Best Practices for Security in SSH
09.10.2020
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Secure Shell (abbreviated as SSH) is a network protocol that aims to offer an extra layer of protection. In this article, we will discuss how you can ensure the security of your network using SSH. Keep reading to learn more!
With the advancements in technology, many business processes we carry out today heavily relies on the internet, online tools and connected devices. That is why taking the necessary precautions to ensure the network security has utmost importance: If/when an organization fails to secure their network, they are open to cyber attacks which can result in data breaches, losing digital assets, losing business and even going out of business.
In this article, we will discuss SSH (Secure Shell), why it is important for the network security practices and what you can do to secure SSH. Keep reading to learn!
SSH (also known as the Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell) can be defined as a cryptographic network protocol. SSH aims to give the users (mostly the system administrators) a secure means to reach a computer within a network.
Although SSH is often used for applications like remote login, remote command line and remote command execution, almost all network services can be secured with the use of SSH.
Secure Socket Shell employs the public-key cryptography methods in order to carry out authentication processes for the remote computer. You can opt for various different ways to use SSH -for instance you can first encrypt your network connection by using automatically generated key pairs (public-private key pairs), then you can go for password authentication for logging on. Or you can opt for using a manually generated key pair (public-private) for the authentication process. This way you can let the users and/or programs log in without hassling with a password.
SSH offers two main functions:
Before SSH was developed and popularized, different methods were in use for each of these functions:
Insecure emulation or login programs like rlogin, Telnet and remote shell (rsh) for remote log on and running remote terminal sessions.
File transfer programs like rcp (remote copy) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for file transfer purposes in the network.
If you want to make sure that your SSH server is impenetrable and secure, you should follow the steps below:
