Subscribe to our blog and get updates straight to your inbox: Automatically applying OS updates, service packs, and patches, Removing or disabling non-essential software, drivers, services, file sharing, and functionality, which can act as back doors to the system, Requiring all users to implement strong passwords and change them on a regular basis, Logging all activity, errors, and warnings, Restricting unauthorized access and implementing privileged user controls, Use any browser and any browser extension. Using file integrity monitoring not only provides an initial audit and compliance score for all servers against standardized hardening checklists but ensures all platforms remain securely configured at all times. Workstation Hardening Policy. Is there a Change Management process, including a change proposal (covering impact analysis and roll back provisions), change approval, QA Testing and Post Implementation Review? By default, many applications enable functionality that isn’t required by any users while in-built security functionality may be disabled or set at a lower security level. Default local accounts, such as the Windows Guest account, should be disabled. Are audit trails securely backed up and retained for at least 12 months? Learn how NNT delivers continuous system hardening and vulnerability management in this video … ... Operating System hardening is the process that helps in reducing the cyber-attack surface of information systems by disabling functionalities that are not required while maintaining the minimum functionality that is … student, or someone who is curious about system hardening, I [ve worked hard for days on end to bring a fantastic guide on the basics on Windows Hardening, which is the barebones education of CyberPatriot and its core skills. Where it’s so hard for bad actors to access the crown jewels that they don’t even try? If there are conflicts between the following and organizational policy documents, they should be raised with the internal security team for assessment and resolution. NNT Change Tracker provides Intelligent Change Control, which means that changes only need to be approved once, for one server only, for any other occurrences of the same change pattern to be automatically approved. It’s that simple. //