System hardening is a natural and obvious way to improve the security of a system. When is it worth doing, and how can it help?
What is server hardening?
Hardening is a security process whose main goal is to shrink the attack surface. How complex the process is depends on the size of the system being hardened. In other words, it’s easier to secure a system that performs a single function than a multi-purpose one used for many different tasks.
What does hardening a system involve?
Server hardening is about configuring servers in a way that minimizes the risk of an outside attack and the impact of malware on users. To do this, the state of critical components in both operating systems and devices is reviewed. This review and reconfiguration can cover several types of assets, such as:
- Windows systems
- Linux systems
- network devices
Server hardening is, above all, about minimizing the risk of a breach into your system. In practice, this means scanning and carefully analyzing the current state of the system and configuring it so that the risk of attack is reduced to a minimum at every level. The work carried out during this process includes both analysis and reporting.
Server security
Effective hardening can deliver a wide range of results and changes aimed at keeping your company running without interruption. Hardening is handled most effectively by experts who deliver security at the highest level and minimize potential losses from attacks to the absolute minimum. Attempting this process on your own can be highly risky, and as a result, ineffective. If you care about the full security of your website, it’s also worth looking into a server administration service. This gives you confidence that the risk of failures that could bring your company’s operations to a standstill has been eliminated.
A plan for hardening
The actions taken during this process should be carefully planned and cover a range of areas, including:
- system and software updates
- disabling unnecessary services
- closing unused ports
- uninstalling unnecessary programs
- disabling unnecessary protocols
- changing default credentials
- protecting data at rest and in transit
Server hardening is a fight against cybercrime, which is why it’s worth trusting it to experts. If you want to enjoy the highest level of security, it’s worth looking into services that will defend your site against all kinds of attacks and failures.