Host Hardening - Brief PDF

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Host Hardening - Brief Summary ...

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Host Hardening – Brief Note Host hardening is exactly what it sounds like: the systematic strengthening of a host’s position with respect to potential security threats. Hardening is necessary because all security systems have weaknesses. That’s what antivirus and firewall systems exist for. These are part of the hardening process, but there is more to it. Host hardening involves a great level of complexity which is more than installing protection systems. The fact is that hackers get through security systems all the time. This is down to the fact that most security systems will only protect against existing threats. They become out-dated when new hacking methods are discovered because protection against these is limited. Often there is a weakness in existing software which act as entry points for hacker because of the access the software has. Some steps in the typical hardening process are systematically disabling all the services that are not specifically needed. This means that any unneeded software is uninstalled. Any communication profiles that aren’t needed are disabled. Files which don’t need to be altered are mad read-only. User access is granted to only those who need it. Install only the most up-to-date secure software. These steps should help remove any backdoors through legitimate existing software. The extra benefit of hardening a system like this is that it will make it much more efficient. There is also less potential for conflicts and errors. It’s important to know exactly what you’re doing when hardening a system which is why many companies will hire host hardening professionals to analyse and harden their systems....