Practical UNIX Security

By Simson Garfinkel, Gene Spafford
First Edition
Pages: 512
ISBN 10: 0-937175-72-2 | ISBN 13: 9780937175729

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Book description

Tells system administrators how to make their UNIX system -- either System V or BSD -- as secure as it possibly can be without going to trusted system technology. The book describes UNIX concepts and how they enforce security, tells how to defend against and handle security breaches, and explains network security (including UUCP, NFS, Kerberos, and firewall machines) in detail.
Full Description

If you are a UNIX system administrator or user who deals with security, you need this book. It's a practical guide that spells out your options for both Berkeley UNIX and System V. It's complete, rational, and doesn't require that you be a programmer to use it. Practical UNIX Security describes the issues, approaches, and methods for implementing security measures, spelling out what the varying approaches cost and require in the way of equipment. After presenting UNIX security basics and network security, this guide goes on to suggest how to keep intruders out, how to tell if they've gotten in, how to clean up after them, and even how to prosecute them. Filled with practical scripts, tricks, and warnings, Practical UNIX Security tells you what you need to know to make your UNIX system as secure as it possibly can be. Contents include:

Understanding basic UNIX functions, such as users, passwords, groups, superuser, and the file system.
Defending against security breaches.
Defending against network and communication breaches, using modems, UUCP, NFS, secure NFS, Kerberos, and firewall machines.
Handling break-ins or other security incidents and repairing the damage.
Applying techniques of encryption and physical security to UNIX.
Appendices: UNIX security checklist, important files, UNIX processes, how Kerberos works, other sources.

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Media reviews "Those who deal with security and those who deal with UNIX (AT&T System V as well as BSD 4.2 and 4.3) must have this book. In the preface, the authors state,....After reading the book, I found the authors' claims in the preface to be relatively modest. This book should be read by anyone who deals with UNIX systems, including the acquirers, developers, users, operators and administrators of UNIX systems and UNIX-based applications.

"The book is easy to read and comprehend. Its biggest asset is that the authors introduce UNIX and security-related concepts in terms that can be easily understood by computer professionals. The transition from an abstract security concept to its UNIX application is achieved in a comprehensive and efficient manner. Another asset of the book is the technical depth. The book gives complete imple- mentation details of the security mechanisms and the rationale behind them." --Computing Reviews, June 1992

"This is far and away the most up-to-date and useful overview of Unix security available today. It provides background into security issues and practical, step-by-step approaches to highly effective network security for TCP/IP protocols. While it assumes that the reader knows his or her way around Unix, non-gurus can learn a lot by reading it.

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