Security Vulnerability Assessment
Vulnerabilities and Active Services
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Another important computer security area to check is Operating System security vulnerabilities and active services.
One of the method that hackers are able to hack into a computer / server is by exploiting the vulnerabilities of the operating systems or via active services in the server. Don't be surprised there may be other active Windows services running in your PC or Server that you do not require. You do not conquer hacking but with these services and Operating Systems patches uptodate, it is harder for hackers to penetrate into your systems.
I have conducted Security Vulnerability Assessment for a number of companies' servers and have observed services such as FTP, IIS, SMTP, SQL running in their servers that the administrators are not aware of.
The rule of thumb is ensure your server or PC is patched uptodate and unnecessary services disabled. If there is budget to spare, invest in a reputable IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems) to complement the firewall.
An intruder with some basic attacking skills can break into a server (even remote control the server) by exploiting the vulnerabilities if they are not patched properly. Once the intruder has command line access to the server, he/she can then escalate to superuser status (there are a number of ways to do that). This is where real damage can be done.
Penetration Testing
Futher, he/she can then use this server as a platform to attack other servers. I have conducted penetration testing in a test environment and it is not that difficult to break into a Window server. So it is best that these threats are not taken lightly and secure them by applying the latest patches and disable services that are not required.
How to Check for Vulnerabilities
a) One of the tools to check for vulnerabilities and services is by running Nessus Vulnerability Scanner.
b) Once you have download and install Nessus, please ensure you get the latest vulnerabilities update so that it can detect the recent threats. This is a great tool as it is fast and simple to use.
c) Simply type in the IP Address for the server to be scanned and start the scanning.
d) Nessus will then produce a Web-Based report of the discovered vulnerabilities.
Nessus in action scanning a Windows Server. Notice the open ports and warning.
This is part of Nessus report which states the risk and solution to this threat.
If you wish to skip this section, check out the Network and IT Infrastructure in the Home Page.
