+---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | LinuxSecurity.com Weekly Newsletter | | June 6th, 2005 Volume 6, Number 24n | | | | Editorial Team: Dave Wreski dave@private | | Benjamin D. Thomas ben@private | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 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 "An Introduction to Securing Linux with Apache, ProFTPd and Samba," "Employee Training & Education Can Mitigate Threats," and "Lack of Confidence in IT Security Industry." --- ## Internet Productivity Suite: Open Source Security ## Trust Internet Productivity Suite's open source architecture to give you the best security and productivity applications available. Collaborating with thousands of developers, Guardian Digital security engineers implement the most technologically advanced ideas and methods into their design. Click to find out more! http://store.guardiandigital.com/html/eng/products/software/ips_overview.shtml --- LINUX ADVISORY WATCH This week, advisories were released for qpopper, openssl, php4, bzip2, ImageMagick, bind, netpbm, gxine, imap4d, elfutils, gnutls, and postgresql. The distributors include Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, and Red Hat. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119246/150/ --- Review: The Book of Postfix: State-of-the-Art Message Transport I was very impressed with "The Book of Postfix" by authors Ralf Hildebrandt and Pattrick Koetter and feel that it is an incredible Postfix reference. It gives a great overall view of the operation and management of Postfix in an extremely systematic and practical format. It flows in a logical manner, is easy to follow and the authors did a great job of explaining topics with attention paid to real world applications and how to avoid many of the associated pitfalls. I am happy to have this reference in my collection. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119027/49/ --- Introduction: Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities Buffer overflows are a leading type of security vulnerability. This paper explains what a buffer overflow is, how it can be exploited, and what countermeasures can be taken to prevent the use of buffer overflow vulnerabilities. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/118881/49/ --- Getting to Know Linux Security: File Permissions Welcome to the first tutorial in the 'Getting to Know Linux Security' series. The topic explored is Linux file permissions. It offers an easy to follow explanation of how to read permissions, and how to set them using chmod. This guide is intended for users new to Linux security, therefore very simple. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/118181/49/ -------- >> The Perfect Productivity Tools << WebMail, Groupware and LDAP Integration provide organizations with the ability to securely access corporate email from any computer, collaborate with co-workers and set-up comprehensive addressbooks to consistently keep employees organized and connected. http://ads.linuxsecurity.com/cgi-bin/newad_redirect.pl?id=gdn05 --> Take advantage of the LinuxSecurity.com Quick Reference Card! --> http://www.linuxsecurity.com/docs/QuickRefCard.pdf +---------------------+ | Security News: | <<-----[ Articles This Week ]---------- +---------------------+ * What is the point of encryption if you don.t know who for? 30th, May, 2005 Dr. Walter, Head of Cryptography for Comodo Inc. and chair of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Peripheral Working Group, has clarified the relationship between encryption and authentication. The blurred definition to date has split the Certificate Authority industry into two groups. Authorities such as Comodo and VeriSign compete head to head, to deliver high assurance digital certificates whilst other groups concentrate on the low assurance market. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119220 * Sentry CD - A different firewall approach 30th, May, 2005 If you want to set up a Linux-based firewall, there's no need to run a bloated distribution that installs everything but the kitchen sink. If you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, and like having total control over your system, then Sentry Firewall CD (SFCD) is just what you need. It is a highly configurable, bootable CD that takes a minimalist approach to firewalling. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119221 * Many unaware of browser-security link 1st, June, 2005 Many American online computer users are unaware that choice of browser affects Internet security, and few switch browsers even when they know the risk, a Norwegian study said Monday. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119226 * Network Security to Take Top Spot 1st, June, 2005 Criminals aren't the only ones benefiting from the onslaught of threats that bombard corporate networks. Security vendors are also reaping the benefits. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119234 * Zombie machines used in 'brutal' SSH attacks 2nd, June, 2005 It's a tedious activity that can put the best of IT administrators to sleep. But as security and compliance manager for a large U.S. healthcare organization, Adam Nunn has learned to study his network activity logs religiously. He knows that when the bad guys work overtime to break his defenses, those logs can be the first sign of trouble. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119238 * An Introduction to Securing Linux with Apache, ProFTPd and Samba 2nd, June, 2005 While the vast majority of Linux users are hard-core techies, some may be using Linux because they want to try something new, are interested in the technology, or simply cannot afford or do not want to use Microsoft Windows. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119236 * Review: FreeBSD 5.4 1st, June, 2005 One of the oldest Unix-like operating systems, FreeBSD, continues its advancement with the sixth release in the FreeBSD-5 series. Its developers have added nothing major, but have made many modifications, fixing a number of problems introduced in previous releases. FreeBSD 5.4 is the best release since 5.1, but it still may not be ready for prime time. