- you can just use LUKS and mount the db storage on top of it. - you can just use built-in encryption at rest [1] - etc.
[1] https://mariadb.com/kb/en/mariadb/data-at-rest-encryption/
I've had several issues with the "distributed" setup among others.
Blocking IP addresses in an .htaccess file? That's literally* what a firewall is for.
*metaphysically?
Also, let me introduce you another good website for this kind of question: http://stackoverflow.com try it.