Security is a hot topic, and for good reason. Securing Exchange should be tops on most admins lists as the number of attack surfaces is fairly large. With the number of connection possibilities, securing Exchange can seem a little overwhelming. Thankfully, the book CYA: Securing Exchange 2003 and Outlook Web Access was written to help you secure your Exchange organization.

The problem with most security books is they focus too much on the theories and not enough on the steps you need to take to protect your systems. This book is the exact opposite! Instead of boring 5-10 page explanations on theory and possible attack points, it shows you what steps you can take to protect your Exchange server(s) now.

If you are a regular reader of TheLazyadmin.com, you are familiar with my love of screenshots. I am a visual learner and like to see how to do things. This book uses a good amount of screenshots that show you the steps to secure IMAP, POP, RPC, EAS, OWA and more. On top of the access methods, the book also covers mailbox rights, relaying, event sinks, threats, auditing and much, much more. You could spend a week on MSN Search and not find all the information contained within the 352 pages in this book.

The book is well written and easy to read and anyone familiar with Exchange and IIS will have no problem following along and using the techniques in the book to secure their Exchange organization. Fellow MVP Henrik Walther has done an excellent job taking the reader through each portion of Exchange and describing the steps to take to lock it down. The book is written is such a way that you do not need to be a security expert, or an Exchange expert to properly perform the tasks described.

I highly recommend this book to any Exchange admins who want to ensure they have their servers locked down! There is a sample chapter available over at MSExchange.org. Check it out!