Evaluation of Linux SMTP server security aspects — A case study

Abstract

Humans communication and interaction have dramatically changed in the last century with the introduction of advanced technologies. One important form of communication are electronic mails (email), as it is not only used for personal purposes but also used on a professional level. With the increase of electronic communication, spams have widely increased targeting individuals, having a doubtful intention such as stealing personal information to be misused or even to paralyze the Email system by injecting viruses. Therefore, to protect email users from spams and viruses, it is crucial to protect our SMTP server. In this paper, a case study is raised by configuring two SMTP servers and 6 different scenarios, for the purpose of evaluating and addressing email security issues. Various anti-spam and filtering techniques were highlighted and analyzed, along with reporting and visualizing functionalities to further assist system administrators to control and monitor SMTP server.