Sidebar 1: UNIX Network Security Resources

Books

Practical Unix and Internet Security, 2nd Edition, by Simson Garfinkel and Gene Spafford. O'Reilly and Associates.

This book is a must have resource for security administrators.

Building Internet Firewalls by D. Brent Chapman and Elizabeth Zwicky. O'Reilly and Associates.

This book was published in 1995, and although much has changed in firewalls since that time, this book is still a great general purpose look at the technology of firewalls and different firewall architectures.

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll.

Stoll's entertaining account of tracking an international hacker is something every security administrator should read.

Organizations

CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team)

Based at Carnegie Mellon University, this organization was formed as a result of the Morris worm. Their Web site (www.cert.org) has lots of information and downloadable tools. This site is the best source for timely information, with sections for Advisories, Incident Notes, Vulnerability Notes, Tech Tips and assorted papers. Bookmark this site. CERT advisory mailing lists are a must for security administrators.

The SANS (Systems and Network Security) Institute

The SANS Institute is a cooperative research and education organization for systems and security administrators. They hold probably the largest and most important security conference every year. Visit them on the Web at www.sans.org.

Papers, Articles, and Web Sites

"An Architectural Overview of UNIX Network Security" by Robert Reinhart, ARINC Research Corporation, Feb. 18, 1993:

   http://www.alw.nih.gov/Security/Docs/network-security.html

"Security: A Multi-Tiered Approach, Parts 1 & 2" by Mark Nassal, Sys Admin, February & March 1998.

"Security Tips For UNIX" by Arthur Donkers, Sys Admin, November 1996.

"Linux Security Administrator's Guide" by Dave Wreski, August 1998:

   http://nic.com/~dave/SecurityAdminGuide/SecurityAdminGuide.txt

"An Introduction To Client-Server Security" by Jack Maynard, Sys Admin, November 1996.

Mailing Lists

CERT Advisories - cert-advisory-request@cert.org

COAST Security Archive - coast-request@cs.purdue.edu

CIAC Advisories - Majordomo@tholia.llnl.gov

Linux Security Issues - linux-security-request@RedHat.com