[Ashly Jackson]

Network hardening: Ensure your firewall is properly configured and all rules are regularly audited; secure remote access points and users; block any unused or unneeded open network ports; disable and remove unnecessary protocols and services; implement access lists; encrypt network traffic.Hardening Network Devices. Hardening network devices reduces the risk of unauthorized access into a network’s infrastructure. Vulnerabilities in device management and configurations present weaknesses for a malicious cyber actor to exploit in order to gain presence and maintain persistence within a network.Most common surface hardening methods include flame and induction hardening. In flame hardening the form of hardening is due to transformation hardening in which the surface layer is heated above the critical temperature A1 to austenitize and during subsequent quenching hard martensite is formed.Network hardening standards help guide the processes used in optimizing network security across your organization’s cybersecurity infrastructure. Within a cybersecurity program, network hardening helps mitigate security risks related to: Vulnerabilities in network configurations and devices.OS hardening usually involves patching and securing the operating system of a server. Operating system vendors, such as Microsoft, typically release updates, service packs, and patches that users can install manually or automatically. Domain controller hardening involves hardening the servers running Active Directory to reduce the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, etc., and service interruptions. Configure your firewall – Configure your firewall to only accept traffic from the ports you want. Restrict access – Leverage user roles defined in customer systems. Allow access to specific resources only to those who absolutely need them. A network switch is a hardware component responsible for forwarding data from a network to a destination endpoint through packet switching, MAC address identification, and multiport bridging systems. Network switches connect devices on a local area network (LAN) and send data packets to and from them.