.

Next, I introduced you to Lynis and how you can use it to scan your system for various vulnerabilities and compliance issues. Finally, we wrapped things up with working demos of OpenVAS and Nikto.

In the next chapter, we'll wind up this whole journey with a look at some quick tips for busy administrators. I'll see you there.