659f7b40-858a-4f91-b96f-c339a231ca63

Securing vulnerable ports is crucial for network protection. Since you're skilled in scripting and automation, you can integrate custom monitoring and defensive mechanisms. Here are key strategies:

### **General Security Measures**
- **Firewall Configuration**: Block unnecessary ports and allow only trusted sources. Fine-tune inbound/outbound rules.
- **Strong Authentication**: Use SSH keys instead of passwords (for Port 22) and enforce multi-factor authentication for RDP (Port 3389).
- **Disable Unused Services**: If a service isn’t required, close its port to minimize attack vectors.
- **Patch Management**: Regularly update software to fix known vulnerabilities, especially for SMB (Port 445) and MySQL (Port 3306).
- **Restrict Remote Access**: Limit external connections for critical services (like RDP and SQL servers) through VPNs or zero-trust architectures.

### **Advanced Mitigation Techniques**
- **Intrusion Detection & Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS)**: Implement tools like Suricata or Snort to monitor and block malicious activity.
- **Rate Limiting & Connection Throttling**: Prevent brute-force attacks on SSH and RDP by limiting login attempts and using fail2ban.
- **DNS Security Enhancements**: Protect Port 53 from spoofing with DNSSEC and prevent amplification attacks using rate-limiting.
- **Web Server Hardening**: Secure Port 80/443 by using HTTP headers, setting up Web Application Firewalls (WAF), and mitigating common attacks (XSS, SQL injection).
- **Segmentation & Network Isolation**: Use VLANs to isolate services and restrict lateral movement by attackers.

### **Scripting-Based Defense**
Since you’re proficient in Python and error handling, consider scripting automated port scans and anomaly detection:
- Use `nmap` or `socket` to track open ports dynamically.
- Implement real-time logging with `rich` or `colorama` for visibility.
- Set up a scheduled task to compare historical scan results and detect new openings.