What is the primary goal of system hardening?

The primary goal of system hardening is to reduce vulnerabilities by minimizing attack surfaces. This process involves tightening security configurations and removing unnecessary services, applications, and access points that could potentially be exploited by attackers. By limiting what is available on a system, it becomes significantly less susceptible to threats and unauthorized access.

Focusing on security, system hardening employs best practices such as disabling unused ports, enforcing strong password policies, and implementing security patches. This proactive approach not only safeguards the system but also creates a more robust defense against malware and other cybersecurity threats.

While enhancing system performance, installing more software applications, or increasing network speed may have their own merits in different contexts, they do not effectively align with the fundamental objective of hardening a system. Performance enhancements or added software could inadvertently introduce new vulnerabilities, conflicting with the hardening effort.