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- DDN Security Bulletin 90-06 DCA DDN Defense Communications System
- 27 Mar 90 Published by: DDN Security Coordination Center
- (SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL) (800) 235-3155
-
- DEFENSE DATA NETWORK
- SECURITY BULLETIN
-
- The DDN SECURITY BULLETIN is distributed by the DDN SCC (Security
- Coordination Center) under DCA contract as a means of communicating
- information on network and host security exposures, fixes, & concerns
- to security & management personnel at DDN facilities. Back issues may
- be obtained via FTP (or Kermit) from NIC.DDN.MIL [26.0.0.73]
- using login="anonymous" and password="guest". The bulletin pathname is
- SCC:DDN-SECURITY-yy-nn (where "yy" is the year the bulletin is issued
- and "nn" is a bulletin number, e.g. SCC:DDN-SECURITY-90-01).
- **********************************************************************
-
- PRECAUTIONARY NOTE
-
- April Fools' day (April 1) has traditionally been a time for pranks of
- all kinds. In order to guard against possible benign or malevolent
- attempts to affect the normal operation of your host, we suggest taking
- the following easy precautions:
-
-
- 1. Write a set of emergency procedures for your site and keep it up
- to date. Refer to DDN Security Bulletin 90-03 for help regarding
- the type of information to collect and whom to call.
-
- 2. Save your files regularly, and make file back-ups often. Put
- the distribution copies of your software in a safe place away
- from your computer room. Don't forget where they're stored!
-
- 3. Avoid trivial passwords and change them often. (See the "Green
- Book" (Department of Defense Password Management Guideline),
- CSC-STD-002-85, for information on the use of passwords.)
-
- 4. Check to make sure your host has no unauthorized users or
- accounts. Also check for obsolete accounts (a favorite path for
- intruders to gain access).
-
- 5. Restrict system ("superuser", "maint", etc.) privileges to the
- minimum number of accounts you possibly can.
-
- 6. Well publicized accounts including "root", "guest", etc., having
- system privileges should be renamed to avoid undue attention.
-
- 7. Keep your maintenance contracts active.
-
- Of course, these steps should be taken throughout the year as part of
- your regular operating procedures.
-