root ain't what it used to be
My own groundhog day is a debate with customers about what constitutes "typical" Linux security precautions. If you’re a Linux administrator of any experience, you might find some of the following statements rather familiar:
- My server is secure because Apache runs in a chroot.
- My web site is secure because I have a hardware firewall! Nothing can defeat a hardware firewall!
- I have 67 non-standard kernel patches to ensure that normal users will ever get root access.
I’m sure my weary tone suggests the above all contain misunderstandings about computer security. The assertion "I am secure because X" implies that security is just a checklist item around an important computer system - the falsehoods are that 1) either it’s secure or it’s not, 2) security is something you can outsource to a clever person or clever tool, while you get on with the "real" work, and 3) that preventing root access should be the overriding focus of any computer security system. Because computer security is meaningless out of context - exactly what are you trying to protect, and from whom?
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