Secure Baselines - 4.1
Summary
Secure baselines are predefined security configurations designed to ensure systems follow best practices and maintain a strong security posture. They establish minimum security requirements based on industry standards, with automation used to enforce consistency across devices. Regular audits ensure ongoing compliance and effectiveness.
Notes:
Establish
- The creation of baseline standards that define the minimum security requirements for systems, applications, and infrastructure. These baselines are often based on manufacturer recommendations, industry standards, and regulatory compliance requirements.
- Conducting risk assessments to ensure the baseline covers key security areas, including access controls, encryption, patching, and system hardening.
Deploy
- Automation is essential for ensuring that baselines remain up-to-date and for simplifying deployment across multiple devices and systems, particularly in large or complex environments.
- Baselines can be deployed and enforced using centralized management tools such as Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems, configuration management tools (e.g., Ansible, Puppet, Chef), or Group Policy in Windows environments.
- Ensuring deployment is consistent across all systems, with regular validation to confirm that systems comply with the baseline.
Maintain
- Static Baselines: These baselines define security standards that change infrequently and typically apply to core, stable system configurations where security requirements remain consistent over time.
- Dynamic Baselines: These baselines require continuous monitoring and regular updates to keep up with evolving security threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices. Systems with frequent updates, such as cloud services or continuously developed applications, typically use dynamic baselines.
- Regular audits and monitoring are necessary to ensure that systems continue to meet the baseline requirements, particularly in environments where dynamic baselines are in use.