All courses
Resource hub
Featured resource
Tech Upskilling Playbook 2025
Tech Upskilling Playbook

Build future-ready tech teams and hit key business milestones with seven proven plays from industry leaders.

Learn more
Hamburger Icon
  • Labs icon Lab
  • Cloud
  • Security
Google Cloud Platform icon
Labs

Design an Email Notification on User Login via SSH

The topic of this lab is notifications. The goal is to design a notification system that will send a notification by email every time a user logs in via SSH. This is a good way to notify us of malicious activity.

Get started Contact sales
Google Cloud Platform icon
Labs

Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 30m
Last updated
Clock icon May 14, 2025

Contact sales

By filling out this form and clicking submit, you acknowledge our privacy policy.

Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Install EPEL Repos, sendemail, python36, python36-devel 

    sudo yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

    sudo yum install python36 python36-devel

    sudo yum install sendemail

  2. Challenge

    Test Sending out an Email 

    sendemail -f [FROM_EMAIL] -u 'AUTH_NOTIFICATION' -t [TO_EMAIL] -s smtp.gmail.com:587 -o tls=yes -xu [USER_NAME] -xp [PASSWORD] -m "[YOUR MESSAGE]"

  3. Challenge

    Write a Script to Send an Email with the Time Stamp and Username upon SSH Login 

    vim /home/cloud_user/onLogin.py

    #!/bin/python3.6

import subprocess
from datetime import datetime
import time
import getpass

msg = "#########################\nTIME: " + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') + "\nUSER: " + getpass.getuser() + "\nWAS AUTHENTICATED\n#########################\n"

subprocess.check_output(['sendemail', '-f', '[FROM_EMAIL]', '-u', 'SCAN_NOTIFICATION', '-t', '[TO_EMAIL]', '-s', 'smtp.gmail.com:587', '-o', 'tls=yes', '-xu', '[USER_NAME]', '-xp', '[PASSWORD]', '-m', msg], stdin=None, stderr=None, shell=False, universal_newlines=False)

    ESC
:wq
ENTER

    chmod +x /home/cloud_user/onLogin.py

    sudo cp /home/cloud_user/onLogin.py /bin/

  4. Challenge

    Configure SSH to Make Use of the Script 

    sudo vim /etc/pam.d/sshd

    session optional pam_exec.so seteuid /bin/onSSHLoginHook.py

    ESC
:wq
ENTER
Pluralsight Skills - Labs - Pluralsight
Author
Pluralsight Skills

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

Provided environment for hands-on practice

We will provide the credentials and environment necessary for you to practice right within your browser.

Guided walkthrough

Follow along with the author’s guided walkthrough and build something new in your provided environment!

Did you know?

On average, you retain 75% more of your learning if you get time for practice.
Ready to get started?
View individual plans View team plans