Hacking Linux Exposed

 in
Hacking Linux Exposed deals with security-related threats to Linux systems.
Conclusion

Hacking Linux Exposed is a good read and a great introduction to computer security on the Linux platform. More than that, it is a great reference work for the more experienced systems administrator. As the authors fairly quickly jump to rather technical material and assume some knowledge of both networking and Linux systems, the book is not ideally suited for the complete Linux neophyte. However, I am of the firm opinion that for a freshman wanting to learn more, the book is perfectly suited as a guide to further reading.

I'm not overly sure I'd recommend the book as a general introduction for those completely new to computer security. For that I'd recommend a book like Hacking Exposed, which is a better all-around introduction to computer security. Don't let the two books' similarities in cover and title fool you. There are major differences between them. The problem with Hacking Exposed is that it's somewhat lacking in the department of Linux-specific solutions. Hacking Linux Exposed amends this. The two books should be considered complementary.

Hacking Linux Exposed is easy to read. The authors have done a very good job of providing an overview of security-related threats to the Linux platform and how best to avoid falling prey to them. As such, I greatly recommend the book to systems administrators and Linux users who want to learn more about how to secure their systems.

The Good/The Bad

Thomas Østerlie (thomas.osterlie@consultit.no) is a consultant with Norwegian-based consulting company ConsultIT A/S, where he works with server-side systems development for UNIX platforms and with computer security.

______________________

White Paper
Fabric-Based Computing Enables Optimized Hyperscale Data Centers

Today’s modular x86 servers are compute-centric, designed as a least common denominator to support a wide range of IT workloads. Those generic, virtualized IT workloads have much different resource optimization requirements than hyperscale and cloud applications. They have resulted in a “one size fits all” enterprise IT architecture that is not optimized for a specific set of IT workloads, and especially not emerging hyperscale workloads, such as web applications, big data, and object storage. In this report, you will learn how shifting the focus from traditional compute-centric IT architectures to an innovative disaggregated fabric-based architecture can optimize and scale your data center.

Learn More

Sponsored by AMD

White Paper
Red Hat White Paper: Using an Open Source Framework to Catch the Bad Guy

Built-in forensics, incident response, and security with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Every security policy provides guidance and requirements for ensuring adequate protection of information and data, as well as high-level technical and administrative security requirements for a system in a given environment. Traditionally, providing security for a system focuses on the confidentiality of the information on it. However, protecting the data integrity and system and data availability is just as important. For example, when processing United States intelligence information, there are three attributes that require protection: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Learn more about catching the bad guy in this free white paper.

Learn More

Sponsored by DLT Solutions