[ISN] Linux Security Week - September 15th 2003

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Tue Sep 16 2003 - 04:24:57 PDT

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    +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |  LinuxSecurity.com                            Weekly Newsletter     |
    |  September 15th, 2003                          Volume 4, Number 37n |
    |                                                                     |
    |  Editorial Team:  Dave Wreski             daveat_private    |
    |                   Benjamin Thomas         benat_private     |
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    Thank you for reading the LinuxSecurity.com weekly security newsletter.
    The purpose of this document is to provide our readers with a quick
    summary of each week's most relevant Linux security headlines.
    
    This week, perhaps the most interesting articles include "A Password
    Policy Primer," "Simplify Enterprise Java Authentication With Single
    Sign-on," "Inside The Network Intrusion-Prevention Hype," and "Hardening
    the TCP/IP Stack to SYN Attacks."
    
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    LINUX ADVISORY WATCH:
    This week advisories were released for pam_smb, exim, stunnel, wu-ftpd,
    mah-jong, sane-backends, pine, GtkHTML, and inetd.  The distributors
    include Conectiva, Debian, Guardian Digital's EnGarde Secure Linux, Red
    Hat, Slackware, and SuSE.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/forums_article-7939.html
    
    
    ---
    
    FEATURE: A Practical Approach of Stealthy Remote Administration
    
    This paper is written for those paranoid administrators who are looking
    for a stealthy technique of managing sensitive servers (like your
    enterprise firewall console or IDS).
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/feature_stories/feature_story-149.html
    
    ---
    
    Basic Intrusion Prevention using Content-based Filtering
    
    This article will discuss a very useful but seemingly overlooked
    functionality of Netfilter, a firewall code widely used in Linux, that
    provides content matching and filtering capabilities.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/feature_stories/feature_story-148.html
    
    
    -->  Take advantage of the LinuxSecurity.com Quick Reference Card!
    -->  http://www.linuxsecurity.com/docs/QuickRefCard.pdf
    
    
    +---------------------+
    | Host Security News: | <<-----[ Articles This Week ]-------------
    +---------------------+
    
    * A Password Policy Primer
    September 13th, 2003
    
    In general, passwords must be unpredictable, and the policy that protects
    them should be as unpredictable as possible. This being so, your friend's
    policy is probably not the one you want for yourself, and thus one that I
    might suggest is probably no better.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/security_sources_article-7949.html
    
    
    * Linux Server Hacks
    September 12th, 2003
    
    There are a number of system administrators out there that provide a
    different level of care for their penguin powered server stations. For
    those wanting to broad their administration horizons, O'Reilly's "Linux
    Server Hacks" should come quite handy.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7942.html
    
    
    * Simplify Enterprise Java Authentication With Single Sign-on
    September 11th, 2003
    
    As you add more and more password-protected applications to your
    organization's computing environment, you add authentication complexity
    that will burden both developers and users. Most enterprise application
    integration projects include single sign-on (SSO) functionality, which
    allows users to log in once to use a range of different applications.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7935.html
    
    
    * Case-Harden Your Physical Security
    September 8th, 2003
    
    Nothing says there's a hole in your security like someone walking off with
    your servers. You could spend millions of dollars on access lists,
    firewalls, USB tokens, virus scanners, VPNs, passwords and patches to
    secure your network from online invasions, but none of those will protect
    you from offline attacks.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/server_security_article-7916.html
    
    
    * Protecting Databases
    September 8th, 2003
    
    One of the more recent evolutions in network security has been the
    movement away from protecting the perimeter of the network to protecting
    data at the source. The reason behind this change has been that perimeter
    security no longer works in today's environment. Today, more than just
    your employees need access to data.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/server_security_article-7920.html
    
    
    * BSD Heap Smashing
    September 8th, 2003
    
    The first section of this document gives a taste of what this allocator is
    made of. The constants and data structures used to reference several kinds
    of resources (namely: memory pages, large chunks, tiny chunks, and
    medium-sized chunks) are then presented. The data structures used
    internally by the allocator are then explained.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7918.html
    
    
    
    +------------------------+
    | Network Security News: |
    +------------------------+
    
    * ISPs Should Block Net Attack Ports
    September 11th, 2003
    
    Internet service providers should take security matters into their own
    hands by blocking access to communications ports on their customers'
    computers which are commonly exploited by Internet worms and other
    malicious programs, according to a SANS Institute report.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/forums_article-7934.html
    
    
    * Inside The Network Intrusion-Prevention Hype
    September 10th, 2003
    
    Battle lines have been drawn, and volleys are being lobbed between the
    analyst and vendor camps. In dispute: Whether intrusion prevention is out
    of commission or the next network security salvation. On one side, Gartner
    has cast intrusion detection into its "Trough of Disillusionment," saying
    the tech has stalled and calling for these functions to move into
    firewalls.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/intrusion_detection_article-
    7929.html
    
    
    * Hardening the TCP/IP Stack to SYN Attacks
    September 10th, 2003
    
    Most people know how problematic protection against SYN denial of service
    attacks can be. Several methods, more or less effective, are usually used.
    In almost every case proper filtering of packets is a viable solution. In
    addition to creating packet filters, the modification of the TCP/IP stack
    of a given operating system can be performed by an administrator.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/network_security_article-7932.html
    
    
    * Information Security Checklist
    September 9th, 2003
    
    Today's heightened awareness of the need to secure IT infrastructures and
    protect mission critical data is leading more and more organizations to
    reevaluate their security practices.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/security_sources_article-7922.html
    
    
    +------------------------+
    | General Security News: |
    +------------------------+
    
    * IEEE Begins Standard to Create Baseline for More Secure Operating
    Systems
    September 13th, 2003
    
    The ability to enhance security in information systems and networks is
    limited by the operating systems that underpin them. Recognizing this, the
    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has begun work on
    a standard to formulate consistent baseline security requirements for
    general-purpose (GP), commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) operating systems.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/organizations_events_article-7947.html
    
    
    * Best Practices: Handheld Security
    September 10th, 2003
    
    Handheld computers are an evolving security threat. Where once the devices
    were widely ignored or blocked by IT and security managers, now more
    organizations have embraced them. Experts warn that organizations still
    largely ignore PDA security, and at their peril. d devices at $3,000 per
    year for organizations in the United States.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/host_security_article-7928.html
    
    
    * Security Forces--Act Before You Must React
    September 10th, 2003
    
    Information security is a reactive world. The next intrusion,
    vulnerability or worm is always right around the corner.  With critical
    issues arising everywhere, the typical CISO and IT security organization
    spend most of their time reacting to outside forces and not nearly enough
    time getting ahead of the curve.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/security_sources_article-7926.html
    
    
    * Issue 8 of ISO 17799
    September 9th, 2003
    
    Here is Issue 8 of the ISO 17799 Newsletter. This quarterly publication
    covers news and developments with respect to the international information
    security standard.
    
    http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/security_sources_article-7925.html
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