Host Integrity Monitoring Using Osiris and Samhain
Brian Wotring | 2005-07-17 00:00:00 | Syngress | 450 | Hacking
This book will walk the reader through the process of preparing and deploying open source host integrity monitoring software, specifically, Osiris and Samhain. From the configuration and installation to maintenance, testing, and fine-tuning, this book will cover everything needed to correctly deploy a centralized host integrity monitoring solution. The domain includes home networks on up to large-scale enterprise environments.
Throughout the book, realistic and practical configurations will be provided for common server and desktop platforms. By the end of the book, the reader will not only understand the strengths and limitations of host integrity tools, but also understand how to effectively make use of them in order to integrate them into a security policy.
* Brian Wotring is the creator of Osiris. He speaks and writes frequently on Osiris for major magazines, Web sites, and trade shows. And, the book can be prominently marketed from the Osiris Web site
* This is the first book published on host integrity monitoring, despite the widespread deployment of
Osiris and Samhain
* Host Integrity Monitoring is the only way to accurately determine if a malicious attacker has successfully compromised the security measures of your network
Reviews
This is a solid introduction to Samhain and Osiris. It stars slow with an introduction to the topic and some chapters on process and specification that feel more management level in style. Then there are the chapters that cover the monitoring tools from installation through setup and continued use. The book is well written, but it could use some more illustrations. In particular in the tools chapters which are really at the heart of the book.
Reviews
The information necessary for you to understand the what, why, and how of host integrity monitoring, can be found in this book. Authors Brian Wotring, Bruce Potter, Rainer Wichmann and Marcus Ranum, have done an outstanding job of providing you with a book that walks you through the entire process of establishing host integrity monitoring, including the fundamentals, understanding threats, planning, deployment, administration and response.
Wotring, Potter, Wichmann and Ranum begin by revealing everything that is involved in maintaining the integrity of your hosts. Next, the authors explore the many areas of the host environment with respect to establishing an effective host integrity monitoring system (HIMS). Then, they examine some of the most common threats to the integrity of a host environment. The authors continue by walking you through the process of planning the deployment of a HIMS. In addition, the authors next introduce you to Osiris and Samhain. They also provide in-depth practical information about how to properly deploy, configure, and administer the Osiris HIMS. The authors next deal with life after deployment. Finally, they outline some progressive techniques that can be used to strengthen and fine-tune your host integrity monitoring deployment.
With the preceding in mind, the authors have done an excellent job of providing the readership with a book that shows what is involved in planning and deploying an effective host integrity monitoring system. At the end of the day, you'll learn the importance of monitoring various elements of the host environment, how to plan for deployment, and how to interpret and respond to integrity violations.
Reviews
Host integrity monitoring is the process by which system and network administrators validate and enforce the security of their systems. This can be a complex suite of approaches, tools, and methodologies, and it can be as simple as looking at loggin output. In the past, tools like Tripwire were used to check the configurations on hosts. The freeware version of this tool was limited in its manageability, which was available mainly in the commercial version.
Tools like Osiris and Samhain came along to fill the gap and have since evolved into mature projects themselves. Like any existing software tool out there, any new book should be evaluated not only on its own but also in he context of the existing documentation. Both Osiris and Samhain have decent amounts of documentation available already (Samhain seems to have a larger user documentation repository online than the Osiris tool does), and the book contributes to these docs quite well.
Host Integrity Monitoring shows you how to set up these tools and put them into production on Windows, UNIX, and OS X. Wotring's writing is fairly good, and his examples are usually pretty clear. The pace of the material is good, and there's not a whole lot of domain-specific expertise beyond system administration skills required to make use of the book. At times some of the formatting of the text gets in the way, but that's trivial compared to the quality of writing (which is pretty good).
Overall the material in the book is decent. The book opens with an overview of what host integrity monitoring is, why you should use it, and some of the basic premises. Then it goes on to discuss Samhain and Osiris, starting with their basic installation and then on to their advanced usage. They differ enough that each project merits its own pieces of documentation, even though they're similar in spirit. You'll learn how to schedule scans, integrate with other tools like Swatch, and in general administer a site installation.
