This is a question I get in just about every admin or security class I teach. The
problem is that there is not a really universal answer, as the requirements vary from
state to state and are subject to interpretation. If you want to search the laws of
each state, the best reference I have found is:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/statutes.html
SF has many of the state laws online in the Library section, but are often WAY out of
date and because of how they are formatted, it is impossible to print them without
loosing text.
I have discussed this issue with several "high-tech-savy" attornies. The concensis is:
1) Never say "WELCOME" in your login banner or ANYWHERE else!
2) BEFORE giving a login prompt, you should say something along the lines of:
name-of-organization-who-owns-the-system
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS IS PROHIBITED
VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED
3) AFTER processing the login (or at the password prompt on a GUI), you should
say something along the lines of:
name-of-organization-who-owns-the-system
THIS SYSTEM MAY BE USED ONLY BY AUTHORIZED USERS FOR
AUTHORIZED PURPOSES
USE FOR UNAUTHORIZED PURPOSES IS PROHIBITED
IF YOU ARE NOT AN AUTHORIZED USER, LOGOUT NOW
VIOLATORS OF THESE POLICIES WILL BE PROSECUTED
It is a REAL P-I-T-A to accompolish the above on a Windows box, but trivial on most
Unix/Linux boxes. In Unix:
1) For console/telnet/etc login (DISABLE ALL R* COMMANDS!) you should:
a) put #2 into /etc/issue
b) put #3 into /etc/motd
or equivalent files on some version of UNIX (above works on Solaris)
2) For CDE login you should edit /usr/dt/config/C/Xresources (or equivalent
file) and change the "Greeting" lines. Use '\n' to separate lines. Don't forget to
uncomment the standard template if you do not already have local mods in place.
3) For other GUIs, make similar changes to the Xresources file for the login
server.
4) You should also disable the "O/S IDENTIFIER" on daemons with logins, such
as ftpd and telnetd, and replace it with "UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS IS PROHIBITED" text. In
Solaris, do this in /etc/default/telnetd and /etc/default/ftpd (see man pages). Other
O/Ses may or may not allow similar changes.
Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Jon R. Kibler
Systems Architect
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Advanced Systems Engineering Technology, Inc.
389 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite 205
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464-2969 (Charleston)
USA
Phone: (843) 849-8214
Fax: (843) 849-8215
