Practically all messaging applications are hacking targets on your network. Given the proliferation and business dependence on e-mail, just about anything is fair game. Ditto with VoIP. It’s downright scary what people with ill intent can do with it. With messaging systems, one underlying weaknesses is that many of the supporting protocols weren’t designed with … Read more
Ongoing patching is perhaps the best thing you can do to enhance and maintain the security of your Linux systems. Regardless of the Linux distribution you use, using a tool to assist in your patching efforts makes your job a lot easier. Distribution updates The distribution process is different on every distribution of Linux. You … Read more
You can assess critical, and often overlooked, security issues on your Linux systems, such as the following: Misconfigurations or unauthorized entries in the shadow password files, which could provide covert system access Password complexity requirements Users equivalent to root Suspicious automated tasks configured in cron, the script scheduler program Signature checks on system binary files … Read more
Some Linux vulnerabilities involve the bad guy actually being at the system console — something that’s entirely possible given the insider threats that every organization faces. Physical security hacks If an attacker is at the system console, anything goes, including rebooting the system (even if no one is logged in) by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete. After the … Read more
RPC and other vulnerable daemons are common targets for buffer-overflow attacks. Buffer overflow attacks are often how the hacker can get in to modify system files, read database files, and more. Attacks In a buffer overflow attack, the attacker either manually sends strings of information to the victim Linux machine or writes a script to … Read more
The other option for running VM software yourself is to use commercial software. Most people automatically think of commercial software as a ‘safe’ option, and it usually constitutes the bulk of installed applications. But commercial software has drawbacks, so consider these points: Commercial software costs real money. You have to buy it, and that requires … Read more
Software-based solutions enable you to install software for vulnerability management on your internal network and run them yourself. Software can automate many processes for VM. However, having the control over VM software carries the usual price tag of having to manage it (and secure it). You have to successfully operate and maintain everything – in … Read more
The VM solution you select needs to provide the capability to scan for and fix vulnerabilities in a broad range of categories, including: Back Doors and Trojan Horses (bypass authentication systems). Brute force attacks (defies cryptography by systematically trying different keys). CGI (exploits the Common Gateway Interface). Databases. DNS and Bind (exploits Domain Name … Read more
Vulnerabilities and attacks against Linux are creating business risks in a growing number of organizations — especially e-commerce companies, network and IT/security vendors, and cloud service providers that rely on Linux for many of their systems, including their own products. When Linux systems are hacked, the victim organizations can experience the same side effects as … Read more
It pays to find and fix the low-hanging fruit on your network. That’s where you get the most bang for your buck. The following mobile laptop, phone, and tablet weaknesses should be front and center on your priority list: No encryption Poorly implemented encryption No power-on passwords Easily guessed (or cracked) power-on passwords For other … Read more