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Step 5
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If you think of your servers as your network’s
command center, it’s easy to understand why keeping them safe from attack is
mission-critical. When your servers are compromised, your entire network is at
risk. While some server attacks are merely annoying, others can cause serious
damage.
If you have a small business, you may not have
more than one or two servers. But no matter how few or how many servers your
business is running, your network relies on them. They serve the applications,
Web pages, or e-mail that your team needs to do their jobs. They store valuable
and confidential information resources. They provide a means for your customers
to communicate with you, perhaps even purchase goods or services from you. So, if your servers are down, you lose
productivity, you jeopardize customer relationships, and you may even take an
economic hit.
Basic Steps You Can Take
Many of the procedures already discussed will
help protect your servers, too. If you haven’t yet taken the steps already
outlined in this guide, make them a priority. Even if you have already addressed the security measures
discussed to this point, you can do still more to protect your servers.
Keep your servers in a safe place
Businesses must make sure that their servers
are not vulnerable to physical calamities. Locate these machines in a locked,
well-ventilated room, not in a hallway or under a desk. Servers should never be
used as workstations. Your server room should have no windows and a single door
you can lock. Server cases should also be locked to prevent tampering with
internal components. Know which employees have keys to the server room. You
should also keep a record of the serial numbers of your servers and mark the
machines with your company information so that they can be identified and
recovered if stolen.
Practice least privilege
The principle of least privilege dictates that
users should be given only the permissions they need to do their jobs, but no
more permissions than that. With Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, and Small Business Server
2003, it is possible to assign users different permission levels to local and
network resources. Rather than giving all users Administrator access—which is
not a best practice for maintaining a secure environment for workstations or servers—you
should use your servers to manage client computers. Windows servers can be
configured to give individual users access to specific programs only and to
define which user privileges are allowed on the server. In this way, you ensure
that users can’t make changes in areas that are critical to server or
workstation operation. It also prevents users from installing software that may
introduce a virus or spy ware to their computers, which in turn can compromise
the integrity of your entire network.
Understand your security options
Today’s server operating systems are more
secure than ever, but the powerful security settings you find in Windows Server
System products are good only if they are used appropriately and monitored
aggressively. If your team doesn’t have an IT specialist or expertise in
security issues, consider hiring an outside consultant to help appropriately
protect your servers.
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