Certification Magazine - October 2007 - (Page 36)

Although SolarWinds’ suite of network assessment tools are not going to be the first tool you reach for to start vulnerability scanning, get an operating system fingerprint or start investigating ports, it is a great place to start to figure out the topology of the network that you will need to examine later. As any professional involved with security can tell you, even fully documented networks often have connections or devices that are either simply undocumented or not supposed to be connected. As a result, the foundation of later security breaches can start with an undocumented device connection. A systems administrator’s first line of security review should be periodically assessing exactly how the network is set up, what is connected where and how that connection list compares with associated documentation. For more information, visit http:// www.solarwinds.com/. Security Conﬁguration Wizard Given the amount of enterprise computing running on a Microsoft platform, it is important that administrators involved in the Windows-based computing space make sure one of the most critical Microsoft tools ever released is in their toolbox. The Security Configuration Wizard is an automated method to secure the underlying platform based on the standard Windows services that are going to run on the server. On Windows Server 2003 (and 2003 R2), the Security Configuration Wizard is a small tool that uses a large XML database to understand the necessary service, policy and registry changes that implement a given role’s core (default) functions while disabling, securing and closing unnecessary applications. This system preparation is known in the industry as reducing the attack surface. When you remove unnecessary services or close settings that allow unnecessary communication, you are theoretically reducing the possible number of methods by which a server can be attacked. Administrators can use provided tool kits to extend the Security ConfigurationWizard to create custom roles that might fit specific security requirements of the enterprise or to accommodate specific products that are not natively part of Windows but are common to the computing environment the administrator is attempting to secure. In Windows Server 2008, the Security Configuration Wizard is integrated by default and will assist with implementing security during server roles deployment. For more information, visit http:// www.microsof t.com / windowsserver200 3 / technologies/security/ configwiz/default.mspx. http://www.solarwinds.com/ http://www.solarwinds.com/ http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/security/configwiz/default.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/security/configwiz/default.mspx http://securitycertified.net http://securitycertified.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification Magazine - October 2007

Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Tech Careers Dear Techie Academic Connection Virtual Village Rebooting Your Career Development Inside Certification Forensics Investigators: Cybercrime Fighters Interface Building Your Skills Through Security Tools Ad Index Endtag

Certification Magazine - October 2007

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