Synopses & Reviews
“The definitive tool to learn what’s proper for Microsoft Windows systems. Roberta’s excellent guidance will easily help you build secure, resiliant systems.” --Steve Riley, Security Business and Technology Unit, Windows Division, Microsoft Corporation
Take a proactive approach to network security by hardening your Windows systems against attacks before they occur. Written by security evangelist Roberta Bragg, this hands-on resource provides concrete steps you can take immediately as well as ongoing actions to ensure long-term security. Whether you have one Windows server or one hundred, you’ll get complete details on how to systematically harden your network from the ground up, as well as strategies for getting company-wide support for your security plan. With coverage of Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/2000/XP and Windows Server 2003, this book is an essential security tool for on-the-job IT professionals.
Features a four-part hardening methodology:
- Do This Now!--Checklist of immediate steps to take to lockdown your system from further attack
- Take It From The Top--Systematic approach to hardening your enterprise from the top down, focusing on authentication, access controls, borders, logical security boundaries, communications, storage, and administrative authority
- Once Is Never Enough!--Ongoing monitoring and assessment plan to keep your network secure, including patch management and auditing
- How to Succeed At Hardening Your Windows Systems--Strategies for getting budget approval, management buy-in, and employee cooperation for your security program
Roberta Bragg, CISSP, MCSE: Security, Security+, co-author of Network Security: The Complete Reference, instructor, and consultant, focuses on how to proactively deploy proven security principles to defend Windows systems from possible attack. Roberta is the Security Advisor columnist for MCP magazine, the Security Expert for searchWin2000.com, and writes for the Security Watch newsletter. Roberta is the series editor of McGraw-Hill/Osborne’s Hardening security series.
Synopsis
Key Features and Benefits- Perfect compliment to "Hacking Exposed. Find out here how to Harden your Windows system and use "Hacking Exposed to hack and test your system.- Blog: Living content: Roberta Bragg will monitor and maintain a Blog for Hardening readers to receive updates, alerts, new information, guidance, contacts, build community around the series, etc.- Expert authors and technical reviewers show you how to harden your system before it's hacked!- Will cover various O/S versions with specialized notes, sidebars and subtle icons.- Will include alerts when a hardening technique is extreme--or risky.
About the Author
Robert Bragg (Grain Valley, MO), CISSP, MCSE: Security; Security+, ETI-Client Server, Certified Technical Trainer, IBM Certified Trainer, DB2-UDB, Citrix Certified Administrator, has been a Security Advisor columnist for MCP magazine for five years, is a Security Expert for searchWin2000.com, and writes for the Securitywatch newsletter, which has over 55,000 subscribers. She designed, planned, produced, and participated in the first Windows Security Summit, held in Seattle in 2002. She has served as adjunct faculty at Seattle Pacific University and the Johnson County Community College teaching courses on Windows 2000 Security Design and Network Security Design.
Table of Contents
Part I: Do This Now!
If you do nothing else, do these things now to secure your system.
Part II: Take IT From The Top Hardening
Describes how to harden your system in a systematic fashion. May vary from platform to platform, but includes: Hardening Authentication, Hardening Access Controls, Hardening Borders, Hardening Logical Security Boundaries, Hardening Communications, Hardening Storage, Hardening Administrative Authority, and more.
Part III: Once is never enough
This section will provide proven steps for keeping systems secure, such as developing a patch management plan, auditing security settings, reviewing decisions made and adjusting to current conditions How to create a patch management policy, etc.
Part IV: Work the System
Now that you know what to do, can you do it? What organizational political structure prevents or hinders the adoption of the hardening steps you need to succeed? Learn how to navigate the political waters.