Audience
The LPIC-3 certification is the culmination of LPI’s multi-level professional certification program. LPIC-3 is designed for the enterprise-level Linux professional and represents the highest level of professional, distribution-neutral Linux certification within the industry.
LPIC-3 303 covers administering Linux enterprise-wide with an emphasis on security.
Prerequisites
Delegates must have an active LPIC-2 certification to receive LPIC-3 certification, but the LPIC-2 and LPIC-3 exams may be taken in any order. The following courses are available to help you achieve LPIC-2:
- LPIC-2: Linux Engineer Certification (Part 1 - Exam 201)
- LPIC-2: Linux Engineer Certification (Part 2 - Exam 202)
Duration
10 days. Hands on.
This course is available on site only. Please call for details.
Course Objectives
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is the premier certification body for vendor independent Linux certifications.
This course prepares students for the LPIC-3 Security exam (exam 303-200), which may be taken on the fifth day of the course. With the included revision sessions, practice tests and hands-on exercises delegates will be confident sitting the exam.
To become LPIC-3 certified, candidates with active LPIC-1 and LPIC-2 certifications must pass at least one of the following specialty exams:
- LPIC-3: Linux Enterprise Professional Certification - Mixed Environments (Exam 300)
- LPIC-3: Linux Enterprise Professional Certification - Security (Exam 303)
- LPIC-3: Linux Enterprise Professional Certification - Virtualization and High Availability (Exam 304)
Upon successful completion of these requirements, they will be entitled to the appropriate specialty designation. In this case delegates will be awarded the LPIC-3 Linux Enterprise Professional: Security certification.
Course Content
Cryptography
X.509 Certificates and Public Key Infrastructures
Candidates should understand X.509 certificates and public key infrastructures. They should know how to configure and use OpenSSL to implement certification authorities and issue SSL certificates for various purposes.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand X.509 certificates, X.509 certificate lifecycle, X.509 certificate fields and X.509v3 certificate extensions
• Understand trust chains and public key infrastructures
• Generate and manage public and private keys
• Create, operate and secure a certification authority
• Request, sign and manage server and client certificates
• Revoke certificates and certification authorities
X.509 Certificates for Encryption, Signing and Authentication
Candidates should know how to use X.509 certificates for both server and client authentication. Candidates should be able to implement user and server authentication for Apache HTTPD. The version of Apache HTTPD covered is 2.4 or higher.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand SSL, TLS and protocol versions
• Understand common transport layer security threats, for example Man-in-the-Middle
• Configure Apache HTTPD with mod_ssl to provide HTTPS service, including SNI and HSTS
• Configure Apache HTTPD with mod_ssl to authenticate users using certificates
• Configure Apache HTTPD with mod_ssl to provide OCSP stapling
• Use OpenSSL for SSL/TLS client and server tests
Encrypted File Systems
Candidates should be able to setup and configure encrypted file systems.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand block device and file system encryption
• Use dm-crypt with LUKS to encrypt block devices
• Use eCryptfs to encrypt file systems, including home directories
• PAM integration
• Be aware of plain dm-crypt and EncFS
DNS and Cryptography
Candidates should have experience and knowledge of cryptography in the context of DNS and its implementation using BIND. The version of BIND covered is 9.7 or higher.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understanding of DNSSEC and DANE
• Configure and troubleshoot BIND as an authoritative name server serving DNSSEC secured zones
• Configure BIND as an recursive name server that performs DNSSEC validation on behalf of its clients
• Key Signing Key, Zone Signing Key, Key Tag
• Key generation, key storage, key management and key rollover
• Maintenance and re-signing of zones
• Use DANE to publish X.509 certificate information in DNS
• Use TSIG for secure communication with BIND
Host Security
Host Hardening
Candidates should be able to secure computers running Linux against common threats. This includes kernel and software configuration.
Key knowledge areas:
• Configure BIOS and boot loader (GRUB 2) security
• Disable useless software and services
• Use sysctl for security related kernel configuration, particularly ASLR, Exec-Shield and IP / ICMP configuration
• Limit resource usage
• Work with chroot environments
• Drop unnecessary capabilities
• Be aware of the security advantages of virtualization
Host Intrusion Detection
Candidates should be familiar with the use and configuration of common host intrusion detection software. This includes updates and maintenance as well as automated host scans.
