Basic Tips For Securing Your Linux System
Linux servers are now more vulnerable than ever. Linux users could count themselves among the “lucky people” a few years ago, who didn’t have to worry about viruses and malware in their operating system, but unfortunately, that era has come to an end.
Linux servers are now seen by attackers as a viable target that frequently offers a profitable return on investment. A VPN is the best option to secure your Linux system against malicious attacks. However, choosing a suitable VPN for Linuxis very important, as we get several top VPN services; ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and more.
A VPN encrypts all internet traffic on a device and routes it through an intermediary server in the user’s preferred location. This has many advantages, including better online privacy, better security while using public wi-fi, and the ability to open geo-blocked websites, apps, and services.
Cloud Snooper, EvilGnome, GonnaCry, HiddenWasp, QNAPCrypt, FBOT, and Tycoon are some of the most infamous examples of newly developing Linux malware variants displayed novel and dangerous strategies for propagating, remaining undetected, and compromising servers.
Linux System: How Secure It Is?
Despite increased attacks onLinux servers recently, Linux continues to provide a significant security and privacy edge over proprietary operating systems like Windows or macOS.
When compared to the closed-source code of proprietary OSes, vulnerabilities are discovered and addressed relatively rapidly and reliably thanks to the open-source OS’s accessibility and the ongoing, meticulous examination that this code receives from a thriving global community of developers and security professionals.
In addition, Linux includes a variety of built-in kernel network defenses. It tightly restricts root access via a strict user privilege paradigm.
Despite the advantages of built-in security that Linux offers, the OS is nevertheless vulnerable to hacking because of frequent incorrect settings and poor service administration.
Top Tips For Optimizing The Security of Your Linux System
- Control Access with SELinux on Your System
SELinux stands for (Security Enhanced Linux) which is a great way to gain more control over your system’s access.
A technical access control system that restricts access beyond the capabilities of traditional discretionary access control methods like file permissions or access control lists, for example, there is no reason for a web browser to need access to an SSH key, so SELinux would not provide this information to the web browser.
- Concentrate on the Security Fundamentals
Misconfigurations or poor system administration are to blame for the bulk of security concerns affectingLinux systems.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advise system administrators to prioritize correcting known security flaws, particularly those used by foreign threat actors.
Since exploiting well-known defects involves fewer resources than zero-day exploits (for which fixes are not yet available) or utilizing vulnerable developed software, cybercriminals frequently start by concentrating on them.
- Network Security
Online privacy and anonymity can be well-protected by using a VPN to encrypt communication between you and your server.
VPNs ensure that your web surfing history and other online activities are essentially untraceable by hiding your internet protocol (IP) address. While working remotely, using a VPN is essential for maintaining your online safety.
The free and open-source VPN seeks to outperform its rivals (namely OpenVPN) in terms of performance and power efficiency. It runs as a Linux kernel module (LKM).
Wireguard combines the best of both worlds because it is simple to use and very powerful. Versioning of cryptography packages used by Wireguard enables the VPN to concentrate on ciphers thought to be among the most secure contemporary forms of encryption.
- Linux Kernel Runtime Guard installation
The Linux Kernel Runtime Guard (LKRG) kernel module was created by Openwall and performs runtime integrity checks on the Linux kernel to identify attempts to exploit security flaws. LKRG aims to post-detect and quickly respond to unauthorized kernel modifications.
The module should be able to block the majority of presently active and, ideally, impending Linux kernel vulnerability attacks. LKRG delivers security through diversity without the usability concerns of utilizing an atypical OS.
When a new kernel vulnerability is found, LKRG is most helpful on systems that probably won’t be instantly rebooted into fresh kernels or live-patched.
- Use Fail2ban for Brute Force Attacks Prevention
On Linux servers, brute force attacks are pretty standard. These attacks frequently succeed because there aren’t enough effective intrusion protection mechanisms.
Fail2ban is a top-notch intrusion prevention tool to protect servers against brute-force attacks.
Fail2ban keeps an eye on logs and responds to intrusion attempts by either setting up firewall rules to reject possibly malicious IP addresses for a set period or preventing access to a particular port.
- Privacy Badger Extension to Secure Your Browser
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) offers Privacy Badger, a free, open-source browser extension that stops marketers and third-party trackers from secretly monitoring your online behavior.
Privacy Badger strikes a balance between protecting consumer privacy online and protecting the interests of advertisers.
It rejects adverts and tracking cookies that violate the Do Not Track header on outbound requests.
Conclusion:
Despite the fact that there are more security and privacy risks to Linux computers than ever before, Linux users are still more secure online than their Windows and macOS-using colleagues.
Most substantial attacks on Linux systems can’t be blamed on the operating system as a whole; rather, they can be blamed on poorly configured servers and poor system administration.
Therefore, all Linux users can strengthen their cyber resilience by practicing the basic tips recommended in this article.
Check also: Media server softwares in 2022
