Cyber-Security: The Art of Staying Safe Out There
DevOps isn’t just about making things work — it’s about keeping them from being taken over by mischievous gremlins, curious hackers, and occasionally confused scripts. Learn the basics of SSH keys, permissions, firewalls, and access control. Knowing how to lock doors, check windows, and politely tell intruders to go away keeps your systems safe while you orchestrate your container armies.
Why It Matters
In DevOps, speed and automation are great—but security is non-negotiable. Every pipeline, every deployment, every container you spin up is a potential doorway. And guess what? Hackers love open doors. Cyber-security isn’t just another checkbox; it’s the lock on your front door, the alarm on your car, and the seatbelt you wear without thinking. Ignore it, and you’re inviting chaos into your infrastructure.
Hardening your systems is not optional. It’s the difference between a smooth deployment and waking up to find your servers mining crypto for someone in a basement halfway across the world. Take it seriously. Always.
One Tip That Saves You From Disaster
There are countless best practices—SSH keys, permissions, firewalls, access control lists—but if you remember only one thing today, let it be this:
Never leave passwords in plain text inside your deployment configs!
Not in YAML, not in .env files, not anywhere that ends up in version control. Because nothing ruins your day faster than realizing your production credentials are sitting in a public GitHub repo, waving hello to the world.
The Bottom Line
Cyber-security isn’t about paranoia, it’s about responsibility. Start small, stay vigilant, and remember: in DevOps, automation without security is just automated failure.