Hardening SSH can be a challenge, but it’s critical to get done.
OpenSSH is the administrative tool of choice for any good Unix/Linux sysadmin, and every bad guy in the world knows it. There’s a lot of scanning constantly looking for low-hanging fruit like misconfigured SSH services.
Adobe posted security bulletin APSB17-21 today, detailing a new exploit vector that potentially lets bad actors run code on your machine.
Just uninstall Flash. Most major content providers offer an html5 option and have for a while now.
This really isn’t a deal site, per se, but I feel like it’d be a disservice not to mention that Yubikeys are half off for Amazon’s Prime Day. They are supported by KeePassXC as of last month, and picking up a YubiKey 4 for $20 is a steal if you have a use case for one.
There are a number of automated banning tools that check for bad behavior but I like fail2ban as it’s flexible and extensible. Configuring fail2ban requires adjustment and testing but can be comprehensive. Certainly sshguard and denyhosts are solid options and if you’re only looking for something to monitor ssh, those are a great way to go.
Note: This a guide to one security tool. You are responsible for securing and exposing a service to the internet. I would not put a fresh box up with ssh open on the internet with only fail2ban installed, for example. (You might also want to harden the service directly.)
So, the CISSP. Largely considered the gold standard by business types around the world, I finished the certification process last month and found everything underwhelming. Here’s what I did for CISSP exam preparation!
If you’re reading this and you haven’t already installed Signal by the incredible Open Whisper Systems, go give it a try. One of the most seamless and painless ways to add security and privacy to your SMS life:
I’ve got two pieces about the state of modern crypto wars! The current dialog is about hash functions SHA-2 versus SHA-3. They also talk about some other competing functions like BLAKE and KangarooTwelve, but in the interest of sanity I’m going to stick to SHA-2 and SHA-3. These are both NIST-published standards, and NIST standards are generally the bar used by .. well, everyone.
I intend this to be a little blog to comment about security stuff that I’m interested in. Sometimes it’ll be broad news, sometimes it’ll be tools, sometimes it’ll be random personal stuff about whiskey.
I hate ads, so the only revenue on here is via Amazon affiliate links.
