SANS InfoSec Reading Room - Unix Issues

Most of the computer security white papers in the Reading Room have been written by students seeking GIAC certification to fulfill part of their certification requirements and are provided by SANS as a resource to benefit the security community at large. SANS attempts to ensure the accuracy of information, but papers are published "as is". Errors or inconsistencies may exist or may be introduced over time as material becomes dated. If you suspect a serious error, please contact webmaster@sans.org.

Featuring 16 papers as of Feb 10, 2010

UNIX System Management and Security: Differences between Linux, Solaris, AIX and HP-UX

By: Haral Tsitsivas (posted on August 3, 2007)

This paper discusses the differences in system configuration, management and security between some of the most common versions of UNIX (Red Hat Linux, Solaris, HP-UX and AIX), including management and security tools available on these systems.

Securing Webmin with Tcp Wrappers and SSH Port Forwarding – A Practical and Economical Approach

By: Howard Dulberg (posted on May 5, 2005)

More and more companies are utilizing software developed and maintained by the Open Source community to handle a multitude of security and administrative functions.

Unix and Sarbanes-Oxley: a management and auditors guide

By: Micho Schumann (posted on May 5, 2005)

This document is designed to assist auditors of publicly traded companies and Security Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants to comply with the Sarbanes- Oxley act ("the act") by reviewing the generally accepted IT control framework called Cobit-12 and applying it towards a Unix environment.

Building a Secured OS for a Root Certificate Authority

By: Don Murdoch (posted on February 26, 2004)

This paper discusses the procedures necessary for securing an installation of Red Hat Enterprise Server 2.1 in support of a root certificate authority that will eventually function in the Higher Education Bridge Certificate Authority.

Defense In-Depth on a Solaris 2.X System: A Resource Guide

By: Mark Strong (posted on October 31, 2003)

The purpose of this paper is to outline a defense in depth security structure for a Solaris 2.x system and offer resources to help implement and maintain security at each individual layer.

Securing HP-UX Services

By: Fernando Espinoza Salas (posted on October 31, 2003)

The author discusses procedures to improve the security of NIS, FTP, TELNET and modem use, and discusses other characteristics of HP-UX 11 that help to make more secure servers.

Securing IRIX 6.5

By: John C. Haprian (posted on October 31, 2003)

The author offers guidance to those people who require a secure IRIX system yet don't have either the time or the desire to become IRIX security wizards.

Trinux - A Digital Tool Belt

By: Brad Showalter (posted on October 31, 2003)

The purpose of this paper is to outline the installation of Trinux via floppy diskettes, along with several security packages, and detail two scenarios of its usage by the paper's author.

X Windows Security: How to Protect your Display

By: Arturo Guillen (posted on October 31, 2003)

This paper analyzes the threads and describe the security involved in the X Window Systems. It takes a practical overview of the X Windows security to emphasize the risks and indicate the measurements that must be taken.

PAM - It's NOT The Non-Stick Cooking Spray

By: Susanne Ramsey (posted on October 31, 2003)

This paper will introduce the reader to PAM, provide an overview of PAM - it's origins, what PAM is - and an example of how it works.

IBM's Cluster 1600 Security Aspects

By: John P. Belliveau (posted on October 31, 2003)

This paper discusses the new International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation environment known as Cluster 1600, the software at the heart of the environment, and the security features of this software.

A Solaris Backup Script How-To

By: Stanley J. Hearn (posted on October 31, 2003)

Although all parts of the backup strategy are equally important, this paper will focus on the backup script and will detail a flexible backup script that uses built-in Solaris software tools which create a reliable local backup of a Solaris machine running Oracle.

Centralized UNIX System Monitoring Using SSH and MRTG

By: Aaron J. Wilson (posted on October 31, 2003)

This paper discusses the example of an OpenBSD web server that needs to be monitored by an OpenBSD NMS using the Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG). MRTG is a time-tested and flexible monitoring tool.

Setting Up and Securing a Small Network with OpenBSD

By: Blair Heiserman (posted on October 31, 2003)

This paper intends to show how to setup a stable and secure small network, while keeping everything in house. I will cover setting up a small network and essential services for network connectivity and functionality.

Securing Solaris

By: Angela Orebaugh (posted on October 31, 2003)

When configuring a Solaris system for production, a balance must exist between system manageability and security.

Securing Remote Access on AIX 4.3.3 using OpenSSH

By: Dave Randell (posted on February 5, 2003)

The purpose of this paper is to confirm the existence of a security vulnerability relating to the network access of our AIX servers, demonstrate a viable means to overcome it, and to verify that the solution has truly eliminated the exposure.