Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 11:03:39 -0700
To: letters@lwn.net
From: Laura LeHew <laura@deer-run.com>
Subject: Call for Papers SANS 1999 Workshop On Securing Linux



Call for Papers
SANS 1999 Workshop On Securing Linux
December 15-16, 1999 
San Francisco

Deadline June 28, 1999
 
Note: Best proposal will get a free trip to San Francisco to present their
paper at the conference
 
Conference Objective
Topics 
Who Should Submit a Proposal 
How to Submit a Proposal 
Questions 
Program Sponsors
 
LINUX is winning!  Where other new operating systems failed, LINUX is 
gaining converts among users and vendors at an increasing rate, proving
that the 
community of computer users can create extraordinarily valuable tools.  At the 
same time Linux systems are the targets of a huge number of successful
attacks.  
 
There is debate over the causes of storm of Linux security incidents, but 
whether it is the operating system's immaturity or the carelessness of its 
users, continued growth demands that Linux users and the developer community 
meet the security challenges. 
 
An important initiative was launched at SANS99 in Baltimore.  Linux experts
from more than a dozen universities are jointly creating a hardened version of 
Red Hat Linux, in a project named Bastille Linux.  They are fixing the default 
configurations and adding security features so the university administrators 
will feel safer distributing Linux to students.  Information on the project
may be 
found at http://www.bastille-linux.org/ .  Every person who attends the
Securing 
Linux Workshop will be given a copy for adaptation and/or redistribution.
 
There's more that can and is being done to make Linux systems less 
vulnerable.  If you are one of the people who have developed home-grown 
solutions or are one of the developers of a more secure version of Linux, 
please submit a proposal for the Securing Linux Workshop.
 
If you have solutions (even partial ones) we welcome your input.
 
The 1999 SANS San Francisco Network Security Conference is being held 
concurrently with the Intrusion Detection & Response Training Conference, 
where the nation's top network security and intrusion detection experts, 
people like Stephen Northcutt, Gene Schultz, Randy Marchany, Ed Skoudis, 
and many more will be teaching in-depth, full-day, intense courses for 
security practitioners.

We hope that you will consider joining the Securing Linux Workshop to extend 
this tradition of quality by submitting a proposal for: 
 
A paper focused on practical solutions (2-10 pages) along with a 
presentation (25 or 50 minutes) 
 
other types of presentations (panels, demonstrations, mini-tutorials, etc. - 
15-90 minutes in length) 
 
Even if you choose not to submit a short paper and presentation, we hope you 
will join us in San Francisco on December 11 - 16, 1999 for the workshops and 
courses that you feel will be helpful in meeting your professional needs. 
Course titles and a preliminary schedule will be posted to http://www.sans.org 
around July 15, 1999. 
 
Topics
 
Any topic that you feel would provide immediate pragmatic information on 
Linux security to an assortment of researchers, practitioners, and observers 
coming to the workshop is invited.  Here are a few topic groups that might 
give you ideas, but submissions are by no means confined to these: 
 
Hardening the Operating System
 
Improving Practices and Procedures

Risks Particular to Linux Systems
 
Configuration Errors
 
Silly Things Users Do
 
Good New Tools
 
Bad Tools New or Old
 
Automating Installation to Reduce Risks
 
Network-Based Intrusion Detection
 
Host-Based Intrusion Detection
 
Vulnerability Analysis
 
 
 
Who Should Submit A Proposal and Why Should You
 
Anyone who has done useful work in improving the security of Linux systems 
is invited to submit a proposal.
 
The recognition afforded by being chosen to present some of your work can be 
a marvelous avenue of professional growth and can yield results throughout 
many aspects of your career.  If you have a solution that you would like to 
share, please consider taking the time to write it up and submit a proposal 
to SANS.  Being selected to be a part of the SANS faculty gets you more than 
just the rare ID&R-Securing Linux polo shirts.  It also conveys an
appreciation 
of the value you are contributing to the field.  
 
You don't have to be solving the largest problems in order to have your 
proposals accepted.  We are looking for a wide variety of proposals and 
encourage you to submit one even if you are not sure of its worth.  
Besides the distinctive polo shirts, authors also earn substantial discounts 
on conference and tutorial attendance.  
 
If you are a vendor, please consider joining the SANS evening vendor
presentation 
program.  Contact daragh@sans.org for opportunities to present technical
aspects of your products to SANS participants in a variety of venues. 
 
 
How To Submit A Proposal 
 
 
Send an email to laura@deer-run.com with the subject `Securing Linux
Proposal'.   

Submissions will only be accepted in any of the following formats:  PDF,
Word '97, PowerPoint '97, ASCII text, or HTML.

Deadline for submission is June 28, 1999.  
 
Please include the following items: 
 
Your Name
Preferred email
Phone
Fax
Employer
Surface mail address
 
The title of your proposed presentation
The length (25 minute presentation with 2-5 page paper or an alternative 
format). 
 
At least three paragraphs containing:
 
The specific challenges or problems the presentation will help the audience 
solve. 
 
The approach you used including any specific tools you created or used 
The evidence you have that proves that your approach works well and can be 
used by other people. 
 
SANS has made great strides in the past few years and is now recognized as 
one of the two most useful learning opportunities in the system 
administration, networking, and security field.  This year, SANS is 
introducing policies that will enable us to continue to earn quality 
accolades: 
 
All presentations focus on actual challenges faced by system administrators, 
security professionals, and network managers. 
 
All presentations provide practical solutions that can be implemented 
immediately.
 
All daytime presentations are free of vendor bias (except the panels in 
which multiple vendors are speaking together and will `correct' one another). 
 
Vendors and their representatives are welcome to present in the SANS evening 
program. 
 
All presenters will be given opportunities to ensure their presentation 
skills are the best they can be: through pre-conference training
Programs, coaching-on-request for content and speaking, and/or audio tape 
exchange.
 
Questions 
 
Please contact laura@deer-run.com with questions.
 
Program Committee Chairs
Alan Paller, The SANS Institute
Jon Lasser, University of Maryland Baltimore Campus