NGINX + CIS Hardened Images Provide Security at Maximum Efficiency

Just over 25% of the internet’s busiest websites – including Dropbox, Netflix, and WordPress.com – served or proxied NGNIX in August 2019 (Source: Netcraft). How can organizations harden this popular open-source web server? At CIS, our mission to help everyone have a secure online experience drives us to develop cybersecurity best practices. That’s why we’re excited to launch CIS Hardened Images for NGINX for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. This latest pre-configured virtual image is available in a standard Linux base image and container image.

Efficiency is the name of the game

Bringing the CIS Hardened Images to operate with NGINX is like Coke and Mentos. Separately they’re great – but together, they create explosive security and efficiency. Here’s why: the NGINX webserver is built on performance optimization. According to Kinsta, “NGINX offers low memory usage and high concurrency. Rather than creating new processes for each web request, it has an asynchronous, event-driven approach where requests are handled in a single thread,” (Source: Kinsta). Basically, NGINX is efficient to its core. The CIS Benchmarks are consensus-based, vendor agnostic secure configuration guidelines. They provide the security foundation for the CIS Hardened Images. Add the CIS Hardened Images to NGINX environments, and your team can enjoy security without sacrificing computational efficiency.

Flexible hardening options

Securing your OS is usually your first priority, but it’s just as important to secure your web server as it is to secure the OS it’s running on. Keeping a locked safe in a house with all of the doors open isn’t the best idea, right? So, why would you do that digitally? Thankfully, CIS Hardened Images are available not only for the NGINX application but they are also available on the Linux OS in AWS Marketplace:

• CIS NGINX on CentOS Linux 7 Benchmark – Level 1
• CIS NGINX on Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS Benchmark L1 Container Image

Security built through community

CIS offers virtual images hardened in accordance with the CIS Benchmarks, a set of vendor-agnostic, internationally-recognized secure configuration guidelines. CIS Hardened Images provide users a secure, on-demand, and scalable computing environment.

Hardening that moves with you

Many organizations are managing a complex hybrid environment comprised of on-premises and cloud infrastructure. Others rely on multiple cloud vendors to manage workstations, systems, and data. But no matter where your team works, everyone should enjoy a secure online experience. That’s why CIS Hardened Images are available for multiple technologies on AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, and Google Cloud Platform. Launch one today and see what it feels like to start secure in the cloud!