Ask Jon And Jay About Bastille Linux 70
You've heard about Bastille Linux 'round these parts before (on July 17 of this year) -- it's a set of scripts bundled to create (in combination with a base install of a distribution like Red Hat) a much more secure box than would be the default. The basic philosophy behind Bastille seems to be "It shouldn't be difficult to lock down your Linux box." Now, here's your chance to ask Bastille gurus Jon Lasser and Jay Beale about the project.You'll want to check out the project's main page, first, and also some of the security articles Jay's written as well as the additional information on his personal page. (And if that Lasser fellow's name is familiar, it should be -- he's also the author of the excellent Think Unix reviewed a few weeks ago.) So post your questions below, and Jay and Jon will soon respond in depth.
Re:Question (Score:1)
Re:Question (Score:1)
Think Security? (Score:2)
As someone who installed Linux for the first trime just a few days ago, you *know* I am gonna have to grab your Bastille tool, tonite in fact....thanks!
Going on means going far
Going far means returning
Re:Ok, you closed some holes in RedHat (Score:2)
The simple truth is OpenBSD is *NOT* the perfect solution to all problem. You dont use a hammer to drill and vice versa.
This is about helping LINUX, not BSD. They are very different systems, despite being mostly-compatible.
Different goals, different licenses, and different focii.
However, and in the best spirit of slashdot, I hope that you honestly want to see a secure linux (I doubt it though).
If that is the case, then yes, it would be nice to see a line by line audit of code, but the sad fact is, there are still plenty of things to add BEFORE we start down that path.
Audits slow development WAY down. Thats one reason OpenBSD isnt nearly as portable as NetBSD. It wasnt intended to be, and its not a bad thing, its just a product of the process.
The first process in getting a truly secure linux would be convincing the major distributions that there IS a security issue, and a way to fix it.
Thats what Bastille does (IMHO).
Building a new distro.. (Score:1)
There are other distros that do so, and that i trust and use in various forms.
However, none seem geared towards the audience I am aiming for, namely web servers, and shell servers.
If YOU were to design a distro to serve shell and web servers, and wanted it to be as secure as possible (obviously), what would YOU have it do?
Thanks for a great product, btw.
RH 7.0? (Score:1)
Re:Ok, you closed some holes in RedHat (Score:2)
that's what trolls do and that's all user 219096 cares to do. Take a quick look at what the troll posted and you can see the quality of the content.
[/rant]
Is it difficult to target 180+ linux distros (Score:2)
moving towards a more secure linux (Score:2)
Currently Bastille seems aimed at shutting off unneeded services, making sure services don't run as root, and updating known security holes. It seems to me that this is a very good start, but is really only half of the story. Does Bastille have any plans to start an audit of the Linux kernel and userland for vulnerabilities ala OpenBSD? It seems to me that making Linux "theoretically" secure requires such an audit. Do you agree or disagree?
have a day,
-l
Bastille Architecture (Score:1)
In your interview with LinuxSecurity.com, you mention that Bastille has some great forthcoming architectural changes. What is the nature of these upcoming features?
have a day,
-l
Not at all (Score:1)
Traditional methods? (Score:2)
a) Taking something that has been around for a long time (think inetd) and changing the configuration so that it is less vulnerable to existing exploits.
vs.
b) Replacing the older techniques with newer things (think tcpserver) that may be a little less convenient, at least in shifting methods, but protect the system better even if a particular service is compromised.
Re:Think Security? (Score:1)
Securing Linux the Bastille Way (Score:2)
Also, can you give us some specifics about your plans for the future of Bastille Linux? What's the next big feature we'll see, and where do you see it going in the long run?
Re:Why is Bastille Necessary? (Score:3)
Re:This is not a perfect world. (Score:1)
Debian? (Score:5)
~luge
Re:Why is Bastille Necessary? (Score:1)
MD5 Checksum? (Score:2)
I think the md5 checksum is a good idea, for those who can't/won't install pgp or gpg, but why not authenticate with one, or both, public-key tools?
--Parity
Firewall script (Score:1)
Re:Not such a good name for a distro... (Score:1)
Spreading the Bastille (Score:1)
What kinds of reactions have you had when approaching distribution vendors about pre-Bastilling their stuff before shipment? (anonymous please) Same for any vendor that ships Linux pre installed on a box.
Since a New Linux Convert is the least likely to know about and most likely to need Bastille how are you guys getting the word out to them?
Re:Ins't this reinventing the wheel? (Score:1)
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS
thank you
Seriously, I've read more than one post from you today...all you're doing is trolling. What's the deal? Too much karma?
