Unix® System Management Primer Plus

Managing Root Accounts

root is the most powerful account on Unix operating systems, and system administrators should guard it carefully. A poorly managed root account can lead to all kinds of problems—from suddenly changed system configurations to the deletion of entire file systems.

Poor root account management also poses a security risk for your users and any sensitive data stored on a system, as root is free to view or modify any local files and sniff network traffic flowing in and out of the machine. As a system administrator, you need to become familiar with the techniques for properly managing your root account, as discussed in the sections that follow.

Limiting Access to Root Passwords

Guard your system's root account password carefully. ...