Linux Security Week - May 19th 2003

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

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|  LinuxSecurity.com                            Weekly Newsletter     |
|  May 19th, 2003                               Volume 4, Number 20n  |
|                                                                     |
|  Editorial Team:  Dave Wreski             dave () linuxsecurity com    |
|                   Benjamin Thomas         ben () linuxsecurity com     |
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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 "Securing Apache:
Step-by-Step," "Who's listening on that port," "Wireless LANs Are Not
Without Security Complications," and "Honeypots: Definitions and Value of
Honeypots."

LINUX ADVISORY WATCH:
This week, advisories were released for kernel, mgetty, slocate,
evolution, kernel, shadow, kopte, kopte, xinetd, mysql, kde, xinetd,
kernel, tcpdump, and openssh. The distributors include SCO, Conectiva,
Guardian Digital, Gentoo, Mandrake, Red Hat, and TurboLinux.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/forums_article-7277.html


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Days of the Honeynet: Attacks, Tools, Incidents - Among other benefits,
running a honeynet makes one acutely aware about "what is going on" out
there. While placing a network IDS outside one's firewall might also
provide a similar flood of alerts, a honeypot provides a unique
prospective on what will be going on when a related server is compromised
used by the intruders.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/feature_stories/feature_story-141.html


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| Host Security News: | <<-----[ Articles This Week ]-------------
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* Securing Apache: Step-by-Step
May 15th, 2003

This article shows in a step-by-step fashion, how to install and configure
the Apache 1.3.x Web server in order to mitigate or avoid successful
break-in when new vulnerabilities in this software are found.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7270.html


* IPTables Overview
May 15th, 2003

IPTables is a firewall program. It can restrict access by port, by IP
address, or by the properties of packets. Firewalls aren't everything you
need for security, but they're an excellent first step.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7271.html


* Tripwire Overview
May 14th, 2003

Tripwire isn't rocket science. It's a database of file checksums, and
programs to update and report on that database. It also contains rules
concerning the severity of various types of anomolies. These rules are
contained in a policy file.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7263.html


* In Search of the IT Patch Master
May 14th, 2003

IT organizations have a new scalability problem to deal with, and it has
nothing to do with network performance or how many servers it takes to run
an application. It has everything to do with system security and how
system administrators can protect against software vulnerabilities.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/general_article-7268.html



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| Network Security News: |
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* Bugwatch: Secure wireless computing
May 16th, 2003

Security is essential if you are to get the most out of wireless
technology. Despite the hype it is perfectly possible to have secure
wireless computing, but there are some common mistakes to avoid. This top
10 list of tips will help you to make your wireless environment more
secure.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/network_security_article-7281.html


* Who's listening on that port?
May 15th, 2003

IPTables is a firewall program. It can restrict access by port, by IP
address, or by the properties of packets. Firewalls aren't everything you
need for security, but they're an excellent first step.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/documentation_article-7274.html


* Wireless LANs Are Not Without Security Complications
May 14th, 2003

Wireless technology has advanced noticeably lately and organisations are
beginning to realise the tremendous potential the technology holds. Users
are becoming more mobile than ever before. With the increasing demand to
work on the move, wireless technology has an important role to play in
facilitating this required mobility.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/network_security_article-7264.html


* Honeypots: Definitions and Value of Honeypots
May 14th, 2003

Last year I attempted to define and describe what honeypots are in the
paper "Honeypots: Definitions and Values". Since then, both honeypot
technologies and our understanding of them has dramatically improved.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/intrusion_detection_article-7261.html


* VPN Questions Answered
May 13th, 2003

A recent eSeminar showed that, while virtual private networks have been
widely deployed, many questions about the technology remain, and many new
questions are arising as the technology evolves.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/security_sources_article-7258.html


* Taking Aim At Denial-of-service Attacks
May 13th, 2003

Graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University on Monday proposed two
methods aimed at greatly reducing the effects of Internet attacks.  In two
papers presented at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy here, the
graduate students suggested simple modifications to network software that
could defeat denial-of-service attacks and that could be implemented in
the current protocol used by the Internet.


http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/network_security_article-7259.html


* Businesses 'unaware of basic on-line security'
May 12th, 2003

Businesses and other organisations were paying dearly because they did not
bother with basic security to protect their on-line dealings, a conference
was told today.The AusCERT Asia-Pacific IT Security Conference on the Gold
Coast was told most breaches of computer systems occurred because security
was practically non-existent.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/general_article-7249.html


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| General Security News: |
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* SPAM and Private Property
May 16th, 2003

I agree with the recent Linux and Main editorial that one of the most
misunderstood aspects of the spam debate is the confusion about how it
should be defined. While I'm willing to admit that there needs to be some
discussion about the definition included in any laws regarding spam, the
essential definition is that unless a sender holds some specific,
reasonable permission from me to send an email, it is always spam.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/privacy_article-7284.html


* Matrix runs Un*x
May 15th, 2003

Ross Vandegrift explains that he "Made it into the showing last night at
Newark shopping center.  There's this scene where Trinity needs to crack
into a system.  So what does she use?" Read on to find out.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/network_security_article-7272.html


* Hackers Hack Script Kiddies
May 15th, 2003

Script kiddies, those that typically use existing well known exploits to
gain unauthorized access to computer systems with little regard for the
actual code and how it works, be warned - examine what you execute.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/general_article-7273.html


* Information Security and the Public Sector-An Introduction to the
Criminal Law of Information Security
May 13th, 2003

This is the third part of a four-part series looking at U.S. information
security laws and the way those laws affect security professionals. This
installment begins the discussion of information security in the public
sector.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/government_article-7254.html


* Governments are latching on to Linux
May 12th, 2003

As Linux makes inroads into the servers of Asian businesses, governments
are also climbing on the open-source bandwagon, but with varying degrees
of interest. Some have been extremely vocal about their support for Linux
and even formed alliances to customize and promote the open-source
operating system (OS), while others have opted for a more quiet,
wait-and-see approach.

http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/government_article-7252.html

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