No, Moving Your SSH Port Isn’t Security by Obscurity

Created: 2020-10-01T00:43:19+00:00

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• Security provisions have a "mechanism" and a "key."
• The "mechanism" is public knowledge (ie. how key cards are validated.)
• The "key" is private (ie. only specific people have key cards.)
• Security by Obscurity means the mechanism is also private.

• Changing port numbers is not hiding the "mechanism," since people knowing that you changed the port does not compromise it (they still have to port scan to find it.)
• Also port scanning can itself show up on intrusion detectors.