How do you secure your server?

uzaysan

I'm pretty new at this topic. I have used remote server for long time. But It was for just development. And I didn't care about security. But now server may go to production. I wanna secure my server.

What do you suggest me? What do you do when you secure your server?

I changed the SSH port to different one. Added SSH key with pass pharase. What are the next steps I should take?

ViridWeb

Firewall? Maybe disabled the root and create new user with sudo?

There are may things to do. So specific answer

Or hire an Admin?

uzaysan

@ViridWeb said:
Firewall? Maybe disabled the root and create new user with sudo?

There are may things to do. So specific answer

Or hire an Admin?

Yeah. Disableing root user and create one sounds good idea. I will check for firewall.

jonesolutions

uzaysan said: But now server may go to production.

Securing a server is not just about installing firewall, disable root, etc... You think it is ok but in the background, hackers are now trying to get in to some of your sites, doing something this and that which for sure, you are not aware of. It takes a lot of effort and not just by installing something and let it run/do the work.

uzaysan

jonesolutions said: It takes a lot of effort and not just by installing something and let it run/do the work.

Yes that's why I'm asking. What can I do beyond enabling firewall or installing programs?

emmd19

With a password.

sdglhm

1. Update your system
2. block unwanted ports, if you've a static IP. lock down login to that IP
3. Use SSH-key based access. Disable password access if you can
4. Enable firewall, always try to keep SELINUX active
5. ModSecurity, ClamAV, rkhunter are a few good to have tools
6. Disable root user
7. Backup, Backup, Backup
8. Backup
9. Backup

Those are few things on top of my head atm.

cazrz

1. Use ssh keys
2. Iptables input drop all except your ips, open web port.

allen314

@sdglhm said:
1. Update your system
2. block unwanted ports, if you've a static IP. lock down login to that IP
3. Use SSH-key based access. Disable password access if you can
4. Enable firewall, always try to keep SELINUX active
5. ModSecurity, ClamAV, rkhunter are a few good to have tools
6. Disable root user
7. Backup, Backup, Backup
8. Backup
9. Backup

Those are few things on top of my head atm.

Backup is mandatory !!

RedSox

Is the password like this $(#(3fjA33399$PRPaapP44_=3941_$&%&!#$*$kff worse than using ssh keys?

pbx

@RedSox if root login is disabled it should be fine as an attacker would also have to guess the user. Don't use 'user' or 'admin' & enable fail2ban!

rcy026

What services is the server running?

Grom

Changing your ssh port is useless if you ask me.

ruben

As said, make Backups and also Test them! There is nothing worse than a Backup that you cant use.

rcy026 said: What services is the server running?

This would be important to know as well..

RedSox

@pbx said:
@RedSox if root login is disabled it should be fine as an attacker would also have to guess the user. Don't use 'user' or 'admin' & enable fail2ban!

Just added a new user, disabled a root user but chinese ips are still knocking on my cozy VPS. When I just change the ssh port from 22 to 5444 it seems the best way to make them stop, because they're looking for easy ways, not difficult ones but if a serious person wants to hack you, he'll find out your ssh port and will be knocking all day long. In that case fail2ban will be more effective, I suppose.

xaoc

@RedSox said:
Is the password like this $(#(3fjA33399$PRPaapP44_=3941_$&%&!#$*$kff worse than using ssh keys?

It's not but only if that's the ssh key password.

kmmm

• I think you have done all of this but still: https://www.linode.com/docs/security/securing-your-server/
• Lets ban blacked list ips: https://github.com/trick77/ipset-blacklist. The included list is about 80k ips. Your auth.log should be much cleaner after using this
• Monitor your server: https://hetrixtools.com. Many included: resource stats, uptime,... I suggest creating a supported method like Discord server (free in case you don't know) or Slack ... and lets Hetrix notify you.
• Hetrix may not make you feel secure enough? Setup email notify on ssh login. You can search google for it.
• Learn how crontab works so you can automatically install secure update.
• ...

uzaysan

@rcy026 said:
What services is the server running?