Bastille Linux is *not* a distribution...though you would know that if you had bothered to check the home page. No, I will NOT be linking to it here because it's in the original post (which you failed to read.) It's a set of scripts, originally very Red Hat-specific, working toward being non-distribution-specific. It's really kinda nice to be able to go through a list of plain-English questions and just pecking Enter and Tab to lock down your machine better.
Hell, the KDE and GNOME people might as well close up shop, and while we're at it, most of Microsoft, too...while we're at it, Apple as well. I mean, Xerox already invented the GUI. Why continue to develop copies of the GUI that Xerox developed when they already had it done 30 years ago? Sheesh.
Re:Why is Bastille Necessary? (Score:3)
However, I don't see why this is really necessary. It's the sysadmin's job to secure his boxes, which is generally done after installation. First, you only select the services you need, then you tighten things up. Bastille just speeds this process up, and helps out novices a lot. Also, the OpenWall security patches (for the Linux kernel) are quite nifty; also, on ext2, chattr is pretty sweet if you're really paranoid.
It would be nice if a distro had a "Secure" option during installation, but basically they're just catering to the masses. Maybe you want to run 'ping'; maybe you're behind a firewall. Maybe you're not on the internet. Maybe you want to have all your services running in default configurations at startup, so you can tweak them later...
Basically, it's just easier to let the admin decide what to do with the box, and making it less secure makes that process easier for them as well. Most people don't know or care about security. And remember, just as the best form of birth control is still abstinence, the best form of network security is still the 'air-gap'.
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Vigilance (Score:2)
That being said, are there any plans to add any such functionality to Bastille, such as, when bastille-firewall is started when entering multiuser mode, checking to make sure all its changes are still intact? Even better, perhaps setting up a cron job to run every few minutes to check to make sure, say, drakconf (or whatever a different distro uses) hasn't overwritten its changes?
Re:Not a hard interview (Score:1)
Jon: your education in the humanities (Score:1)
For example, much of "hardening" consists of finding poorly written code with buffer overruns and the like. But much of it also consists of cultural engineering/deengineering: how would a script kiddy approach this distribution? What sort of exploits generate the most prestige among fellow crackers/kiddies? That sort of thing. Did your humanities training (which is clearly still an active part of your life, what with all the poetry you write) give you a unique perspective that others lack?
(And on a personal note, did you ever forgive [tux.org] your girlfriend for her choice in that waiting-room?)
Oops, I think I got a little confused... (Score:1)
Re:Why is Bastille Necessary? (Score:1)
Any opinions regarding Linux permissions? (Score:1)
Furthermore a wide variety of applications aren't able to use the sceme as their access control mechanism. Thus they implement their own security schemes. Squid and [to a lesser extent] samba are two examples. The result of this is multiple security systems, and more fronts to fight crackers on.
What arre your thoughts o the issue? Do you believe in, and would you support, a future implementation of Posix ACLs into the Linux kernel?
What kind of users do you target? (Score:2)
From what I understand, Bastille Linux allows the user to have a more secure Linux box by answering (simple?) questions. But who do you think should use it, experienced users who know already how to lock down their system but need a tool to do it quick or newbies who don't know anything about security?
This is a question for any administration automation tool, but it's a real issue, can you secure a Linux system without learning what's really going on?
Maybe it would be a good idea to distribute Bastille Linux as a Book+CD package
How does this compare to TrinityOS? (Score:1)
Ins't this reinventing the wheel? (Score:1)
Re:Ins't this reinventing the wheel? (Score:1)
It's not a clone of anything. It's a set of scripts to help secure a previously installed Red Hat box.
Inclusion in distros? (Score:2)
Configuration (Score:5)
What third party tools do you install/recommend to help with the hardening of the system? Tripwire? tcpserver?
Do you incorporate any form of checking when doing your install to ensure that the box has not already been compromised, such as checking for common trojans/backdoors?
Ok, you closed some holes in RedHat (Score:1)
Question (Score:3)
Re:my question (Score:1)
Very funny... (Score:1)
Heh... (Score:1)
Re:Not such a good name for a distro... (Score:2)
Re:Linux and Time (Score:1)
-stax
Re:my question (Score:1)
I defy _anyone_ to root the box at this IP:
209.242.124.241
*/
Disable Telnet, you crazy fool!
Role specific script? Wizard? (Score:2)
Re:Question (Score:1)
-stax
Security is a process, not a thing. (Score:3)
How will Bastille allow users to treat their computer and network security as a "process" (as Bruce Schneier is quoted to say). Are there tools to help users deal with security "events"?
Shouldn't be the sysadmin's job when there is none (Score:2)
Why not make it easy on everybody? Just make the default maximally tight, and make it "The Sysadmin's job" to OPEN any holes he wants open, rather than closing all the holes in the swiss cheese?
Especially when the distribution doesn't come with any document that even LISTS the holes in the cheese.
