Monday, June 30, 2014
Various
high-profile hacking attacks have proven that web security remains the most
critical issue to any business that conducts its operations online. Web servers
are one of the most targeted public faces of an organization, because of the
sensitive data they usually host.
Securing a web server is as important as securing the website or web
application itself and the network around it. If you have a secure web
application and an insecure web server, or vice versa, it still puts your
business at a huge risk. Your company’s security is as strong as its weakest
point.
Although securing a web server can be a daunting
operation and requires specialist expertise, it is not an impossible task. Long hours of research and save you from long nights at the office,
headaches and data breaches in the future.
Irrelevant of what web server software and operating system you are
running, an out of the box configuration is usually insecure. Therefore one must take some necessary steps
in order to increase web server security.
Below is a list of tasks one should follow when securing a web server.
1. Remove Unnecessary
Services
2. Remote access
3. Separate development
/ testing / production environment
4 .Web application
content and server-side scripting
5. Permissions and
privileges
6. Install all security
patches on time
7. Monitor and audit
the server
8. User accounts
9. Remove all unused
modules and application extensions
10. Use security tools
provided with web server software
11. Stay informed
12. Use Scanners
