--- title: Operating System Security description: Operating system security involves protecting system resources, data, and processes from unauthorized access and threats. Learners will understand access control mechanisms, authentication protocols, kernel-level security, and how to mitigate vulnerabilities within an operating system. category: programming-tech subcategory: operating-systems difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/operating-system-security --- # Operating System Security Operating system security involves protecting system resources, data, and processes from unauthorized access and threats. Learners will understand access control mechanisms, authentication protocols, kernel-level security, and how to mitigate vulnerabilities within an operating system. ## Available Resources 1 Videos • 1 Books • 2 Courses • 2 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Kernel Documentation: Security The Linux kernel's own documentation on its security subsystems, maintained alongside the source. Covers Linux Security Modules, the keyring, credentials, TPM and IMA integrity measurement, self-protection hardening, and vulnerability reporting, explaining how the kernel enforces access control and resists exploitation. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/security/ **Tags:** linux-kernel, linux-security-modules, kernel-hardening, access-control, documentation ### 2. OWASP Foundation Nonprofit foundation publishing open web application security standards and guides, including the OWASP Top Ten, the Application Security Verification Standard, the Web Security Testing Guide and the Cheat Sheet Series, used to identify, test for and prevent common web vulnerabilities. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://owasp.org **Tags:** owasp-top-ten, application-security, secure-coding, vulnerability-testing, web-vulnerabilities ## Videos ### 1. Running a Buffer Overflow Attack - Computerphile Computerphile's Mike Pound demonstrates a stack buffer overflow on Linux, overwriting a return address to spawn a shell. Viewers come away understanding how the call stack is laid out, why unchecked copies are dangerous, and what shellcode and NOP sleds do. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S0aBV-Waeo **Tags:** buffer-overflow, memory-corruption, exploitation, shellcode, computerphile ## Courses ### 1. Computer Systems Security (MIT 6.858) **Author:** Nickolai Zeldovich Design and implementation of secure computer systems based on research papers: threat models, attacks, privilege separation, capabilities, sandboxing, information flow control, and network, hardware and web security. 22 lecture videos, notes, labs and exams with solutions teach how to build defensible systems. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-858-computer-systems-security-fall-2014/ **Tags:** systems-security, privilege-separation, capabilities, sandboxing, web-security, information-flow-control ### 2. Cybersecurity Roles, Processes & Operating System Security Seven-week IBM introductory course covering security team roles, ITIL service management processes, the CIA triad, authentication and access control, and security features of Windows, Linux and macOS, plus virtualization and cloud basics. Learners can describe how organisations structure and apply operating system security. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/cybersecurity/ibm-cybersecurity-roles-and-operating-system-security **Tags:** cybersecurity, operating-system-security, access-control, cia-triad, itil ## Books ### 1. Practical UNIX and Internet Security **Author:** Simson Garfinkel, Gene Spafford O'Reilly's classic second edition (1996) on securing Unix systems connected to the Internet. Covers users and passwords, file permissions, logging, network services, firewalls, and incident response, giving administrators a durable mental model of Unix security even though specific tools are now dated. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1565921488?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, technology-computer-science, operating-systems --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/operating-system-security