That way:
- The box is secure from the start: No temporary holes for somebody to break through and plant a backdoor while the sysadming gets around to closing holes.
- Ordinary users, or even newbies, can install and go right to work, without having to become a skilled sysadmin just to have a safe box. (Something not working? Bring up the config tool and turn it on.)
Both ordinary users and sysadmins would thank any distro vendor who did it this way.
So why don't they?
Probably because they fear a flood of support calls when things don't work because they aren't turned on yet.
So they leave their customers hanging out there with the wind blowing through the holes in their cheese.
Software liability, anyone?
Bastille Day (Score:1)
Breaking out the cluestick... (Score:3)
--
"Don't trolls get tired?"
Re:Bastille Linux (Score:1)
They said it on their webpage. They initially intended it as such. But they found that the effort to do such a thing was more than they were willing to commit to.
They also found that they could accomplish nearly the same thing in an existing distro with a few scripts.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
User Education (Score:1)
One of the best thing I like about Bastille is that it provides a very detailed, step by step explanation of what is going on.
As many security experts stated, the weakest link is always the people. Bastille not only harden your Linux box, it also helps the inexperienced sysadmin/home user to learn more about their systems.
After running Bastille on several sytems, I am confident enough to manually harden distros that are not supported by Bastille (yet :-).
So my question is what prompt you guys to spend so much time on the document side, which is often the last thing most developers do (if at all)?
Bastille is truly a useful and educational tool. Well done and thank you guys.
====
Re:Shouldn't be the sysadmin's job when there is n (Score:2)
It would be nice if the default installs were more secure, though, and it sounds like Mandrake tries to give people that option upon installation.
The hardest thing to do is to make something like this easy and smart; any distro vendor who can do that gets my vote of confidence as well.
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Distribution specific, etc. (Score:4)
The first: do you plan to make a non distribution specific hardening program/system/script? If so, how? It would be neat to have a consensus between distributions on file locations, etc to make this easier; do you plan on working with other distributions to come up with some sort of common interface or environment?
The second: do you plan on including any kernel based capability, IDS, or ACL addons? A good default use of these features would greatly increase the security of linux in general, but they are prohibitively complex for most users. Thus, these are great things to have taken care of by the system - do you plan on working on something to control these things (semi)automatically?
Why is Bastille Necessary? (Score:5)
Why do you feel that various distributions are so insecure by default? What are the most common mistakes they make? What kinds of changes need to happen at Red Hat to make your scripts unneeded?
Re:ooo (Score:1)
What sort of permanent daydream are you living in? Huh? HUH?
--
Add-ons & Such (Score:1)
It sounds like this distro could be something like I need. An easy way to add on products and lock down the box for linux non-experts??
Bastille Linux (Score:5)
(One minor wishlist item: could you fix the Curses thing for sparc) Sorry, just had to sneak that in.
"Missing" features? (Score:4)
What features do you feel are missing from Bastille as it stands today, and aren't in the roadmap you have for the immediate future?
What elements of system security do you feel should be part of the "core" (if not the kernel) of the operating system, and why (in your opinions) aren't they there already?
This is not a question. (Score:2)
I'm glad Bastille relies on work that has already been done by others, rather than re-inventing the wheel.
Thank you
Dave
'Round the firewall,
Out the modem,
Through the router,
Down the wire,
How do you check actual safety of your distributio (Score:1)
Re:Configuration (Score:1)
Originally, it was supposed to be a secure distro, but since then it became a set of scripts to secure a just-installed Red Hat distro. Recently it became useful for non-virgin installs.
In regards to prompting, it does have an interactive mode which asks confirmation on all items. So you can choose wheather to shut off apache or not. In fact, even if you do choose to shut off apache, it goes through posible changes to apache anyway, so if you decide to turn on apache later, it's secure.
Anyway, good questions, just tiding you over till the official responce gets in.
Parent should be modded down... (Score:1)
Given the wording at the above mentioned place in their FAQ, it is highly unlikely that they'll ever do their own distro.
Bastille for Debian (Score:1)
--
Me pican las bolas, man!
Thanks
Target audience (Score:3)
Why not Debian? (Score:1)
-
Not such a good name for a distro... (Score:5)
I'd hate to see any Bastille Linux-oriented viruses or trojans. Maybe there will be one which triggers on July 14th of every year and echoes on the screen: "Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!"
For more historical stuff on Bastille Day, check out this link to the French Embassy [info-france-usa.org].
security (Score:2)
it's nice that these kind of distros exist; but until all linux distros are by far more secure by default (like not havin millions of daemons running per default) everybody just have to learn securing their box the hard way - there is no quick way for anything. but hopefully this bastille linux will show the way.
just my 2 pennies
Re:Not a hard interview (Score:1)
Re:Ins't this reinventing the wheel? (Score:3)