What Is System Hardening?

What Is System Hardening?

System hardening reduces IT infrastructure vulnerabilities and strengthens technology stack security defenses to protect businesses from cyberattacks.

With every attack on IT infrastructure, a potential hacker must find a way to get in. They may attempt to inject malicious code into an operating system (OS) by tricking a user into giving them access, or they may target a device’s hardware, firmware, or software. Whatever way they compromise a system, once they’re in, hackers can spy on users, steal data, prevent authorized access, or render machines unusable.

The main goal of system hardening is to improve overall IT security by finding and fixing security vulnerabilities, whether in hardware, firmware, software, applications, passwords, or processes. This lowers the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and malware injection. By avoiding attacks, companies also avoid the unplanned downtime and loss of productivity that comes with remediation. System hardening can help IT teams simplify compliance with any internal or external regulations.

While IT system administrators typically focus on server hardening in the data center, protecting end user devices is just as important, as they are the source of 90 percent of successful cyberattacks that now target below the OS to gain access to the whole system stack.¹

Types of System Hardening

System hardening is a broad approach encompassing servers, network infrastructure, cloud environments, edge devices, end user devices, and enterprise applications. This means that hardening practices require multiple specialized techniques that secure different technology stack layers, each addressing unique vulnerabilities.

Common system hardening practices include:
 

• Operating system hardening: Securing the core OS by removing unnecessary services, applying patches, and configuring security settings.
• Server hardening: Protecting physical and virtual servers through specialized access controls.
• Network hardening: Strengthening network infrastructure through firewall rules, segmentation, and secure protocols.
• Application hardening: Guarding software applications by removing debug options and designating security parameters.
• Database hardening: Shielding database systems by limiting access privileges, encrypting sensitive data, and securing configurations.

PC Hardening

While system hardening is a broad approach that encompasses securing entire computing systems, PC hardening focuses on end user devices. It emphasizes a range of technical and operational controls to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen security. PC hardening may include tightening default configurations, removing unnecessary software and services, patch and update management, user access management, installation of new security controls, and system benchmarking and monitoring. Reducing potential vulnerabilities in endpoint security also reinforces a zero trust enterprise security strategy.

There are several PC hardening goals to keep in mind:
 

• Supply chain visibility from assembly to IT provisioning.
• Protecting PCs at runtime with secure boot so systems launch into a trusted state.
• Protecting BIOS when software is running to prevent planted malware from compromising the OS.
• Ensuring hardware-to-software security visibility to help protect OS secrets from firmware-level attacks.
• Protecting devices against physical memory access attacks to prevent unauthorized access to data stored on the device.
• Implementing hardware virtualization and advanced threat detection features to help protect the OS from the latest cyber threats.
• Providing a way for IT teams to remotely manage a distributed PC fleet to install security patches, perform configuration management, and more easily troubleshoot and repair devices, even when PCs are asleep, powered off, or beyond the corporate firewall.

While PC hardening generally involves a smaller attack surface than complex enterprise systems, it must balance security with user productivity. Business PCs with integrated hardware-enabled security capabilities can provide more-comprehensive device security than software alone, extending protections across hardware, firmware, and software. Additionally, modern, built-for-business PCs are often optimized to balance security and productivity. For example, AI PCs leverage special processor hardware and partner integrations to deliver AI-enhanced security protections and superior device performance.

Benefits of System Hardening

Some of the major benefits of system hardening include:
 

• Reducing the attack surface by eliminating unnecessary services and applications and preventing common exploits.
• Enhancing the protection of sensitive data from unauthorized access.
• Increasing system stability and reliability through best-practice implementations and improved regulatory compliance with frameworks like NIST, CIS, and ISO.
• Decreasing the risk of successful cyberattacks and associated costs.
• Establishing security baselines for consistent system deployment and lower incident response costs due to fewer successful breaches.

Challenges of System Hardening

System hardening presents its own set of challenges:
 

• Balancing security with functionality remains the most fundamental difficulty, as overly aggressive hardening can break applications or disrupt business operations.
• Maintaining hardening consistency across increasingly diverse and complex IT environments becomes difficult when managing hybrid infrastructures across on-premises systems, cloud providers, and edge and end user devices.
• Keeping hardened systems current to combat evolving threats demands constant vigilance, as new vulnerabilities emerge daily.

System Hardening Considerations

A system hardening strategy must evolve as cyberattacks grow more sophisticated and emerging technologies are introduced into an organization’s technology stack.

To help with standardization, consistency, compliance, and business continuity—among other factors—many companies adopt system hardening standards from trusted bodies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and develop system hardening checklists.

Some recommended practices include:
 

• Taking inventory of all IT systems, including PCs, servers, and networks. Documenting hardware and software products, including OS and database versions.
• Performing an audit of users and their access permissions to systems and applications. Eliminating any accounts and privileges that are no longer necessary.
• Determining an approach to OS hardening, which may include upgrading devices to the latest OS, replacing devices no longer eligible for security updates, and evaluating the current patching process and IT remote device management tools.
• Automating software updates so they can be applied without impacting users or IT during busy work hours.
• Training users to adopt strong passwords and identify phishing schemes. A large number of attacks come from stolen credentials and social engineering. User education is the foundation of any system hardening strategy.

The Future of System Hardening

As with many other technological practices, the future of system hardening is evolving toward increased use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI). AI and machine learning technologies will play a central role in cybersecurity, helping IT identify vulnerabilities, recommending appropriate controls, and implementing defenses at scale.

Also, zero trust architecture principles will become more deeply rooted in hardening practices, requiring continuous verification of all system components regardless of location. System hardening tools will be forced to adapt to secure infrastructure and security resources.