Essential Linux Server Hardening Steps for Production Environments Securing a Linux server is one of the most important responsibilities of a system administrator. A poorly configured server can become vulnerable to brute-force attacks, malware, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access. In this article, I will share some essential Linux server hardening steps that I usually apply after deploying a fresh Ubuntu or Debian server for production use. 1. Update System Packages The first thing I do is update all installed packages and security patches. sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode Keeping packages updated reduces security vulnerabilities and improves server stability. 2. Create a Non-Root Sudo User Using the root account directly is risky. Instead, create a separate sudo user. adduser sovrab usermod -aG sudo sovrab Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode This improves accountability and reduces direct root exposure. 3.…