FunSec2 ILM Lab04 Instructions
Lab 4: Using Group Policy Objects and Microsoft Baseline
Security Analyzer for Change Control
Introduction
Information technology advances increasingly lead to businesses becoming more dependent upon information systems. Organizations are faced with an increase in the number and severity of threats that can have adverse impacts on operations, assets, and individuals. Keeping up with technology advances, newly discovered vulnerabilities, and system updates is best done through change control management focused upon three core goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) of information.
There are many tools and suites designed to aid the security practitioner and the organization in implementing and managing change management. However, few organizations have an unlimited budget for their security program. Fortunately, some great tools for compliance and analysis are either built into the operating system, or are available at no cost. Two such tools for the Windows platform are Group Policy Objects (built into the Windows operating systems) and the Microsoft Security Baseline Analyzer (provided free of charge).
As the name implies, Group Policy Objects enables a system administrator or security practitioner to set and enforce key security policies at the Active Directory Forrest, Domain, and
Organizational Unit level. Password policies are a key example. Using Group Policy Objects, password policies, such as minimum password length and password complexity requirements, can be set within Active Directory and automatically enforced. This ensures that any unauthorized local system changes are brought back into compliance with the rest of the domain.
Baseline analyzers help discover unwanted operating system changes and non-compliant systems within the network. The free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) enables the security practitioner to discover vulnerabilities and patch-level deficiencies at the Windows host machine level. The MBSA can also be
Security Analyzer for Change Control
Introduction
Information technology advances increasingly lead to businesses becoming more dependent upon information systems. Organizations are faced with an increase in the number and severity of threats that can have adverse impacts on operations, assets, and individuals. Keeping up with technology advances, newly discovered vulnerabilities, and system updates is best done through change control management focused upon three core goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) of information.
There are many tools and suites designed to aid the security practitioner and the organization in implementing and managing change management. However, few organizations have an unlimited budget for their security program. Fortunately, some great tools for compliance and analysis are either built into the operating system, or are available at no cost. Two such tools for the Windows platform are Group Policy Objects (built into the Windows operating systems) and the Microsoft Security Baseline Analyzer (provided free of charge).
As the name implies, Group Policy Objects enables a system administrator or security practitioner to set and enforce key security policies at the Active Directory Forrest, Domain, and
Organizational Unit level. Password policies are a key example. Using Group Policy Objects, password policies, such as minimum password length and password complexity requirements, can be set within Active Directory and automatically enforced. This ensures that any unauthorized local system changes are brought back into compliance with the rest of the domain.
Baseline analyzers help discover unwanted operating system changes and non-compliant systems within the network. The free Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) enables the security practitioner to discover vulnerabilities and patch-level deficiencies at the Windows host machine level. The MBSA can also be