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516 Chapter 8 • Infrastructure Security: System Hardening
Keep up with device-specific hotfixes, patches, and firmware upgrades to
maintain high availability and security
Application Hardening
Follow best practices for hardening specific application-type servers such
as e-mail, FTP, and Web servers
Data repositories require more consideration, planning, and control of
access than other application servers
Application-specific fixes, patches, and updates are used in addition to OS
and NOS fixes.
Exam Objectives
Frequently Asked Questions
The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this
book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the Exam Objectives
presented in this chapter, and to assist you with real-life implementation of
these concepts.
Q: What are the most important considerations as I begin to evaluate hardening
my systems?
A: You should consider removing default access permissions, applying all known
security and OS and NOS patches, and evaluating the need for services and
protocols in your network.
Q: What protocols should I eliminate?
A: This depends on your system needs. Unnecessary protocols often include
NetBEUI, IPX/SPX, and NetBIOS dependent functions. Do not forget to
evaluate the underlying protocols, such as ICMP and IGMP, for removal as
well.
Q: Everyone tells me that ACL settings are needed for devices.Why should I
worry about them?
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