GL550 · 5 days · 13+ hrs hands-on labs

Enterprise Linux Security Administration

Available for RHEL· SLES

Enterprise Linux systems face persistent threats from misconfiguration, credential attacks, and privilege escalation. Security professionals and Linux administrators need practical, layered defenses that span the full stack, from network perimeter scanning through kernel-level auditing and mandatory access controls. This course delivers hands-on, defense-in-depth security training on your choice of RHEL or SLES, building skills that directly apply to production hardening and compliance requirements.

Coverage spans the complete security administration lifecycle: system minimization and hardening fundamentals, network scanning and vulnerability assessment with nmap and OpenVAS, password security and PAM configuration, Kerberos 5 deployment and administration across three dedicated chapters, filesystem security with mount options and NFS controls, AIDE file integrity monitoring, kernel auditd for compliance-grade accountability, SELinux mandatory access controls, and securing Apache and PostgreSQL services with authentication and TLS. Snort network intrusion detection rounds out the defensive toolkit.

With 48 guided lab exercises, students spend roughly half the course applying security concepts on live systems: writing Snort IDS rules, cracking passwords with John the Ripper, deploying a complete Kerberos realm, configuring SELinux policies, and hardening production services end to end.

Who Should Attend

System administrators, security engineers, and cybersecurity professionals responsible for hardening enterprise Linux servers, implementing authentication infrastructure, configuring mandatory access controls, and meeting compliance auditing requirements.

Skills You'll Gain

Apply security minimization and hardening principles to reduce system attack surface
Perform network reconnaissance and vulnerability scanning with nmap, OpenVAS, and SNMP tools
Configure password security policies using password hashing, aging, and John the Ripper auditing
Implement and manage PAM authentication modules and control statements
Deploy and administer a Kerberos 5 authentication infrastructure including KDC, principals, and keytabs
Secure filesystems using mount options, NFS export controls, and SUID/SGID protections
Configure AIDE for host-based intrusion detection and file integrity monitoring
Implement kernel-level auditing with auditd to meet compliance and accountability requirements
Manage SELinux mandatory access controls including contexts, booleans, and policy modules
Harden Apache web server and PostgreSQL database configurations with authentication and TLS encryption
Deploy Snort network intrusion detection rules to monitor and alert on suspicious traffic
Configure secure network time synchronization to support Kerberos and RPC services

Chapters & Labs

49 labs · 13+ hours hands-on
  1. Security Concepts 5 labs · 40 min
  2. Scanning, Probing, and Mapping Vulnerabilities 3 labs · 65 min
  3. Password Security and PAM 7 labs · 70 min
  4. Secure Network Time Protocol (NTP) 1 lab · 15 min
  5. Kerberos Concepts and Components
  6. Implementing Kerberos 1 lab · 60 min
  7. Administering and Using Kerberos 4 labs · 75 min
  8. Securing the Filesystem 5 labs · 65 min
  9. AIDE 2 labs · 40 min
  10. Accountability with Kernel Auditd 3 labs · 35 min
  11. SELinux 7 labs · 105 min
  12. Securing Apache 6 labs · 75 min
  13. Securing PostgreSQL 4 labs · 75 min

Appendices

  • Securing Email Systems

Prerequisites

Current Linux systems administration experience, including command-line proficiency, service management, and basic networking. GL250 (Enterprise Linux Systems Administration) and GL275 (Enterprise Linux Network Services) or equivalent experience recommended.