Protecting in layers means to protect at the host level, the application level, the operating system level, the user level, the physical level and all the sublevels in between. Securing crond service is another important factor. What is an PCI DSS Compliance and how to get the compliance? You can find below a list of high-level hardening steps that should be taken at the server level. Hardening checklists are usually lengthy, complex to understand and time-consuming to implement, even for one server, let alone a whole estate. Reducing available ways of attack typically includes changing default passwords, the removal of unnecessary software, unnecessary usernames or logins, … Production servers should have a static IP so clients can reliably find them. Hardening is primary factor to secure a server from hackers/intruders. A typical checklist for an operating system like Windows or Linux will run into hundreds of tests and settings. Hardening may refer to: . My opinion is … But we have to tune it up and customize based on our needs, which helps to secure the system tightly. Does that mean the security team should be doing it? We have to harden all loop-holes in the server in order to avoid such attempts. Server hardening helps prevent unauthorized access’ unauthorized use and disruptions in service. However, this is essential to know who can make changes to security settings and access data. This is typically done by removing all non-essential software programs and utilities from the computer. It is highly recommended to avoid installing useless packages to avoid vulnerability, also keep updated all packages/applications. ~~~~~~~ #vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config #Disable root Login PermitRootLogin no #Port 22 Port