Key knowledge areas:
• Use and configure the Linux Audit system
• Use chkrootkit
• Use and configure rkhunter, including updates
• Use Linux Malware Detect
• Automate host scans using cron
• Configure and use AIDE, including rule management
• Be aware of OpenSCAP
User Management and Authentication
Candidates should be familiar with management and authentication of user accounts. This includes configuration and use of NSS, PAM, SSSD and Kerberos for both local and remote directories and authentication mechanisms as well as enforcing a password policy.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand and configure NSS
• Understand and configure PAM
• Enforce password complexity policies and periodic password changes
• Lock accounts automatically after failed login attempts
• Configure and use SSSD
• Configure NSS and PAM for use with SSSD
• Configure SSSD authentication against Active Directory, IPA, LDAP, Kerberos and local domains
• Obtain and manage Kerberos tickets
FreeIPA Installation and Samba Integration
Candidates should be familiar with FreeIPA v4.x. This includes installation and maintenance of a server instance with a FreeIPA domain as well as integration of FreeIPA with Active Directory.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand FreeIPA, including its architecture and components
• Understand system and configuration prerequisites for installing FreeIPA
• Install and manage a FreeIPA server and domain
• Understand and configure Active Directory replication and Kerberos cross-realm trusts
• Be aware of sudo, autofs, SSH and SELinux integration in FreeIPA
Access Control
Discretionary Access Control
Candidates are required to understand Discretionary Access Control and know how to implement it using Access Control Lists. Additionally, candidates are required to understand and know how to use Extended Attributes.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand and manage file ownership and permissions, including SUID and SGID
• Understand and manage access control lists
• Understand and manage extended attributes and attribute classes
Mandatory Access Control
Candidates should be familiar with Mandatory Access Control systems for Linux. Specifically, candidates should have a thorough knowledge of SELinux. Also, candidates should be aware of other Mandatory Access Control systems for Linux. This includes major features of these systems but not configuration and use.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand the concepts of TE, RBAC, MAC and DAC
• Configure, manage and use SELinux
• Be aware of AppArmor and Smack
Network File Systems
Candidates should have experience and knowledge of security issues in use and configuration of NFSv4 clients and servers as well as CIFS client services. Earlier versions of NFS are not required knowledge.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand NFSv4 security issues and improvements
• Configure NFSv4 server and clients
• Understand and configure NFSv4 authentication mechanisms (LIPKEY, SPKM, Kerberos)
• Understand and use NFSv4 pseudo file system
• Understand and use NFSv4 ACLs
• Configure CIFS clients
• Understand and use CIFS Unix Extensions
• Understand and configure CIFS security modes (NTLM, Kerberos)
• Understand and manage mapping and handling of CIFS ACLs and SIDs in a Linux system
Network Security
Network Hardening
Candidates should be able to secure networks against common threats. This includes verification of the effectiveness of security measures.
Key knowledge areas:
• Configure FreeRADIUS to authenticate network nodes
• Use nmap to scan networks and hosts, including different scan methods
• Use Wireshark to analyze network traffic, including filters and statistics
• Identify and deal with rogue router advertisements and DHCP messages
Network Intrusion Detection
Candidates should be familiar with the use and configuration of network security scanning, network monitoring and network intrusion detection software. This includes updating and maintaining the security scanners.
Key knowledge areas:
• Implement bandwidth usage monitoring
• Configure and use Snort, including rule management
• Configure and use OpenVAS, including NASL
Packet Filtering
Candidates should be familiar with the use and configuration of packet filters. This includes netfilter, iptables and ip6tables as well as basic knowledge of nftables, nft and ebtables.
Key knowledge areas:
• Understand common firewall architectures, including DMZ
• Understand and use netfilter, iptables and ip6tables, including standard modules, tests and targets
• Implement packet filtering for both IPv4 and IPv6
• Implement connection tracking and network address translation
• Define IP sets and use them in netfilter rules
• Have basic knowledge of nftables and nft
• Have basic knowledge of ebtables
• Be aware of conntrackd
Virtual Private Networks
Candidates should be familiar with the use of OpenVPN and IPsec.
Key knowledge areas:
• Configure and operate OpenVPN server and clients for both bridged and routed VPN networks
• Configure and operate IPsec server and clients for routed VPN networks using IPsec-Tools/racoon
• Awareness of L2TP