Software, Network or Server?

About this interactive

A server delivers services to clients, so it has to be open to them, and that openness is a security hole. Protecting it matters for more than uptime: if malware lands on the server, every client that connects can be infected, and the organization's reputation goes with it. The lesson secures a server in three layers. The software: services are just software, so build them through a secure software development life cycle, planning, designing, developing, testing and maintaining with security in mind. The network around it: put servers on their own segment, separate the back-end database, and guard them with firewalls, a web application firewall, or a hardened bastion host or proxy out front. The server itself: a server is an endpoint, so apply everything from endpoint security, built-in technologies, hardened configuration, protective software, maintenance and monitoring. To sort a card, ask what the step changes: the code, the network around the machine, or the machine.

What you'll learn

Sort a step that protects an exposed server into the layer it secures: the software through a secure SDLC, the network around the server, or the server itself as an endpoint
Explain why a compromised server harms its clients and the organization's reputation, not only its uptime

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

4.1 Given a scenario, apply common security techniques to computing resources.

2.5 Explain the purpose of mitigation techniques used to secure the enterprise.

5.1 Summarize elements of effective security governance.

Key terms

Server Hardening: The process of securing a server by applying proper configurations, installing security software, and performing ongoing maintenance and monitoring to reduce its attack surface.
Software Development Life Cycle: Software Development Life Cycle is the structured process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying software; in security, a secure SDLC integrates threat modeling, code review, and security testing at each phase to reduce vulnerabilities before release.
Network Segmentation: The practice of dividing a network into smaller segments to improve performance and limit the spread of security threats.
Endpoint: Any device that connects to a network, including computers, smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices.
Attack Surface: The total set of points in a system where an unauthorized user can attempt to enter or extract data.

Topics

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