The author of the book, Brian Wotring, is also the author of Osiris and is clearly more familiar with Osiris than he is with Samhain. More material (100 pages) is devoted to using Osiris than is given to Samhain (60 pages), which is to be expected. The coverage of both is sufficient, though, and fills the major parts of the book.
There are three major strengths to this book over the existing docs. The first is seeing not just the tools themselves covered but also the threats they cover in place. The second is having the two tools covered side by side, allowing you to see how to accomplish the same task with each. And thirdly, there are two appendices that are true gems of this book. The first covers how to get your Linksys Linux based AP device monitored using the Osiris tool, which isn't a small feat. The second is how to write your own modules for Osiris and Samhain, for which this appears to be the only documentation for Osiris (Samhain's website has a How To on writing modules). Again, these add value to the book over the freely available documentation.
I would have liked to have seen the chapters devoted specifically to Osiris and Samhain, chapters 6 (Osiris) and 7 (Samhain) broken up into two or three chapters covering their installation and use. The length of these chapters can make finding some material difficult at times. I would have also have liked to see the use of the "bold is input, normal text is output" technical book convention. In many examples finding the user input text can be challenging.
Host Integrity Monitoring Using Osiris and Samhain is not only about these tools but about how to accomplish host integrity monitoring on the cheap (since the code is freely available). While you can find docs on each project, this book complements those docs nicely and provides a nicely wrapped package about how to get the most out of each tool. If you've been thinking about how to ensure that no one is tampering with your system, these tools, and this book, should definitely make your solutions list.
Reviews
Host Integrity Monitoring Using Osiris and Samhain (HIM) is an excellent book on a frequently overlooked security discipline. Most people who hear about host integrity monitoring nod their heads and agree that performing it is a good idea. These same people usually don't implement HIM, and frequently cannot count the number of hosts, operating systems, and applications working in their enterprise. Thankfully, HIM provides a way to use open source tools to help remedy this situation. Consistent with the Visible Ops methodology, HIM provides guidance on how to keep track of host integrity.
When writing HIM, author Brian Wotring could have easily concentrated on the program he coded -- Osiris. Luckily for readers, Brian chose to address his program and another open source host integrity monitor -- Samhain. By comparing and contrasting these two programs, readers learn more about each and understand the capabilities and limitations of each application's approach to the HIM problem. Consistent with this dual methodology, Brian explains how to install Osiris on both Unix and Windows platforms. (Samhain is mainly a Unix solution.)
The first third of the book provides background information on HIM rationales and planning. I was initially inclined to skip ahead, but I found the explanations of monitoring various system elements to be helpful. Brian's view of security closely mirrors my own, but he approaches it from a host-centric view. He still accepts that prevention eventually fails and that preparation for incident response is a necessity, not a luxury. Brian also correctly uses the term "threat" and recognizes threats are not vulnerabilities. Bravo.
The middle third and some of the final third of the book deal exclusively with installing and configuring Osiris and Samhain. The instructions are wise and very thorough. I was impressed by guidance on how to compile and install Osiris on Windows from source, using MinGW and MSYS. I also liked the book's frequent use of FreeBSD as a Unix reference platform.
I found a few minor issues with HIM, and one major drawback that prevented a five star review. First, I disagree with the statement on p 19 that "most attacks originate from within the network by authorized users." The annual CSI/FBI study has repeatedly shown this to not be true; rather, insider attacks, when they do occur, are typically more damaging that those perpetrated by outsiders. Second, I found some minor rough editing, e.g. "Nimbda" repeatedly used in place of "Nimda." Third, and most important, it would have been extremely helpful to have shown case studies of Osiris and Samhain in action when detecting configuration changes and/or intrusions. I left the book with a lot of ideas on installation and configuration, but it would have been helpful to see case studies on using host-based data to identify intrusions.
I am adding HIM to my recommended reading list for system administrators. HIM gives administrators the documentation and theory they need to add another critical tool to their security arsenal. I would like to see a second edition that adds case studies, and perhaps chapters on using Radmind for open source change management.
Reviews
What a breath of fresh air! Wotring and Potter take the reader from a definition of integrity monitoring and fundamental principles to the pragmatic "how to" implement a monitoring capability - step by step. They clearly have a wealth of experience shown by their tips on what to do and what not to do. If you are considering Osiris or Samhain, this book is invaluable! The time you save and the capability you develop will pay for the book many times over!
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