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Communication Security: Remote Access and Messaging • Chapter 3 135

until they believe they have found a trusted host that is allowed to pass data
through a firewall. Once a hacker finds this address, they can begin creating packets
and sending them to a target network.

User Vulnerabilities and Errors

Users who write passwords on sticky notes and put them on their monitor, leave
their workstations unlocked, or allow other people to watch while they enter user-
names and passwords, are the easiest victims for hackers. It is the security profes-
sional’s responsibility to educate end users and perform due diligence to ensure
these types of user errors are at a minimum. For the Security+ exam, you need to
know that the best way to keep these types of attacks to a minimum is to educate
users of the consequences.

Administrator Vulnerabilities and Errors

One of the biggest mistakes security professionals make is not fixing known secu-
rity issues with remote access methods. Keeping up with security patches, hard-
ening RASes, and being aware of flaws in different remote access methods is vital.
Most vendors have Web sites where they post patches for their products. Larger
companies such as Microsoft, Sun, Oracle, and Cisco also have e-mail notification
systems that notify users when new problems are discovered, and what actions to
take to remedy them.There are also several white papers in existence that explain
the steps used to harden OSes. Hardening an OS simply means that all of the appli-
cations, services, and protocols not required for the operation of a host will be dis-
abled or completely removed.Any host that is accessible to the Internet (or any
public access) should be hardened prior to introduction to the network.
Since users will not likely be able to track and fix vulnerabilities daily, they
should make sure to review their core applications (Windows, Linux, Microsoft
Office, SQL, Oracle, and so forth) monthly to see if there are new patches being
released.

EXAM WARNING
The top ten items to remember about RAS:
1. 802.1x uses EAP for passing messages between the supplicant
and the authenticator.
2. VPN tunneling requires a carrier protocol, an encapsulation pro-
tocol, and a passenger protocol.

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