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Productivity Suite: Open Source Security - Trust Internet Productivity
Suite's open source architecture to give you the best security and productivity
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security engineers implement the most technologically advanced ideas and methods
into their design. LINUX ADVISORY
WATCH - This week, advisories were released for kde, phpsysinfo, fonts-xorg,
gaim, phpBB, mozilla suite, PostgreSQL, FreeRADIUS, ncpfs, kdelibs, cyrus-imapd,
rsh, glibc, ia32el, and the Red Hat kernel. The distributors include Conectiva,
Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, and Red Hat.
LinuxSecurity.com
Feature Extras:
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.
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.
The
Tao of Network Security Monitoring: Beyond Intrusion Detection
- The Tao of Network Security Monitoring is one of the most comprehensive
and up-to-date sources available on the subject. It gives an excellent introduction
to information security and the importance of network security monitoring,
offers hands-on examples of almost 30 open source network security tools,
and includes information relevant to security managers through case studies,
best practices, and recommendations on how to establish training programs
for network security staff.
Bulletproof
Virus Protection - Protect your network from costly security
breaches with Guardian Digital’s multi-faceted security applications.
More then just an email firewall, on demand and scheduled scanning detects
and disinfects viruses found on the network. Click
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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 headline.
SSH hole putting big business at risk
17th, May, 2005
Secure business networks are at risk thanks to a vulnerability
in a fundamental protocol, according to security researchers at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). Researchers have highlighted the increasing
danger of attacks exploiting weaknesses in SSH (Secure Shell), and warned
that such attacks are likely to be automated in the near future.
Linux and Unix users of KDE who lovingly patched their systems
last month to avoid a major security glitch will have to go through the
whole process again, it has transpired.
Chatsworth CA-based Intelligent Computer Solutions introduces
a new portable high-speed hard drive duplicator. Called the Image MASSter
Solo 3 Forensic, the device can duplicate hard drives as speeds of up
to 3GB per minute. The IDE and SATA unit can seize SCSI drive information,
and will work through FireWire and USB ports. The IMS Solo 3 has multiple
ports available to capture information from other media devices.
Intel's hyperthreading technology could allow a hacker to steal
security keys from a compromised server using a sophisticated timing attack,
a researcher has warned. Hyperthreading allows software to take advantage
of unused execution units in a processor. It essentially allows two separate
processes, or software threads, to execute on a single processor at the
same time, improving performance.
In his latest entry, Dana asks whether the Linux process is
insecure, because it’s not possible to warn the "vendor" before warning
the general public about security flaws in Linux. He also notes that "Microsoft
has theoretical control of this situation." There are several problems
with this line of reasoning. I’m not going to argue that the open source
model of development is perfect, but it offers several advantages over
the proprietary model. Let’s start with the most obvious.
In Paris, Ontario, there’s a large plaza sign advertising both
The Paris Sleep Laboratory and the Canadian Post Office. The synergy there,
of course, should be obvious –at least from the point of view of the humorist.
Recent revivals of the idea that Microsoft might want to take over Red
Hat have a similar quality to them.
IBM bundle service seeks to protect smaller businesses
16th, May, 2005
IBM is looking to make it easier for smaller businesses to protect themselves against spam and viruses that make their way onto the network through e-mail.
The Armonk, N.Y., company last week rolled out an Express configuration for
its eServer OpenPower 710 system bundled with e-mail security software
from a third-party vendor, Message Partners. In addition, IBM is offering
a service to small and midsize businesses in which IBM and its partners
will manage SMBs' e-mail security.
Security needs bring redundant systems back in style
17th, May, 2005
Whether you're considering a multifunction appliance, a broad suite of software or a combination of both to secure your Windows infrastructure, security consultants say there is one key principal to keep in mind: Don't rely on a single vendor for everything.
The issue comes to the fore as more market-leading vendors introduce devices
that offer a simple way to ward off all types of security breaches with
a single device.
Not a month has gone by in 2005 without a far-reaching computer
security breach making the nightly news hour. Headliners compelled to
walk the plank of shame include Bank of America — the nation’s second-largest
bank — Ameritrade, Polo Ralph Lauren, and LexisNexis.
If you notice a fellow employee suddenly freaking out or acting
really suspicious, he may be having personal problems -- or he may be
in the process of hacking the company. So says a
new study on "insider threats" released Monday by the U.S. Secret
Service and the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute's CERT.
Linux has gradually become the standard OS on the server and
is probably destined to become the desktop standard too. It might seem
premature to say this, because the statistics from IDC and other market
analysts indicate that Linux hasn't overtaken Windows on the server yet
and it does not even have a significant share of the desktop market. Nevertheless,
the contest is almost over. The tide is running in Linux's favour. It
will take its time to come in, but it will not be stopped.
IT heads in the UK are convinced that better IT governance will
impress senior management, but few of them have the money to invest in
better systems. Research from the Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned
by Mercury Interactive, showed that chief information officers around
the world think that better IT governance will restore management's faith
in IT, with 70 per cent of UK CIOs stating that better IT governance would
lead to more accurate financial reporting.
Security's shortcoming: Too many machines, not enough training
18th, May, 2005
Companies can spend all they want on antivirus, intrusion prevention systems and all-in-one appliances. These tools will do nothing for enterprises that ignore the human side of security, said Tara Manzow, product manager for the workforce development group at the Computing Technology Industry Association [CompTIA].
"Security has to be everyone's concern, right down to the person who fills
the mailboxes," Manzow said. "You have to educate anyone in the enterprise
that touches a PC."
Criminal IT: Why insecurity is implicit in computing
18th, May, 2005
Some statements are undoubtedly true; I am an adult male. Others
undoubtedly false; I can breathe underwater. And some of them need more
information; I live in a house with a green-tiled bathroom. You can visit
my house, you can ask my family; it is decidable, provided that you can
get some more information.
To businesses, security is still not equal to paying your electric
bill. It is a nuisance, a distraction, a resource drain, and it is expensive.
However, when that worm hits, when that hacker attacks, then blame is
quick to be assigned. What most organisations do not yet understand is
that improving security is not all about buying the latest and greatest
products. It is about changing the corporate culture to make security
a realistic priority, and to understand that the upfront investment in
security resources and processes will be far less costly than the reactionary
efforts after an attack.
Edward Ajaeb got his first taste of steganography in sixth grade,
when he set up a Web site for his teacher's husband to showcase his master's
thesis on the subject. By then the Utica, N.Y., youth had designed Web
sites for a couple of years, a side business he'd developed in the fourth
grade.
This KYE white paper aims to provide practical information on
the practice of phishing and draws on data collected by the German Honeynet
Project and UK Honeynet Project. This paper focuses on real world incidents
that the Honeynet Project has observed in the wild, but does not cover
all possible phishing methods or techniques. Attackers are constantly
innovating and advancing, and there are likely to be new phishing techniques
already under development or in use today.
Security experts have warned of a substantial rise in the number and complexity of hacking attacks during the first half of 2005.
According to research commissioned by carrier AT&T, the volume of traditional
email attachment viruses has fallen, but the speed at which new variants
are appearing is increasing.
VeriSign plans to significantly increase the number of DNS servers it operates, a move that it says will make a key part of the Internet's infrastructure more resilient to cyberattacks.
Over the next year, VeriSign aims to place additional replicas of one of its
Domain Name System root servers--the "J"--in up to 100 data centers
around the world, Aristotle Balogh, VeriSign's senior vice president
of operations and infrastructure, said in an interview with CNET News.com
on Thursday. The company runs two of the DNS root servers--the "A" is
the other--that form an essential part of the Internet's naming system.
