4 Lessons I Learned About Security

     In my years as a system administrator, I learned that security is much more complex than most people realize. You cannot get away with doing just one thing. One security measure will not save your company server or external server. Your security must be comprehensive and constantly adapting to defend against intruders. 

The following are three lessons I have learned over the years.
       1. A firewall is not enough – This is the perfect example of a single security measure that will not get the job done. Firewalls protect your internal network and may save you from the most basic forms of attack, but cyber criminals are always thinking of new ways to get in and do damage. A firewall cannot protect you from OS and application vulnerabilities anymore than a bullet-proof vest will protect you from a cold.
       2. Attackers love the /tmp directory – Lock this directory down. It will save you from endless headaches and grief. Attackers love to exploit weaknesses in your system and then drop their scripts into /tmp where they can do more damage or attack other servers.
       3. A server hack can go unnoticed – We often assume that any attack on a server will bring it to its knees or at least send up a red flag. In reality, most are subtle, and a hacker may use your server to do something inconspicuous like running an unauthorized chat server. You must be proactive to catch them when they first make their attempt.
       4. Also known as Server hardening, OS hardening and Windows hardening; Operating System hardening is the act of reducing the amount of attack points on a computer by streamlining the running software and services down to the bare minimum required. The benefits of OS hardening: by uninstalling or disabling software that is not actually required you are reducing the routes into your PC that a potential attacker or malicious software can exploit. Security patches for Windows are released every month and it soon becomes a never ending process of having to install new patches for newly discovered security vunerabilities. By reducing the amount of software you have installed you reduce the amount of patching you need to do.
     There are more lessons, not all related to security, that I will share over time on this blog. Hopefully, they will help those new to dedicated servers save time and money.