Security Strategies in Linux Platforms and Applications, 3rd Edition

Keeping the Baseline Up to Date

When you have a baseline Linux system, it’s something worth protecting. It’s a secure system, ready to copy to different machines, real and virtual. All you need to do to make the baseline into a fully functional server or a desktop environment is to add the programs required for the desired functionality. The tasksel command makes this process easy on Ubuntu systems. The yum grouplist command makes the process almost as easy on Red Hat systems. There is a learning process with respect to the baseline, however. Experience with production systems will teach you about things that should be added to—or left out of—the baseline.

A Gold Baseline

A gold baseline configuration is a place to start. With a good gold baseline, ...