Implementing System Security on Linux

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Implementing System Security on Linux

Implementing security best practices is a necessary skill for a system administrator. In this hands-on lab, you will be tasked with securing a Linux host in a wide array of areas.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Sep 23, 2025

Duration

30m

Challenge

Update the System Software
- Use the package manager to update all software packages (depending on the state of the lab image, packages may already be updated).
Challenge

Limit the Services on the Host to Only the Apache HTTP Server
- Stop and disable the postfix service.
- Remove the postfix package.
Challenge

Set Up a Local Firewall
- Start and enable the firewalld service.
- Allow the https service through the firewall.
Challenge

Implement File-Level Security and Detection
- Set SELinux to enforcing mode.
- Install the the aide utility.
Challenge

Create a Remote Backup of Important Data on the Host
- Generate a public and private key on server01. This should use the default location for storing the keys, and a password should be provided.
- Share the public key with the backup server (server02).
- Use the rsync command to back up the contents of the /opt/data directory to the /home/cloud_user/data directory on server02.

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