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Tilghman Lesher wrote:
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cite="mid200806120802.24521.tilghman@mail.jeffandtilghman.com"
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<pre wrap="">On Thursday 12 June 2008 03:23:46 Mark Adams wrote:
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<pre wrap="">I appreciate the responses thus far but I am looking to find out what type
of security I should implement for the future. Being new to linux, not to
mention asterisk I didn't realize that someone could brute force into the
box and upload crap. With that in mind it seems that I would want to get a
hardware firewall such as a hotbrick or a sonicwall firewall.
</pre>
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<pre wrap=""><!---->
One of the most frequent security issues comes not in the form of a software
flaw, but simply in people choosing easy-to-guess passwords on the root
account. There are two suggestions I have to reduce the risk of this
brute force. First, choose a username that is uncommon. In your case, do not
use 'root', 'admin', or even 'mark'. 'madams' might be a good choice. Once
you figure out that username, configure sshd with the AllowUsers directive to
ONLY allow logins from that user. If you need root access, install sudo. If
an attacker cannot figure out what your username is, then it doesn't matter
even if they guess your password, because they aren't getting in.
And of course, the second part is choosing a secure password, one that
contains mixed case, numbers, letters, and symbols. Don't be afraid to write
down that secure password, as long as you keep it on your person (wallet is a
good choice). 99% of the attackers who might otherwise compromise your
machine will never come within 1000 miles of you. However, your wallet
contains things that are far more valuable than your password (your identity
documents, for example), so it is hoped that you will be able to keep that
password away from people who would otherwise do you harm.
</pre>
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Most recent hacks that I have first or second hand knowledge of came
from ssh issues. Most inexperienced admins will expose ssh without
using the 'allowgroups' option in their sshd_config and will get hacked
by someone logging in via ssh using a system account with no password.<br>
<br>
The second thing to do with ssh is to move it to another port to keep
the script kiddies from pounding on it. If there is a weak or missing
password, they will find it.<br>
<br>
An encrypted USB thumbdrive is also a good storage device for
passwords. I use TrueCrypt and have the executable availble
unencrypted on the thumbdrive so I could plug it into almost any
machine and get to the encrypted data.<br>
<br>
Lyle Giese<br>
LCR Computer Services, Inc.<br>
<br>
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