Information Security Professional Exam - Server Security Keywords

1. Server Hardening (Fortification)

Basic Concepts

  • Principle of Least Privilege, Principle of Least Functionality
  • Attack Surface Reduction
  • Defense in Depth (Multi-layered Defense)
  • Sub-keywords: Risk Assessment, Baseline Configuration, Security Posture

Specific Countermeasures

  • Disabling Unnecessary Services and Closing Ports
  • Patch Management, Security Updates
  • Access Control (Firewall, ACL)
  • Sub-keywords: Change Management, Vulnerability Scanning, Configuration Hardening

Account Management

  • Deleting Unnecessary Accounts, Password Policy
  • Prohibiting Root Login, Proper sudo Configuration
  • Sub-keywords: Password Complexity, Account Lockout, Privilege Escalation Prevention

Advanced Security

  • Log Configuration and Monitoring
  • Mandatory Access Control (SELinux, AppArmor)
  • chroot Environment, Sandboxing
  • Sub-keywords: Container Security, Kernel Hardening, System Integrity

2. Web Server Security

Major Vulnerabilities

  • SQL Injection
  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
  • Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
  • Sub-keywords: Reflected XSS, Stored XSS, DOM-based XSS

Path and Session Attacks

  • Directory Traversal
  • Session Management Vulnerabilities (Session Hijacking, Fixation)
  • HTTP Header Injection
  • Sub-keywords: Path Manipulation, Session Timeout, Token-based Authentication

File Upload Vulnerabilities

  • Unrestricted File Upload
  • Remote Code Execution
  • Sub-keywords: File Type Validation, MIME Type Checking, Upload Directory Permissions

Countermeasure Technologies

  • WAF (Web Application Firewall)
  • Input Validation, Sanitization
  • HTTPS Implementation (SSL/TLS)
  • Sub-keywords: Certificate Management, Perfect Forward Secrecy, TLS 1.3

Secure Headers and Cookies

  • Secure HTTP Headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options)
  • Cookie Security Attributes (Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite)
  • Sub-keywords: Clickjacking Prevention, Content Security Policy, CORS

Error Handling

  • Proper Error Handling (Concealing Detailed Information)
  • Disabling Directory Listing
  • Sub-keywords: Custom Error Pages, Information Disclosure Prevention, Stack Trace Suppression

3. DNS Server Security

Major Threats

  • DNS Cache Poisoning
  • DNS Spoofing
  • DNS Amplification Attack (DDoS)
  • Sub-keywords: Kaminsky Attack, Birthday Attack, Reflection Attack

Zone Transfer Issues

  • Unauthorized Zone Transfer Exploitation
  • DNS Tunneling
  • Sub-keywords: AXFR Restriction, Data Exfiltration, Covert Channels

Countermeasures

  • DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) Implementation
  • Zone Transfer Restrictions
  • Recursive Query Limitations
  • Sub-keywords: Chain of Trust, Key Signing Key (KSK), Zone Signing Key (ZSK)

Rate Limiting and Architecture

  • Rate Limiting, Response Rate Limiting (RRL)
  • Separation of Authoritative and Cache Servers
  • Source Port Randomization
  • Sub-keywords: Query Flooding, Anycast, Split DNS

Maintenance

  • Regular Patch Application
  • Sub-keywords: Version Disclosure Prevention, BIND Alternatives, DNS Monitoring

4. Proxy Server Security

Types and Roles

  • Forward Proxy vs Reverse Proxy
  • Transparent Proxy vs Non-transparent Proxy
  • Sub-keywords: Load Balancing, SSL Offloading, Caching Strategy

Security Countermeasures

  • Access Control (Authentication, ACL)
  • Content Filtering
  • Logging and Monitoring
  • Sub-keywords: URL Filtering, Category-based Blocking, Whitelist/Blacklist

SSL/TLS Inspection

  • SSL/TLS Inspection
  • Cache Poisoning Countermeasures
  • Sub-keywords: Certificate Pinning, Man-in-the-Middle Detection, Encrypted Traffic Analysis

Prevention Measures

  • Open Proxy Prevention
  • Rate Limiting, Bandwidth Control
  • Virus Scanning Integration
  • Sub-keywords: Anonymous Proxy Detection, Connection Pooling, Request Throttling

Threats

  • Unauthorized Proxy Usage
  • Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM)
  • Information Leakage via Proxy
  • Sub-keywords: Proxy Chaining, Header Manipulation, Request Smuggling

5. Database Server Security

Major Threats

  • SQL Injection
  • Privilege Escalation Attack
  • Unauthorized Database Access
  • Sub-keywords: Second-order SQL Injection, Time-based Blind SQLi, Out-of-band SQLi

Data Protection Threats

  • Data Leakage
  • Backup Data Theft
  • Sub-keywords: Insider Threats, Data Exfiltration, Shadow IT

Countermeasures - Query Security

  • Prepared Statements (Parameterized Queries)
  • Stored Procedure Usage
  • Sub-keywords: ORM Frameworks, Query Whitelisting, Input Sanitization

Access Control

  • Principle of Least Privilege (User Privilege Management)
  • Deleting/Changing Default Accounts
  • Network-level Access Restrictions
  • Sub-keywords: Role-based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC), Connection Pooling

Encryption

  • Database Encryption (Transparent Encryption, Column-level Encryption)
  • Communication Encryption (SSL/TLS Connection)
  • Backup Encryption and Secure Storage
  • Sub-keywords: Key Management, Data-at-rest Encryption, Tokenization

Monitoring and Protection

  • Audit Log Recording
  • Database Firewall
  • Database Activity Monitoring (DAM)
  • Sub-keywords: Anomaly Detection, Real-time Alerting, Compliance Reporting

Other Important Items

  • Blind SQL Injection
  • NoSQL Injection
  • Data Masking
  • Sub-keywords: Dynamic Data Masking, Static Data Masking, Synthetic Test Data

Study Tips: It's important to understand these keywords and concepts, and memorize the principles and implementation methods of countermeasures for each threat. I especially recommend learning each attack technique together with its corresponding countermeasures as a set.