Self-Hosting Security Guide for your HomeLab

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Self-Hosting Security Guide for Your HomeLab

1. Understanding the Foundation of Home Lab Security

• Start by focusing on the security foundation of your home lab setup.
• Consider the diagram provided in the video and understand the components of your home lab.
• Emphasize the importance of security practices in architecture for self-hosting services within your home.

2. Hardware and Configuration Considerations

• Ensure that the hardware you use is up-to-date and patched with the latest firmware.
• Decide whether to run systems on bare metal or use a hypervisor for virtualization.
• Maintain a secure operating system for your applications, considering options like Windows Embedded or various flavors of Linux.
• Implement the principle of least privilege and restrict access to root or admin privileges.
• Avoid installing unnecessary services on your machines for better security.

3. Containerization and Application Hosting

• Ensure that your containerization engine (e.g., Docker, Podman) is up-to-date and patched.
• Use containers from official sources or reputable maintainers to reduce attack surface and vulnerabilities.
• Consider the specificity of container tags for better control over updates and security patches.

4. Network Configuration and Segmentation

• Segment your network into multiple subnets or VLANs to control network flow and enhance security.
• Separate trusted devices from those exposed to the internet to mitigate risks.
• Implement network segmentation not only for publicly exposed devices but also for IoT devices.

5. External Network Security

• Use a reverse proxy, such as Cloudflare, to protect your network from external threats.
• Utilize Cloudflare's reverse proxy for improved performance, caching, TLS encryption, and protection against attacks.
• Implement firewall rules, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to detect and block malicious activities.

6. Setting Up Reverse Proxy and Authentication

• Configure a reverse proxy like Traffic to route traffic to your servers and manage certificates.
• Consider using Authelia as an authentication proxy to provide an additional layer of security with two-factor authentication.
• Ensure that your services have proper authentication and authorization mechanisms in place.

7. Final Steps and Considerations

• Once all security measures are in place, consider setting up a VPN for added security or hosting services in a public cloud.
• Evaluate the need for tunneling options based on your specific requirements.
• Regularly monitor and update your security measures to maintain a secure self-hosting environment.

By following these steps and guidelines, you can enhance the security of your self-hosted services in your home lab and protect your network from potential threats and vulnerabilities.