conversion from Zola to Weblorg

1 files changed, 0 insertions, 345 deletions

diff --git a/content/blog/2022-03-24-server-hardening.md b/content/blog/2022-03-24-server-hardening.md
deleted file mode 100644
index ffe01d4..0000000
--- a/content/blog/2022-03-24-server-hardening.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,345 +0,0 @@
-+++
-date = 2022-03-24
-title = "Hardening a Public-Facing Home Server"
-description = ""
-draft = false
-+++
-
-# Post Updates
-
-> After reviewing this post today (2022-10-04), I noticed quite a few gaps in my
-> write-up and wanted to add a few things, even though this blog is really just
-> a retrospective and knowledge dump for myself. I left things intact and simply
-> crossed them out (~~like this~~) for posterity.
-
-# Planning Data Flows & Security
-
-## My Personal Data Flow
-
-```txt
-                                                          ┌───────┐   ┌─────────────────┐
-                                                       ┌──► VLAN1 ├───► Private Devices │
-                                                       │  └───────┘   └─────────────────┘
-┌──────────┐   ┌────────┐   ┌──────────┐   ┌────────┐  │
-│ Internet ├───► Router ├───► Firewall ├───► Switch ├──┤
-└──────────┘   └────────┘   └──────────┘   └────────┘  │
-                                                       │  ┌───────┐   ┌───────────────┐
-                                                       └──► VLAN2 ├───► Public Server │
-                                                          └───────┘   └───────────────┘
-```
-
-## Thought Process
-
-To serve content from your home server and harden your security posture, you
-have to think about the transport of data from `server` to `client`.
-
-Let's start with the actual server itself. Think about the following:
-
--   Do I have a firewall enabled? Do I need to update this to allow new ports or
-    IPs?
--   Do I have an IPS/IDS that may prevent outside traffic?
--   Do I have any other security software installed?
--   Are the services hosted inside Docker containers, behind a reverse proxy, or
-    virtualized? If so, are they configured to allow outside traffic?
-
-Once the data leaves the server, where does it go? In my case, it goes to a
-managed switch. In this case, I asked the following:
-
--   What configurations is the switch using?
--   Am I using VLANs?
-    -   Yes, I am using 802.1Q VLANs.
--   Are the VLANs configured properly?
-    -   Yes, as shown in the Switch section below, I have a separate VLAN to
-        allow outside traffic to and from the server alone. No other devices,
-        except for a service port, and in that VLAN.
-
-At this point, the data has been processed through the switch. Where does it go
-next? In my case, it's pretty simple: it goes to the router/modem device.
-
--   Does my ISP block any ports that I need?
-    -   This is an important step that a lot of people run into when
-        self-hosting at home. Use an online port-checker tool for your IP or
-        call your ISP if you think ports are blocked.
--   Is there a router firewall?
-    -   Yes, I checked that it's configured to allow the ports I need to run my
-        services publicly. Common web servers and reverse proxies require ports
-        80 and 443, but other services like media servers or games can require
-        unique ports, so be sure to check the documentation for your service(s).
--   Are there any other settings affecting inbound/outbound traffic?
-    -   Schedules or access blocks
-    -   Static Routing
-    -   QoS
-    -   Port Forwarding
-    -   DMZ Hosting
-    -   Remote Management (this can sometimes mess with services that also
-        require the use of ports 80 and 443)
-
-Once the data leaves my router, it goes to the upstream ISP and can be accessed
-publicly.
-
-### Server
-
-+The services I run on my server are installed straight into the OS, without any
-use of Docker or VMs, so I don't need any extra application configuration to
-make them accessible to the outside world.+
-
-As of 2022-10-04, the paragraph above is no longer true as I now run a reverse
-proxy with Nginx and host many services inside Docker. However, it doesn't
-change anything regarding this post as I still just need to open ports 80 & 443
-and create the necessary website configuration files.
-
-When creating new services - either installed directly on bare metal or within
-something like Docker - I ensure that I read through the documentation
-thoroughly to understand a few key things: - What network activities should this
-app perform (if any)? Using which ports and protocols? - Does this app require
-any commands/services to be run as `root`? - Does this app log errors,
-authentication failures/successes, or anything else that would be useful for an
-investigation?
