In this presentation I discuss a few things every system administrator needs to keep in mind when securing and deploying a new system or keeping up an old system.

1. Best Practices for System Administrators By: Lance Howell 9/1/2011 CC: Lance Howell 1

2. Knowledge Updates Know Your System Security Bulletins Training (conferences, courses, continuing ed, user groups) 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 2

3. Physical Security Install System in a Secured Location. Do Not Leave Console Logged In. Do Not Stay Logged In as an Administrator. Configure Console to Logout Just In Case You Forget. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 3

4. Keep Your Systems Lean and Mean Minimum Services and Packages. Remove Extra Services Running on the System. Close Unused TCP/UDP Ports 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 4

5. Superuser Password Use Lengthy Password. Never Store Password as Plain Text or Write Down on Paper. Use Mixture of Upper and Lower Characters. Configure Password-Aging Feature, If Available. Use Shadow Password Feature. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 5

6. Delegating Superuser Tasks Risk that Someone will Abuse His or her Superuser Status. Impossible to Trace an Act of Misconduct Based on Who Logged into the Computer. Use Super User DO Utility (sudo) 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 6

7. User Passwords Password Aging Minimum Length Non-Dictionary Words Passwords Uniqueness Password History 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 7

8. Restrict Users Accept Connections from Only Known IP Addresses. It is Better to Lock System Down from the Start. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 8

9. User Education Educate Users and Help-Desk Personnel about Basic Security Issues and Practices. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 9

10. An Updated System is a Happy System Security Patches from System Vendors. Test Patches before Deploying. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 10

11. Vulnerability Testing Scan Your System Periodically Security Assessment 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 11

12. Monitor Your Logs Maintain System Logs Log Analyzers: Threshold Crossing Alarms, Login Attempts, and Failures. Monitor Unauthorized Modification of System Files and Configuration Files. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 12

13. Configuration Documentation Document Any Change in System Configuration. Disaster Recovery Detection for an Intruder 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 13

14. Backup and Disaster Recovery Frequency. How Much to Backup. How Long the Backup Data to be Stored. Good Documentation for Backup and Recovery Procedure. 9/1/2011 Lance Howell 14