GUARD: five things every set of servers has to get right.

Most server problems I'm called in for come down to one of five areas. GUARD is how I check them, score them and decide what to fix first, for every client I look after.

Book a GUARD reviewThe review
Sample GUARD report7 servers
  • G
    Gateway3 ports open, all expected. TLS renews itself.
    Green
  • U
    Updates2 servers 3 weeks behind on updates.
    Amber
  • A
    AccessShared root key. No MFA on the cloud console.
    Red
  • R
    RecoveryNightly, off-site. Never restored.
    Amber
  • D
    DetectionAlerts reach a person. Logs kept 90 days.
    Green
Fix first: retire the shared root key, then test a restore.

What each letter covers, and what green looks like

AreaWhat I checkGreen looks like
G · GatewayFirewalls, exposed services and ports, TLS, SSH settings, web application firewallOnly what must be public is public; certificates renew themselves; SSH is keys-only
U · UpdatesOS patching, application and PHP versions, plugin vulnerabilities, end-of-life releasesSecurity updates within hours, everything else weekly, nothing past end of life
A · AccessUsers, sudo rights, SSH keys, admin accounts, shared logins, secretsNamed accounts only, leavers removed, MFA where it matters, secrets out of the code
R · RecoveryBackups, where they go, encryption, retention, restore testsOff-site, encrypted backups, and a restore tested and timed in the last quarter
D · DetectionMonitoring, alerting, logs and retention, file integrity, signs of compromiseAlerts that reach a person, logs kept long enough to investigate, nothing unexplained

Green, amber, red

  1. 01
    Green: nothing to do

    The area meets the standard above, with evidence to show for it.

  2. 02
    Amber: fix this month

    Gaps with some cover in place: updates more than a week behind, backups that run but haven't been test-restored this quarter, alerts going to a shared inbox, MFA missing on some admin accounts.

  3. 03
    Red: fix now

    Things that would hurt today: software past end of life on the internet, security updates months behind, a shared root key, no backups off the server, or no restore ever tested.

For every client

  1. 01
    The GUARD review

    A one-off, fixed-price review of your servers against all five areas, with fixes in order.

    GUARD review →
  2. 02
    Every retainer

    Managed and the fractional lead keep each area green month by month; Oversight watches it and flags what slips. The quarterly review reports against it.

    Services →
  3. 03
    Security questionnaires

    The five areas map onto the infrastructure questions customers ask, so the answers have evidence behind them.

    For software teams →

See where your servers stand.

A GUARD review: £250, fixed. Or a 15-minute call first.

Book a callWrite instead