-
-For extra security, I use limit all incoming connections to SSH connections
-through my server firewall (`ufw`) and disable common SSH settings. After all of
-that, I use `fail2ban` as a preventative measure against brute-force login
-attempts.
-
-As another piece of security, you can randomize your SSH port to ensure that
-random scanners or attackers can't easily try to force their way into your
-network. For example, you can edit the port rules in your server to block all
-connection requests to port `22` but forward all remote connections from port
-`12345` to your server's port `22`. Then you just need to SSH to your network
-via your randomized port.
-
-## `ufw`
-
-To see how to configure `ufw`, see my other post: [Secure Your Network with the
-Uncomplicated
-Firewall](../secure-your-network-with-the-uncomplicated-firewall/).
-
-The general notion with an on-device firewall is that you want to deny all
-incoming connections by default and then selectively open certain ports for
-services or users that you know need access.
-
-If you know that you will only be logging into this server from a certain set or
-list of IPs, you can always set the firewall to only allow connections to port
-22 from those IPs.
-
-For a quick start to only allow SSH connections to the server, use this:
-
-```sh
-sudo ufw default deny incoming
-sudo ufw default allow outgoing
-sudo ufw allow 22
-sudo ufw enable
-```
-
-## `ssh`
-
-1.  Using SSH Keys
-
-    First, make sure you have an SSH keypair generated on the device(s) that
-    you'll be using to log in to the server. If you don't have an SSH key, run
-    this command:
-
-    ```sh
-    ssh-keygen
-    ```
-
-    Now that we have an SSH key, copy it to the server with the following
-    command, which will ask for the user's password before accepting the key:
-
-    ```sh
-    ssh-copy-id my_user@my_server
-    ```
-
-    If you have multiple keys, you'll need to specify which to use. After it's
-    complete, `ssh` back into the server as that user and make sure it doesn't
-    ask for a password.
-
-2.  Disable Password & Root Authentication
-
-    Now that we can access the server without a password, we will disable
-    password authentication and disable anyone from using `ssh` to login as
-    `root`.
-
-    To do this, open the `sshd_config` file:
-
-    ```sh
-    sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-    ```
-
-    You'll need to update the parameters to the values below. If one of these
-    rules is commented-out or doesn't exist, create the rule at the bottom of
-    the file.
-
-    ```config
-    PermitRootLogin no
-    PasswordAuthentication no
-    PubkeyAuthentication yes
-    ```
-
-    Finally, restart the `ssh` service:
-
-    ```sh
-    sudo systemctl restart sshd.service
-    ```
-
-    To test that everything's working so far, open ANOTHER terminal and try
-    logging in as `root` over SSH. It is very important that you keep your
-    current SSH session open and test with an additional session, or you will
-    lock yourself out at some point and will need to use a recovery method
-    (e.g., hooking monitor up to home server) to get yourself back in.
-
-3.  Enable MFA for `ssh`
-
-    This part is optional, but I highly recommend it. So far, we've ensured that
-    no one can log into our user on the server without using our secret key, and
-    we've ensured that no one can log in remotely as `root`. Next, you can
-    enable MFA authentication for `ssh` connections.
-
-    This process involves editing a couple files and installing an MFA package,
-    so I will not include all the details in this post. To see how to configure
-    MFA for `ssh`, see my other post: [Enabling MFA for
-    SSH](../enable-totp-mfa-for-ssh/).
-
-## `fail2ban`
-
-I haven't written a post on how I use `fail2ban`, but it's quite simple. I use
-the default `sshd` jail, but you can always create new jails for respective
-applications or ports. For example, if you use Nginx as your web server, you can
-use the `nginx-http-auth` jail.
-
-In order to get it up and running, use the following commands:
-
-```sh
-sudo apt install fail2ban
-sudo fail2ban-client start sshd
-sudo fail2ban-client status sshd
-```
-
-This should be used as a last-resort defense and shouldn't be a replacement for
-the security measures mentioned above.
-
-# Switch
-
-Between the router and any local devices is my managed switch, which is used to
-create VLANs. The example below shows how I would isolate the VLANs if I were
-starting to host a single service at home.
