* Red Hat rolls out security education for managers of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
Red Hat Certified Engineers looking to advance their security skills may want to check out a new education and certification program coming this month from Red Hat.
The Red Hat Enterprise Directory Services Authentication course, RH423, is aimed at Linux professionals who manage networks running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. The course teaches methods for how to secure the latest version of Red Hat’s enterprise server, with such tools such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, a standard for enterprise directory frameworks, and Kerberos, a network authentication protocol that uses strong cryptographic technology.
The goal of the course is to teach Linux admins how to set up what Red Hat calls “single schema authentication.” This involves configuring a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 server to centrally authenticate users to a server and offer controlled access to network applications and data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 is the latest enterprise server offering from the Raleigh, N.C.-based open source software vendor. The new server offers higher processor scalability, larger memory capacity and better performance for applications that require multithread processing.
However, the software launch was not without some controversy. Red Hat last month announced a new support contract scheme in which Red Hat customers would have to buy a support license for each instance of Red Hat Linux they run in order to receive bug patches and software updates. The new licensing agreement also prohibits unauthorized copying of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and gives Red Hat the right to conduct on-site software audits up to a year after the agreement expires. Many say this flies in the face of the General Public License and the point of open source software.
Whatever your opinion on Red Hat’s new strategy, if you’re in charge of securing one of these new Red Hat servers, the RH423 course might be good for your company’s IT security and your career.
