It is critical to ensure that your web server is set up with the greatest level of possible security to limit the chance of a data breach or attack your firm. If your server’s security is broken, it might result in some negative outcomes, such as the injection of spam advertisements into a company website or the theft of user data intercepted and stolen through form submissions.
Now, let’s discuss the most important things you can do to protect your web server based on best practices for secure Docker solutions.
Table of Contents
Create Strong Passwords
The use of strong passwords is the first step in the process of protecting your server. The majority of security experts recommend choosing a password that is at least 12 characters long and has a mix of numbers, letters (both capital and lowercase), and special characters like apostrophes and ampersands. Furthermore, you should avoid using the same password across several platforms. It is critical to update all of your passwords regularly.
The use of a password manager is something recommended as a solution to the issue of password recollection.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication adds another layer of security to the protection of your online identity. You must offer a third authentication method in addition to your username and password to enable two-factor authentication. Biometric authentication techniques include fingerprints, retinal scans, one-time codes, and passwords that vary often (usually once every 30 seconds).
Adopt Least Privileges
It is important to work with the fewest feasible privileges. This implies restricting user permissions to those that are genuinely essential for the work at hand. For example, if a person just wants to read data from a database, they should not be able to write to the database as well. Using the privileges with the fewest limitations feasible can assist you in avoiding illegal data access.
Install Firewalls
Installing firewalls is another key step in protecting your web server from hacker access. Firewalls, which prevent any communication that seems suspicious, may safeguard your web server from malicious attacks. Your web server will be in the best possible condition if you take the extra care of keeping any firewalls you employ up to date since this will help prevent unauthorized access to your data.
Track Server Logs
A network security specialist will always do regular security checks to keep all server logs compartmentalized. After that, they will be able to examine any unusual log files or unsuccessful attempts to log in that happened on that particular day.
Automate Backup
It is hard to predict when a disaster will hit and wipe out all of the important data saved on the server. An expert network security specialist should evaluate the process of backing up data regularly to assess whether or not there is a bottleneck that causes the process to stall.
Remove Unnecessary Services
Operating system installations and settings that are left in their default condition are not secure. Many network services, such as remote registry services, print server services, RAS, and others, are often deployed as part of a standard default installation. These services will not be utilized in a web server configuration, and hence they will not be used.
When an operating system runs more services, more ports are left exposed, which implies more opportunities for malicious persons to hack the system. Turn off any unnecessary services and ensure that they are deactivated so that they do not start automatically the next time the server is restarted. Turning down unnecessary services may improve your server’s speed by freeing up certain hardware resources that were previously used.
Develop, Test, and Produce in Independent Settings
Because development and testing frequently occur on production servers, you may sometimes encounter websites or pages with specifications in the URL. Early-stage online apps often include security flaws that may be exploited using publicly accessible web tools. These flaws might be exploited by hackers.
You may reduce the likelihood of a security breach by creating and testing on servers that are not linked to the rest of the internet, as well as avoiding connecting those servers to sensitive data and databases.
Educate Your Staff
Another critical step in preventing unauthorized individuals from hacking your web server is to educate your team. You may help to ensure that your team will take the necessary actions to protect your web server by educating them on the importance of security and making them aware of its worth. Because this will assist in ensuring that your web server is as secure as possible, you should also ensure that your workforce gets regular training on the most modern security practices.
