Chapter 12. Securing Your Server

It seems like every week there are new reports regarding companies getting their servers compromised. In some cases, entire databases end up freely available on the Internet, which may even include sensitive user information that can aid miscreants in stealing identities. Linux is by far a very secure platform, but it's only as secure as the administrator who sets it up. Security patches are made available every day, but someone has to install them. OpenSSH is a very handy utility, but it's also the first point of entry for an attacker who finds an insecure installation. Backups are a must-have but are also the bane of a company that doesn't secure them and then the data falls into the wrong hands. In some cases, even your own employees can cause intentional or unintentional damage. In this chapter, we'll look at some of the ways in which you can secure your server from threats. Along the way, we'll cover the following...