Server Security Tips

Part – II

Welcome back to the In-depth Server Security Tips To Secure Your Server Part II. In this part of the article, we will look at other best practices to secure a server.

Server Password Security:

Establish Password Requirements: 

Password requirements and rules have been set up to ensure that all members of the server follow the same rules and policies for using passwords on their servers. Passwords are not stored with reversible encryption, and empty default passwords are not allowed (empty or default passwords).

Set Password Expiration Policy:

Setting an expiry date for passwords is a usual way of setting user requirements, and passwords can take weeks or months depending on the level of security.

Use Passphrases For Server Passwords: 

There are several reasons why using a passphrase instead of a password can help increase the security of your server. Authentication is activated with two-factor authentication, an authentication key, and a user-specific password.

The main difference between the two is that passphrases do not have to belong or contain spaces between words.

Related: Server Security Tips To Secure Your Server

Dont’s:

Do not write them down, hide them in your office or store them on a hard drive or file system in a safe place like your home or office.

These are extremely easy to guess, especially for people you know personally. Hence, it is generally advisable not to use them for other things that the user can associate with the password.

After all, the same password should not be used for multiple accounts, and recycling passwords exposes you to significant risks. A password that contains only simple dictionary words is easy to crack, even if the dictionary is attacked with brute force.

Other Best Practices to Secure a Server:

Update and Upgrade Software Regularly: Regular updates to your software and servers are a critical step in protecting software from hackers. Outdated software can test for vulnerabilities, allowing hackers to exploit them and harm your system. By keeping everything up to date, you make sure you update everything to protect yourself as the first line of defense.

However, allowing your system to make such changes itself can be risky, so make sure that your Server Control Panel is updated routinely. 

Related: Domain Name Security: Essential Measures You Need to Know

Remove or Turn Off All Unnecessary Services: 

The term “cybersecurity” refers only to the absolute minimum requirements required to keep a service running. This means that a network port can easily be used by the installed components of the operating system.

A Linux OS server should only have the essential packages installed, and the less you need on the system, the better. A Windows OS server should not need more than one or two of its components, but only two or three.

Since most Linux distributions listen for incoming connections to the Internet, you should configure your firewall only to allow specific ports and reject all other unnecessary communications.

Hide Server Information: 

Trying to provide as little information as possible about the underlying infrastructure: the less you know the better. It is a good idea to hide the software installed on your servers, the name of the server, and the version number of your application.

File Auditing: 

File scanning is a great way to detect unwanted changes in your system, and you can set it up to check your daily operations, perform periodic automated scans, or decide to run IDS manually. To detect unauthorized activity, use Sophos, which monitors all your processing servers.

Service Auditing: 

Running a service on a server, communicating over a port, or running services in the background, such as a web browser or web server.

Set Up and Maintain a Firewall: 

The use of CSF (ConfigServer Firewall) is essential to enhance the security of your server. Secure the server by controlling and restricting access to the system and allowing only individual vital connections. Being aware of these peculiarities helps you to configure the attack interface of your order.

Backup Your Server: 

Although the above steps are designed to protect the server and data, it is critical to have a backup system in case something goes wrong. If you use a cloud solution, you can encrypt your backups with a third-party service such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Create Multi-Server Environments: 

Isolation is the best kind of server protection you can have, but full disconnection would require a dedicated bare-metal server that does not share components with other servers. This is the easiest to use and the most secure, but also the most expensive because of the high hardware costs and lack of data protection.

Independent database servers secure sensitive information and system files from hackers who manage to gain access to administrative accounts. 

Wrapping Up: Securing Your Server

Following addressing this article and following the security suggestions, you should be more positive in your server security.

Several of the security steps should be performed during the initial set up of the server, while others should be part of constant or periodic support. If your server monitoring is not mechanical or automatic, make sure to create and track scheduled security checks.

Related: 4 Tips For Data Security While Everyone Works From Home