Securing Linux on a Network
IN THIS CHAPTER
Managing network services
Controlling access to network services
Implementing firewalls
Setting up your Linux system on a network, especially a public network, creates a whole new set of challenges when it comes to security. The best way to secure your Linux system is to keep it off all networks. However, that is rarely a feasible option.
Entire books have been filled with information on how to secure a computer system on a network. Many organizations hire full-time computer security administrators to watch over their network-attached Linux systems. Therefore, think of this chapter as a brief introduction to securing Linux on a network.
Auditing Network Services
Most Linux systems used for large enterprises are configured as servers that, as the name implies, offer services to remote clients over a network. A network service is any task that the computer performs requiring it to send and receive information over the network using some predefined set of rules. Routing email is a network service, as is serving web pages.
A Linux server has the potential to provide thousands of services. Many of them are listed in the /etc/services file. Consider the following sections from the /etc/services file:
$ cat /etc/services # /etc/services: # $Id: services,v 1.55 2013/04/14 ovasik Exp $ # # Network services, Internet style # IANA services version: ...Get Linux Bible, 9th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
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