Linux Server Security Hardening

Linux security from the inside internal hardening generally lends itself to applications where users are allowed to execute programs within the system such as a shared hosting environment.

Linux server security hardening.

Linux server hardening security tips and checklist. Security enhanced linux selinux is a compulsory access control security mechanism provided in the kernel. What is system hardening. If you are using a cloud server then your neighbor systems might not be as friendly as the ones in your own home network.

Here are 23 security tips to guide you through hardening your linux operating system. There are many aspects to linux security including linux system hardening auditing and compliance. Linux hardening tools are typically used for configuration audit and system hardening. Hardening your linux server can be done in 15 steps.

You should install aide software before connecting the system to a network if possible. Encrypt data communication for linux server. Secure bios and disable usb booting. For greater linux server security hardening it s recommended that you use integrity checking software before you take a system into a production environment online.

Disable root console access. Think twice carefully before removing if your system is attached to internet and accessed by the public then think some more on it. Linux hardening security tips for professionals. Keep kernel and packages up to date.

The following instructions assume that you are using centos rhel or ubuntu debian based linux distribution. Users for these tools include auditors security professionals system administrators. Maintain user accounts and password policy. This could be the removal of an existing system service or uninstall some software components.

Encrypt transmitted data whenever possible with password or using keys certificates. Enable and configure firewall. Most people assume that linux is already secure and that s a false assumption. All data transmitted over a network is open to monitoring.

Read more in the article below which was originally published here on networkworld. To improve the security level of a system we take different types of measures. Don t fall for this assumption and open yourself up to a potentially costly security breach. When hardening a linux system one of the first steps is to look at the network traffic that comes in and goes out.

So it is wise to filter out unwanted network traffic or better only allow wanted traffic. Patch the operating system. Disabling selinux means removing security mechanism from the system.