You're reading from Mastering Linux Security and Hardening A practical guide to protecting your Linux system from cyber attacks

Product type Paperback

Published in Feb 2023

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781837630516

Length 618 pages

Edition 3rd Edition

Languages

Tools

Linux

Concepts

Hardening

Author (1):

Donald A. Tevault

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Table of Contents (22) Chapters

Preface

1. Section 1: Setting up a Secure Linux System

2. Running Linux in a Virtual Environment FREE CHAPTER

3. Securing Administrative User Accounts

4. Securing Normal User Accounts

5. Securing Your Server with a Firewall – Part 1

6. Securing Your Server with a Firewall — Part 2

7. Encryption Technologies

8. SSH Hardening

9. Section 2: Mastering File and Directory Access Control (DAC)

10. Mastering Discretionary Access Control

11. Access Control Lists and Shared Directory Management

12. Section 3: Advanced System Hardening Techniques

13. Implementing Mandatory Access Control with SELinux and AppArmor

14. Kernel Hardening and Process Isolation

15. Scanning, Auditing, and Hardening

16. Logging and Log Security

17. Vulnerability Scanning and Intrusion Detection

18. Prevent Unwanted Programs from Running

19. Security Tips and Tricks for the Busy Bee

20. Other Books You May Enjoy

21. Index

Securely configuring BIOS/UEFI

This topic is different from anything we’ve looked at thus far because it has nothing to do with the operating system. Rather, we’re now going to talk about the computer hardware.

Every computer motherboard has either a BIOS or a UEFI chip, which stores both the hardware configuration for the computer and the bootstrap instructions that are needed to start the boot process after the power is turned on. UEFI has replaced the old-style BIOS on newer motherboards, and it has more security features than the old BIOS had.

I can’t give you any specific information about BIOS/UEFI setup because every model motherboard has a different way of doing things. What I can give you is some more generalized information.

When you think about BIOS/UEFI security, you might be thinking about disabling the ability to boot from anything other than the normal system drive. In the following screenshot, you see that I’ve disabled all SATA...