Security Hardening

Reduce real world attack risk without enterprise overhead.

Who This Is For

If your server is exposed to the internet and matters to your business, this service will reduce real attack risk.

Technical founders and solo operators running EC2 or DigitalOcean who want confidence.

Small agencies or MSPs responsible for client infrastructure who need defensible defaults and documentation.

Teams reacting to a security wake-up call who want action now, not a 30 page report.

This is not a fit if:

  • • You’re looking for free advice
  • • You need compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO, FedRAMP)
  • • You already have a security team
  • • You want ongoing monitoring or managed security

What I Do

Lock down network access

Review inbound and outbound network exposure. Tighten firewall rules, security groups, and allowed ports so only required traffic is permitted.

Control who can access the system

Audit users, SSH keys, and sudo access. Remove stale accounts. Enforce key-only access. Lock down root and shared credentials.

Reduce exposed services

Review running services and open ports. Disable anything unnecessary and close exposure that does not need to exist.

Block common attack patterns

Brute force attempts are blocked automatically. Optional alerts notify you when attack activity increases.

Harden web and application services

Tighten TLS configuration, remove version exposure, and harden common web stacks such as Nginx, Apache, and PHP when applicable.

Make sure recovery is possible

Configure encrypted off site backups and perform a restore test so you know recovery works.

Keep systems current

Configure security updates carefully and remove unused packages and services that increase risk.

Document what was changed

Provide a clear summary of changes, current exposure, and what needs to be maintained going forward.

Lite vs. Full Hardening

Choose the level that fits your environment

Lite Hardening

Best for small teams and straightforward setups.

  • SSH hardening (key-only, root disabled)
  • Firewall (least-privilege rules)
  • Fail2ban protection
  • Basic user & access cleanup
  • Automatic security updates
  • Basic documentation

Full Hardening

Recommended for production systems and agencies.

  • Everything in Lite, plus:
  • Alerting (Slack / Email / Text)
  • Deep access audit (sudoers, keys, groups)
  • Web/app server hardening
  • Encrypted backups + restore test
  • Log monitoring
  • Full service & port audit
  • Complete documentation & maintenance guide

Who’s Doing the Work

This service is performed directly by the founder of MS Tech Alpine, a security engineer with experience securing production systems in finance, cloud platforms, and real-world deployments.

No outsourcing. No junior handoff. No generic scripts.

Want more context? About me.

Why This Approach Works

Targets real-world attack paths

SSH brute-force, weak access control, and unpatched systems the things that actually get exploited.

Avoids security theater

No checkbox compliance or overengineering. Just practical changes that reduce real risk.

Fast turnaround

Most engagements completed in 1–2 days.

Clear documentation

You get a report you can understand and maintain, no mystery configurations.

Ready to Reduce Risk?

Get practical security hardening without enterprise overhead.