MongoDB, Parse Server, Minio Storage and posibly NGinx. They are on same server now but in production I will seperate them

Tr33n

Just follow the advice of Plesk, they show brand new and previously unknown ways to secure servers. Linux Server Security – Best Practices For 2020

To save you reading through the whole article, here are the most important headlines from the Plesk advisory:

• Change /boot to read-only
• Turn off IPv6 to boost Linux server security
• GnuPG encryption for web host security

cazrz

@uzaysan said:

@rcy026 said:
What services is the server running?

MongoDB, Parse Server, Minio Storage and posibly NGinx. They are on same server now but in production I will seperate them

Ah you should have included that info in your original post.

uzaysan

@Tr33n said:
Just follow the advice of Plesk, they show brand new and previously unknown ways to secure servers. Linux Server Security – Best Practices For 2020

To save you reading through the whole article, here are the most important headlines from the Plesk advisory:

• Change /boot to read-only
• Turn off IPv6 to boost Linux server security
• GnuPG encryption for web host security

Thanks I will check it out.

@cazrz said:

@uzaysan said:

@rcy026 said:
What services is the server running?

MongoDB, Parse Server, Minio Storage and posibly NGinx. They are on same server now but in production I will seperate them

Ah you should have included that info in your original post.

Actually I was asking for general system security. But you are right. Security may change based on the application

Jarry

@Tr33n said:
To save you reading through the whole article, here are the most important headlines from the Plesk advisory:

• Turn off IPv6 to boost Linux server security

If you turn off IPv4 too, you will boost linux server security even more!
LOL, what a bullsh*t...

thedp

By powering it off 😎

matlag

Don't forget a good fail2ban, as listed in the link provided by @kmmm

HostUp

I made a tutorial about this quite a while ago where I listed fail2ban, https://hostup.org/blog/how-to-secure-a-ubuntu-linux-server-in-3-simple-steps/

But really instead of using fail2ban, I would actually just use iptables.

https://www.thatsgeeky.com/2011/02/escalating-consequences-with-iptables/

It works great with repeating brute force attempts:

Offence #1 30 min
Offence #2 2 hrs
..
Offence #5+ 1 mo

If you are a hosting provider or simply running many vpses via OpenVZ 7 solusvm, for example, you can simply replace the INPUT with FORWARD like the following rules and it will apply for all forwarding ips so you don't need to add them in each VPS:

https://pastebin.com/6tDcpPiv

Pretty handy!

Tr33n

Jarry said: If you turn off IPv4 too, you will boost linux server security even more!

Yeah, that's right. Disabling IPv4, IPv6 and of course the upcoming IPv4+ protocol will be the best security measure (for him).

However, depending on how he disable the protocols, there could be still dangerous traffic, such as ARP. For the ultimate security boost I recommend to simply disable the whole interface.

sdglhm

For the ultimate security boost I recommend to simply disable the whole interface.

Still, you’re vulnerable to attacks like side channel. Bury it in a thirty feet concrete structure

sanmax88

Since you wanted a general approach, read your official OS docs, you'll discover a lot about their recommendations on security. The Unix SysAdmin book is also a good resource. Once you've the essentials down. Go to each one of your software vendors docs and do the same, especially with network-facing ones. I.e DB security can go a long way if you disable network access. Sockets and peer with postgres, for instance.

momkin

It easy to secure your server with only one command
shutdown -h now

toilettheft

@sdglhm said:

Still, you’re vulnerable to attacks like side channel. Bury it in a thirty feet concrete structure

Absolutely irresponsible. The lizard people down there will hack the sh*t out of you. NSA is also a fan of hardware mods, so better think about where you get your hardware from. An own wafer fab is the minimum.

