what do you think of this course material 
Lesson 3: System Hardening
Defining System Hardening
System hardening refers to the process of securing a system by reducing its surface vulnerability. It involves implementing best practices and security measures to mitigate the potential risks and vulnerabilities present in an operating system, application, or device.
The Harden Mindset:
 	Reducing Attack Surface: Disabling unnecessary services, ports, and features minimizes possible entry points for attackers.

 	Restrict Access: Enforce strict permissions and controls to ensure only authorized users and processes can interact with the system. 

 	Monitor Activities: Continuously observe system behavior to detect and respond to suspicious or malicious actions.
Importance of hardening systems to reduce vulnerabilities: 

 	Protection of Sensitive Information: Hardening helps protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and potential data breaches.

 	Compliance with Standards: Many industries are subject to regulations (controlled by the country or region they operate in or gather information from) that require systems to be configured securely. Hardening aids in compliance with these regulations.

 	Enhances Overall Security Posture: By implementing hardening techniques, organizations can bolster their security measures and protect against both known and unknown threats.
Hardening Strategies

 	Applying Security Patches: Regularly update software and firmware to address discovered vulnerabilities since the last update and utilize automated patch management systems to minimize the time frame for applying critical updates.

 	Configuring Settings: To enhance security, change default settings like passwords and network configurations to stronger alternatives while also disabling unnecessary features and services that are not required for the system's function to minimize potential attack entry points.

 	Removing Unnecessary Services: Identify and deactivate unused services that may serve as potential access points for attackers while utilizing tools to audit running services and implementing a principle of least privilege for user permissions.
Secure Configuration Best Practices

 	Importance of Baseline Configurations: Establishing baseline configurations serves as a reference point for secure settings appropriate for organizational systems, ensuring consistency across them and providing a foundation for regular audits against this configuration.

 	Regular Audits: Conduct periodic reviews of system configurations against established baselines to identify deviations while implementing continuous monitoring solutions that automatically verify compliance with security policies.
Implementation of Controls

 	Firewalls: Implement both network-based and host-based firewalls to act as barriers between trusted and untrusted networks, controlling incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules for layered security.

 	Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Monitor network traffic for suspicious activity using both signature-based and anomaly-based detection methods to alert administrators of potential threats and ensure comprehensive coverage.

 	Access Controls: Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to ensure users have the minimum access necessary for their roles while regularly reviewing access logs and conducting access reviews to maintain security posture.


Balancing Security and Functionality
Security and functionality often exist in tension. As security controls tighten, usability and functionality may decrease. Understanding how to balance these competing priorities is critical for effective system hardening.
 	Security Classified Framework