Hardening

Hardening↗ is the process of reducing a system's attack surface↗ and vulnerabilities by disabling unnecessary services, removing default accounts, applying strict configurations, and closing unused ports. It's a proactive step taken before an incident, not a reaction to one.

Common hardening steps include changing default passwords, disabling unused software, enforcing least privilege, and applying security benchmarks like those from CIS. A hardened system is simply harder to break into, even if a vulnerability↗ is later discovered.