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In This Chapter
Chapter 17
Plugging Security Holes
▶ Determining which vulnerabilities to address first
▶ Patching your systems
▶ Looking at security in a new light
A fter you complete your tests, you want to head down the road to
greater security. However, you found some security vulnerabilities.
(I hope not too many serious ones, though!) Plugging these security holes
before a hacker exploits them is going to require a little elbow grease. You
need to come up with your game plan and decide which security vulnerabilities
to address first. A few patches might be in order and possibly even
some system hardening. You might want to reevaluate your network design
and security infrastructure as well. I touch on some of the critical areas in
this chapter. You might also want to refer to the fine book Network Security
For Dummies by Chey Cobb. Chey does a great job of covering each of these
topics in depth.
Turning Your Reports into Action
It might seem that the security vulnerability to address first would be obvious,
but it’s often not black and white. When reviewing the vulnerabilities that
you find, consider the following variables:
✓ Whether the vulnerability can be fixed
✓ How easy the vulnerability is to fix
✓ How critical the vulnerable system is
✓ Whether you can take the system offline to fix the problem
✓ Time, money, and effort involved in purchasing new hardware or software
or retooling business processes to plug the holes