Managing Systems and Workgroups: A Guide for HP-UX System Administrators

Administering a System: Managing System Security
Planning System Security
Chapter 8746
CAUTION Of particular importance:
• Do not run or copy software whose origin you do not know. Games
and pirated software are especially suspect.
• Use, and encourage all users to use, the HP-UX security features
provided to the fullest practical extent.
• Monitor and follow the recommendations given in HP-UX security
bulletins. These include information on newly discovered security
vulnerabilities and how to protect against them. See “Obtaining
HP-UX Security Bulletins and Patches” on page 746.
Security Choices
HP-UX provides the security mechanisms available in the standard
UNIX environment. In addition, HP-UX offers access control lists (ACLs)
and an optional Trusted System with these extra security features:
• A more stringent password and authentication system
• Auditing of security-relevant actions
• Terminal access control
• Time-based access control
• Optional restrictions on which users are allowed to boot a system
It is highly recommended that you convert to the Trusted System if
security is of importance to your HP-UX system. See “Trusted System
Security” on page 789.
Network Information Service Plus (NIS+) is supported on a Trusted
System, while the older Network Information Service (NIS) is not.
Obtaining HP-UX Security Bulletins and Patches
HP provides up-to-date software patches to close known security
problems that allow unauthorized root access to your system. You can
arrange to automatically update your security patches by using Security
Patch Check, See “Security Patch Check” on page 854.
The bulletins are available via e-mail from the HP Electronic Support
Center, which encompasses SupportLine, Software Update Manager,
Custom Patch Manager, and PC, Printing, and Imaging Support.