The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls are a prioritized set of Safeguards to mitigate the most common cyber-attacks against systems and networks. The SANS 20 Critical Security Controls, formerly known as the SANS Top 20, is now called the CIS Controls and has been reduced to 18 Controls since version 8. You may be wondering, How many CIS Controls are there?

WDigest Authentication is a method used in Windows operating systems for verifying user credentials during authentication. It’s a way for computers to prove their identity to servers by storing a copy of the user’s plaintext password in memory. It uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) along with Simple Authentication Security Layer (SASL) exchanges for authentication purposes. The name “WDigest” comes from its function and purpose within the Windows operating system.

The Windows event log serves as a comprehensive and time-sequenced documentation of system, security, and application notifications. It’s maintained by the Windows operating system and utilized by network administrators for troubleshooting system issues and anticipating future challenges. This systematic recording of various system and application activities in event logs provide a chronological record of events that occur on the system, offering invaluable insights into its operation and health.

In any system, it’s important to know who is trying to gain access, whether successful or not. This is especially important when trying to keep something secure, like a network or confidential data. Ensure ‘Audit Credential Validation’ is set to ‘Success and Failure' keeps track of attempts to access a system, whether successful or not, using specific credentials, such as a username and password, and logs it.

An ad-hoc query is an unscheduled data inquiry, typically created in response to questions that cannot be addressed using predetermined or predefined datasets. Ad hoc distributed queries utilize the OPENROWSET(Transact-SQL) and OPENDATASOURCE(Transact-SQL) functions for establishing connections with remote data sources employing OLE DB. It’s advisable to employ OPENROWSET and OPENDATASOURCE solely for referencing OLE DB data sources that are accessed on an occasional basis.

Server hardening is a process that secures, essentially “hardening” a server infrastructure reducing the attack surface, which encompasses all potential entry points that unauthorized attackers could exploit. The objective is to enhance protection, minimize vulnerability and improve security posture. Achieving security and compliance requires implementing server hardening as an essential prerequisite. Server hardening is a proactive process that involves.

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) was developed in the 1980s to address the growing need for time synchronization between an individual’s computer or device and others on the same network. The Windows NTP (Network Time Protocol) client is a component of the Windows operating system responsible for synchronizing the system’s clock with a time server on the internet or a local network.

In a network each user, whether verified or not, is given a security identifier (SID), a virtual name tag. This unique identifier helps with managing users, giving administrators the ability to control on an individual level the rights and permissions of users, authentication and providing an overall level of security. A SID also hides private information of users such as the real names of the accounts, adding an additional layer of protection.

User rights permissions regulate access to computer and domain resources, with the ability to override permissions set on specific objects. Managed in Group Policy, each user right has a constant name as well as a Group Policy name associated with it. The constant names are used when referring to the user right in log events. In this section, they’re referred to as user rights, but they’re commonly known as privileges.

With the rise of cyber threats and the increasing volume of sensitive data being transmitted over networks, organizations must prioritize the use of cryptographic algorithms that meet stringent standards for security and reliability. One such standard is FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) compliance, which ensures that cryptographic algorithms adhere to the rigorous criteria set forth by the U.S. government.

January 2020 is when the Department of Defense (DoD) released the Cyber Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework, aimed at evaluating and strengthening the cybersecurity readiness of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). As per the DoD’s directive, all prime contractors and subcontractors within the supply chain must undergo auditing and certification under the CMMC framework.

AutoAdminLogon is a Windows registry setting which automates the logon process of a specific user account during system startup, bypassing the typical login screen. Enabling this setting streamlines the startup process, being particularly useful in scenarios where a system needs to boot up and immediately launch specific applications or services without manual intervention.