Lab Information
During the monthly compliance meeting, it was pointed out that several servers in the Stratos DC do not have a valid banner. The security team has provided serveral approved templates which should be applied to the servers to maintain compliance. These will be displayed to the user upon a successful login.
Update the message of the day on all application servers for Nautilus. Make use of the approved template located at /home/thor/nautilus_banner on the jump host.
Lab Solutions
🧭 Part 1: Lab Step-by-Step Guidelines
1️⃣ Login to Jump Host
ssh thor@jump_host.stratos.xfusioncorp.com
Password
mjolnir123
2️⃣ Copy Banner to App Server 1
Use scp to copy the template.
scp /home/thor/nautilus_banner tony@stapp01:/tmp/
Password:
Ir0nM@n
3️⃣ Login to App Server 1
ssh tony@stapp01
4️⃣ Move Banner to MOTD
sudo mv /tmp/nautilus_banner /etc/motd
Verify:
cat /etc/motd
5️⃣ Repeat for App Server 2
From jump host:
scp /home/thor/nautilus_banner steve@stapp02:/tmp/
Password
Am3ric@
SSH:
ssh steve@stapp02
Update MOTD:
sudo mv /tmp/nautilus_banner /etc/motd
6️⃣ Repeat for App Server 3
From jump host:
scp /home/thor/nautilus_banner banner@stapp03:/tmp/
Password
BigGr33n
SSH:
ssh banner@stapp03
Update MOTD:
sudo mv /tmp/nautilus_banner /etc/motd
🧠 Part 2: Simple Explanation (Beginner Friendly)
What is a MOTD?
MOTD = Message Of The Day
It is a message shown after a user logs in to a Linux server.
Example:
Welcome to Nautilus Infrastructure
Authorized access only
It is stored in:
/etc/motd
Why companies use MOTD banners
Security compliance requires warning messages like:
Authorized users only
Activity may be monitored
This helps organizations meet security policies and legal requirements.
Why we copied the file first
The banner template exists only on the jump host:
/home/thor/nautilus_banner
But the app servers need it.
So we use:
scp
Which means:
Secure Copy (copy file between servers using SSH)
Why we moved it to /etc/motd
Linux displays the login banner by reading:
/etc/motd
So replacing this file changes the login message.
✅ Final Result
When someone logs into any app server:
ssh user@stapp01
They will see the approved Nautilus banner.
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