Securing Solaris Servers Using Host-based Firewalls

This paper will cover the addition of security to several Solaris servers through the use of host-based firewall software. The servers reside on an unsecured university network. I will attempt to detail the choices that were made in the selection of the firewall software as well as its installation and configuration. I will conclude with a comparison of the vulnerability assessments from before and after. First, I'll describe the topology of the network, and then I'll describe the various servers and their roles on the network. These two pieces of information will set the stage for a discussion of the current security stance of the computers to be protected. I'll talk about the threats, risks, and vulnerabilities that face each machine. Next will be a discussion of the reasons for implementing a firewall setup. Finally, the details of the setup as well as before and after assessment of the servers will be presented.