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119225 * A good morning with: Theo de Raadt 2nd, June, 2005 Everybody know that you're the OpenBSD and OpenSSH GURU and creator, one of most famous and used secure operating system nowaday. Why you created them? What did you need many years ago from os world when you created OpenBSD? What inspired you to write from scratch OpenBSD and OpenSSH? http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119235 * Employee Training & Education Can Mitigate Threats 31st, May, 2005 Many Internet threats are easily avoidable and just executed by employees who are simply unaware of their presence. Once briefed on basic Internet security, it is equally important to keep your employees educated as well. When new threats arise, send out memos alerting each employee of the threat, how to identify it, and what to do if and when they have it,. says security expert and Guardian Digital CEO Dave Wreski. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119223 * Security Action Plans 1st, June, 2005 Centralization, automation, problem prioritization--many IT-security professionals are embracing those concepts as they fight off the never-ending onslaught of threats. Security products can help businesses stem the flood of vulnerabilities, but IT teams also have to put in place processes to ensure that they're responding appropriately and being proactive in warding off potential dangers. Fact is, some companies spend too much on some parts of their organization and not enough on more-vulnerable areas. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119227 * Fedora Directory Server Now Available To The Open Source Community 1st, June, 2005 The Fedora Project, a Red Hat-sponsored and community-supported, open source collaboration project, today announced at the Red Hat Summit the availability of Fedora Directory Server. By making Fedora Directory Server freely available to the open source development community, Red Hat is enabling and encouraging the development of secure, enterprise technologies and providing customers and partners with increased choice. The availability of Fedora Directory Server licensed under the GPL underscores Red Hat's true commitment to open source innovation. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119229 * How to crack passwords, and why you should 2nd, June, 2005 Auditing passwords is a worthwhile venture, particularly in an environment that deals with sensitive information. Because systems encrypt passwords when they store them, you really can't properly judge the strength of a password unless you try to crack it. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119237 * Hackers target voice over IP 2nd, June, 2005 Service providers need to focus more resources on voice over IP (VoIP) security if they are to provide the level of reliability and trust that subscribers have come to expect with traditional telephone services, analysts have warned. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119239 * Yahoo!, Cisco Combine Antispam Efforts 2nd, June, 2005 Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. and Internet portal Yahoo Inc. are combining their efforts to combat e-mail spam and forgery in a step that's expected to help expand adoption of the technology. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119240 * Lack of Confidence in IT Security Industry 3rd, June, 2005 IT Security industry needs to convince citizens of its trustworthiness and the robustness of their products if it works to win a slice of the project associated with the introduction of ID cards. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119247 * US biometric ID request raises ID concern in UK 30th, May, 2005 The UK government plans to issue its ID card as a passport with biometric identifiers stored in a chip . and the US wants those chips to be compatible with its own scanners, raising the possibility that US agencies could have access to the ID Card database. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119219 * Cybersecurity czar will have hard road ahead 2nd, June, 2005 A spending bill likely to be passed this month will give the Department of Homeland Security's chief cybersecurity officer more clout but will not solve major issues in how the agency handles its job of protecting the nation's critical infrastructure, security experts said this week. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119245 * On the track of script-kid terrorists 31st, May, 2005 CYBER terrorism is almost a dirty word among elite computer security professionals, and there's a high risk of being ridiculed if you use it in their midst. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119222 * Israeli Police Charge 18 With Industrial Espionage 31st, May, 2005 Eighteen people have been arrested in one of Israel's largest industrial espionage schemes, police said Sunday, charging that business executives and private investigators used sophisticated software to infiltrate competitors' computers. The investigation implicated a car importer, two cell phone providers, and the nation's main satellite television company. Police said they were still sifting through documents and computer files to figure out the extent of the damage, but maintained that victims lost competitive bids and thousands of customers because of the spying. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119224 * Hackers, Spammers Partner Up To Wreak Havoc 3rd, June, 2005 A one-two-three assault of disparate spammer and hacker groups in the last 24 hours bodes nothing but ill for users, a security expert said Thursday. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119248 * New hack cracks 'secure' Bluetooth devices 3rd, June, 2005 Cryptographers have discovered a way to hack Bluetooth-enabled devices even when security features are switched on. The discovery may make it even easier for hackers to eavesdrop on conversations and charge their own calls to someone else.s cellphone. http://www.linuxsecurity.com/content/view/119250 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributed by: Guardian Digital, Inc. LinuxSecurity.com To unsubscribe email newsletter-request@private with "unsubscribe" in the subject of the message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _________________________________________ Attend the Black Hat Briefings and Training, Las Vegas July 23-28 - 2,000+ international security experts, 10 tracks, no vendor pitches. www.blackhat.com
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