Admin Large organisations and governments operate under a hard truth. Fact is, they have the most to lose, the broadest and most complex attack surfaces, and the greatest regulatory and geopolitical exposure. They also have resources, yet the scale and speed of change means programmes often lag behind adversary innovation. Their landscape is currently shaped by … Read more
This guide shows how to set up Metasploit, run safe penetration tests, and convert the findings into concrete hardening actions. Legal reminder – only test systems you own or have explicit written permission to assess. Keep tests in scope, documented, and reversible. 1. What Metasploit is – and why defenders use it Metasploit is … Read more
This is the minimum bar. Expect scans within minutes of going live. Do these first or expect trouble. Scope – Linux hosts that serve web content publicly. Focus is quick wins that reduce real risk fast. 1) Patch immediately and automate updates must do Unpatched packages are the easiest path in. Patch before exposing … Read more
Metasploit is widely known as a hacking framework. That label is accurate but incomplete. In capable hands, the same tool becomes a disciplined method to protect systems. This article explains how security teams use Metasploit to turn speculative risk into measurable evidence, prioritize fixes, validate patches, and raise the cost of attack across Linux servers … Read more
Introduction Low-skill attackers using off-the-shelf tools have not vanished. They have multiplied. The barrier to entry is lower, the tooling is cheaper, and AI makes their phishing emails look like they were written by your own communications team. If your organisation is exposed to this level of attacker, you are not unlucky – you are … Read more
A practical briefing for decision makers who need to prioritise risk and deploy practical controls. Cybersecurity is not a problem to be parked until the next incident. For medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and organisations, risk is immediate and rising. SMEs are large enough to hold valuable data and material money flows, yet they rarely have enterprise-scale … Read more
Short version: Encrypt queues with KMS, split producer/consumer IAM, set a DLQ, and alarm on queue age/depth. Keep retention/visibility explicit. 1) Create queue with sane defaults Server-side encryption (your KMS key), retention 4–14 days as needed. Visibility timeout ≥ max processing time. DLQ with a reasonable maxReceiveCount (e.g., 5). 2) IAM separation # Producer: send … Read more
Cyber espionage is now a standing feature of international competition and commercial life. This article explains the modern threat, the tradecraft in use, why organisations of every size are involved whether they like it or not, and the specific practices that raise your odds of detecting and containing it. Executive Summary Cyber espionage has scaled … Read more
Outcome: apply your SSHD/PAM/fail2ban defaults across hosts safely, with check/diff runs and a skeleton for tests. 1) Layout baseline/ ├─ inventory.yaml ├─ site.yaml └─ roles/ └─ hardening/ ├─ tasks/main.yaml ├─ templates/sshd_config.j2 └─ files/sudoers_logging 2) Inventory # inventory.yaml all: hosts: web1.example.com: db1.example.com: vars: ansible_user: admin 3) Playbook # site.yaml – hosts: all become: true roles: – … Read more
Last updated: 20 Aug 2025 Quick rule: Site-to-Site for networks; Client VPN for users. In both cases, scope routes, rotate secrets, log connections, and alarm on tunnel state. 1) Site-to-Site VPN guardrails Use both tunnels; alarm on TunnelState changes. DPD enabled; strong ciphers; rotate PSKs regularly (or use certificates). Route only required prefixes; propagate to … Read more
Last updated: 20 Aug 2025 Short version: Scan images in ECR, use immutable tags, assign least-privilege roles to tasks/pods, keep roots read-only, and send logs/metrics to CloudWatch. 1) ECR hygiene Enable image scanning and lifecycle policies (expire old tags). Use immutable tags (no latest); pin digests in deployments. 2) IAM & secrets ECS: task roles … Read more
In today’s digital world, cyber threats are more common – and more dangerous – than ever. Whether you’re a small business owner, IT professional, or simply someone who uses the internet every day, understanding the most common cyber threats is the first step toward protecting yourself and your data. Cybercriminals don’t just target corporations. They … Read more
Design: one inet table, stateful allows, explicit service sets, rate-limited logging of drops. Simple to reason about. 1) Ruleset # /etc/nftables.conf table inet filter { sets { admin_srcs { type ipv4_addr; flags interval; elements = { 203.0.113.0/24 } } } chains { input { type filter hook input priority 0; policy drop; ct state established,related … Read more
Goal: a single, sane vhost. TLS 1.2/1.3, basic security headers, OCSP stapling, HSTS (opt-in), tight logs, and no server leaks. 1) Modules & hardening sudo a2enmod ssl headers rewrite socache_shmcb # Hide version echo “ServerTokens Prod\nServerSignature Off” | sudo tee /etc/apache2/conf-available/hideversion.conf sudo a2enconf hideversion 2) Vhost <VirtualHost *:443> ServerName example.com DocumentRoot /var/www/html SSLEngine on SSLProtocol … Read more
Short version: Use NFSv4, export to specific hosts/IPs, keep root_squash on, and prefer Kerberos (sec=krb5p) for real environments. 1) Server basics sudo apt install -y nfs-kernel-server sudo mkdir -p /srv/share; sudo chown root:share /srv/share; sudo chmod 0750 /srv/share 2) /etc/exports (restrictive) /srv/share 10.0.20.0/24(rw,sync,root_squash,no_subtree_check) Reload: sudo exportfs -ra 3) Kerberos (preferred) If you have a KDC, … Read more
Use case: quick overlay between sites/devices. Keep membership tight, pin routes, and don’t bridge recklessly. 1) Install & join curl -s https://install.zerotier.com | sudo bash sudo zerotier-cli join <network-id> Authorise the member in the controller, assign a static managed IP. 2) Secure defaults Disable auto-bridge; don’t expose whole LANs by accident. Use managed routes to … Read more
In many cloud security reviews, Identity and Access Management (IAM) often turns out to be the weakest area. AWS provides powerful tools to control access, but its defaults are permissive and administrators often grant overly broad rights. The result is predictable: accounts with far more privilege than needed, with API keys that never expire, and … Read more
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is at the centre of every security framework I have worked with. Whether on Linux systems or in cloud platforms, controlling who can do what is fundamental. In my experience, organisations often underestimate IAM. They focus on firewalls or malware protection, while leaving access control inconsistent or poorly documented. In … Read more
Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM): Controlling Access in Linux Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) form the backbone of authentication and access control on most modern Linux systems. In my work, PAM is often overlooked or misunderstood. Administrators know it exists but rarely configure it beyond the defaults. That leaves opportunities for weak passwords, mismanaged access, and non-compliance. … Read more
