Audit Your Linux Box
Core Technology
Look for intruders and study the health of your system with Linux auditing tools.
No one enjoys being tracked. In Free Software and Linux, we take privacy very seriously. Yet, we sometimes set surveillance cameras to watch the back yard. We hardly ever look at the recordings, unless things go wrong. Then we could use videos to learn who broke that window.
Audit in Linux works much the same way. It captures security-related events, such as file access, system calls, user logins, or system reboots. Then it stores these logs safely and lets you search through them. This process doesn't add any security by itself, but it helps to track intruders. Having this is a prerequisite to Common Criteria certification, and it's a good way to peek into the system's operation for learning, fun, and profit.
The Big Picture
The Linux audit framework spans multiple components, both in userspace and in the kernel (Figure 1).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.