cyber defense

[fatape0]

my college just started up a cyber defense team and we have no idea where to start.
we are the blue team which makes us defense. from what we understand we need 2 windows server admins 1 of which needs to know cli and the other needs to know active directory. 2 linix admins 1 apachie with spl and a ubuntu server. least and deferentially the weakest is windows 7 client.

what we need to know is how do they all fit together?
whats the quickest ways to harden each of these?
are there any books with labs that you recommend?
whats the quickest ways we can tell if our systems are compromised?

if we could get someone to mentor/ teach us that would be great.

 

[office politics]

what we need to know is how do they all fit together?

decide what admins responsibilities will be. identify strengths and assign the accordingly.

Firewall.
misc services. vpn, dns, db, backup&restore, wireless/wired networks

may need additional support for packet analysis

whats the quickest ways to harden each of these?

scan them with the best security scanners available. proper analysis is critical.

are there any books with labs that you recommend?

experience&practice trumps books every time. i learn more online. maybe subscription services are best. vuln dbs.

whats the quickest ways we can tell if our systems are compromised?

monitors on the inside. packet analysis. snort, ids, ips. damn good firewall equip. security scanners. prevent social attacks.