-
-## 802.1Q VLAN Configuration
-
-In this configuration, port 8 is the public server that needs to be accessed
-from the outside. Port 23 is my 'dedicated service port' for this server. In
-order to SSH to this server, I need to plug my laptop into port 23 or else I
-cannot SSH. Otherwise, I'd need to hook up a monitor and keyboard directly to
-the server to manage it.
-
-|
-
-| VLAN ID | VLAN Name | Member Ports | Tagged Ports | Untagged Ports |
-| ------- | --------- | ------------ | ------------ | -------------- |
-| 1       | Default   | 1-24         | 1-24         |                |
-| 2       | Server    | 1,8,23       | 1,8,23       |                |
-
-## 802.1Q VLAN PVID Setting
-
-Once the VLAN is created, I simply add the `VLAN ID` of `2` as the `PVID` for
-any related ports (in this case, see that ports `8` and `23` have a PVID of
-`2`).
-
-| Port | PVID |
-| ---- | ---- |
-| 1    | 1    |
-| 2    | 1    |
-| 3    | 1    |
-| 4    | 1    |
-| 5    | 1    |
-| 6    | 1    |
-| 7    | 1    |
-| 8    | 2    |
-| 9    | 1    |
-| 10   | 1    |
-| 11   | 1    |
-| 12   | 1    |
-| 13   | 1    |
-| 14   | 1    |
-| 15   | 1    |
-| 16   | 1    |
-| 17   | 1    |
-| 18   | 1    |
-| 19   | 1    |
-| 20   | 1    |
-| 21   | 1    |
-| 22   | 1    |
-| 23   | 2    |
-| 24   | 1    |
-
-# Router
-
-On my router, the configuration was as easy as opening the firewall settings and
-unblocking the ports I needed for my services (e.g., HTTP/S, Plex, SSH, MySQL,
-etc.).
-
-_Since I'm relying on an ISP-provided modem/router combo for now (not by
-choice), I do not use any other advanced settings on my router that would
-inhibit any valid traffic to these services._
-
-The paragraph above regarding the ISP-owned router is no longer accurate as I
-now use the Ubiquiti Unifi Dream Machine Pro as my router. Within this router, I
-enabled port forwarding/firewall rules, segregate the network based on the
-device, and enable traffic restrictions (e.g., silently drop traffic from
-certain countries and threat categories).
-
-If you have the option with your ISP, I recommend using a personal router with
-software that you are familiar with so that you can explore all the options
-available to you.
-
-# Physical Security
-
-One large piece of self-hosting that people generally don't discuss online is
-physical security. However, physical security is very important for everyone who
-hosts a server like this. Exactly _how_ important it is depends on the server
-use/purpose.
-
-If you self-host customer applications that hold protected data (HIPAA, GDPR,
-COPPA, etc.), then physical security is extremely important and cannot be
-ignored. If you simply host a blog and some hobby sites, then it's a relatively
-minor consideration, but one you still need to think about.
-
-## Location
-
-The first consideration is quite simple: location.
-
--   Is the server within a property you own or housed on someone else's
-    property?
--   Is it nearby (in your house, in your work office, in your neighbor's garage,
-    in a storage unit, etc.)?
--   Do you have 24/7 access to the server?
--   Are there climate considerations, such as humidity, fires, tornadoes,
-    monsoons?
--   Do you have emergency equipment nearby in case of emergency?
-
-## Hardware Ownership
-
-Secondly, consider the hardware itself:
-
--   Do you own the server in its entirety?
--   Are any other users able to access the server, even if your data/space is
-    segregated?
--   If you're utilizing a third party, do they have any documentation to show
-    responsibility? This could be a SOC 1/2/3 report, ISO compliance report,
-    internal security/safety documentation.
-
-## Physical Controls
-
-Regardless of who owns the hardware, ensure that there are adequate safeguards
-in place, if necessary. These usually don't apply to small home servers and are
-usually covered already if you're utilizing a third party.
-
-These can include:
-
--   Server bezel locks
--   Server room locks - physical, digital, or biometric authentication
--   Security cameras
--   Raised floors/lowered ceilings with proper guards/gates in-place within the
-    floors or ceilings
--   Security personnel
--   Log sheets and/or guest badges