Seriously: It depends on what this server is used for and it's value to you or your project/company. Protecting Joe Plumbers website and setting up the latest crypto coin app or the new Wikileaks server are vastly different things. When it doesn't need to be public then don't make it public. Among the other things already mentioned here and considering something which is not just a 5$ worth of value. Use apparmor or selinux to harden your app. Seccomp filters. Hide services which don't need to be public to everyone in a tunnel. This includes ssh (gives away info on your OS). Choose wireguard for tunneling. Only run software on the server which the app requieres to run. If you run any kind of web facing app make it hard for someone to figure out what program and which version is used. Customize the programs on the server to only include the functionality you need, maybe compile them yourself.
Try to pentest your server and see where it leaks. Document all the stuff you just setup. Backups!

rahoolgupta2020

1. SSH key login
2. Firewall
3. Renew password every month
4. Finally regular backups

jsg

Entertaining read ...

itfze

You also have to use LiteSpeed service for better server performance and uptime of your VPS.

Jord

I use pandas armed with bamboo.....

TimboJones

@jonesolutions said:

uzaysan said: But now server may go to production.

Securing a server is not just about installing firewall, disable root, etc... You think it is ok but in the background, hackers are now trying to get in to some of your sites, doing something this and that which for sure, you are not aware of. It takes a lot of effort and not just by installing something and let it run/do the work.

DignusData

• NCIS will help you but in real life better have good sysadmin (yes not cheap) but only human help can prevent and protect your server

TheKiller

If you turn off your server, hackers will not be able to access it.

ABCV

On a serious note, it looks like you're not too familiar so if you are planning to host client accounts then hire an admin. Ask them to do an initial server harding and optimisation.

jeparamedia

i don't know 😁

Ishu1998

Firewall + Disable Root, its all I can think of as of now.
Rest is your script's security.

cazrz

1. plan an offsite backup
2. use ssh keys
3. use non-root user
4. install persistent firewall then iptables input drop all except ..., iptables output drop all except ...
5. use reverse proxy
6. use kernel care or other rebootless kernel tools if possible
7. make sure all your web files and directories are non-wrtiable for world.
8. if it is a web server atleast only install web server or mysql/mariadb other services like emails/dns put it elsewhere.
9. do not use FTP, use sftp,scp or better yet git.

Hostkey

1. secure connection
2. SSH keys authentication
3. secure file transfer protocol
4. secure sockets layer certificates
5. private networks and VPNs
6. monitor login attempts
7. manage users
8. password requirements
9. password expiration policy
10. passphrases for server passwords
11. update and upgrade regularly
12. remove or turn off all unnecessary services
13. hide server information
14. use intrusion detection systems
15. file and service auditing
16. firewall
17. back ip
18. multi-server environments
19. virtual isolated environments

martyns

About SSH -22 Port, I would suggest you to restrict / close that port to only your IP with iptables
If you have dynamic IP, even more ranges you can do that also simply by adding /16 on the end, of course 1 static IP is best. Can't get Static IP at least not for free from your ISP?

• Then just install VPN on your VPS, and use that IP for using SSH (Port 22) Access.

ben47955

I set password to "12345" and waiting for someone to lock my server. Enjoy.

Nyr

Your vanilla, updated system is "secure" by default. Inexperienced sysadmins seem to forget that.

We then could talk about hardening specific services, but that is very specific and ample, not many generalizations can be made.

TimboJones

@ben47955 said:
I set password to "12345" and waiting for someone to lock my server. Enjoy.

And then have your server suspended, no refund.

ben47955

@TimboJones said:

@ben47955 said:
I set password to "12345" and waiting for someone to lock my server. Enjoy.

And then have your server suspended, no refund.

Yeah, this happening time to time, I don't understand why

ErawanArifNugroho

I changed my password to Password, open all ports, and wait for another person to manage it for me, so that even I couldn't login ,

serv_ee

@ErawanArifNugroho said:
I changed my password to Password, open all ports, and wait for another person to manage it for me, so that even I couldn't login ,

Free managed dedicated, noice!

pbx

ben47955 said: Yeah, this happening time to time, I don't understand why

The problem is that you don't choose your sysadmin: you will likely be lucky and find somebody taking good care of your server, but in some cases you can end up with an asshole doing nasty shit with it.

Maybe try using a longer password? I use 1234567890 and never had any VPS suspended. Sometimes bandwidth consumption is a bit too high for my taste, but what can I say? Those people secure my server for free, I'm not gonna complain!

Jord

Bamboo of course. Makes it nice and strong....