Secure Boot constitutes a vital component within modern Windows servers and client devices, forming an integral aspect of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification. Its primary function involves the validation of trusted software components during the boot process, thereby fortifying system security against diverse malware and unauthorized software infiltrations.

Anonymous logon refers to a type of network access where a user can log in to a system or network resource without providing any authentication credentials such as a username or password. This type of access is typically granted to allow basic, unauthenticated access to certain resources for public use or for specific purposes.

In the previous article, we covered some fundamental information you should know before installing WSUS in your infrastructure. Just to refresh your memory, WSUS stands for Windows Server Update Service, and it is used for the centralized update and reporting of Microsoft-based products. This includes Windows, Windows Servers, Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, and others.

SDDL, or Security Descriptor Definition Language, defines the string format that the ConvertSecurityDescriptorToStringSecurityDescriptor and ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptor functions use to describe the security settings of an object in Windows as a text string. Think of it like a simple language for defining who can access an object (like a file, folder, or registry key) and what they can do with it.

Like most organizations, your company likely invested in various Microsoft products. The Microsoft ecosystem provides businesses with nearly every kind of technology necessary, from workstation operating systems to Azure to Windows 365 that includes cloud-native versions of their traditional Office tools and the communication platform Teams. However, attackers are just as invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

The cybersecurity landscape is undergoing a significant shift, moving from security tools monitoring applications running within userspace to advanced, real-time approaches that monitor system activity directly and safely within the kernel by using eBPF. This evolution in kernel introspection is particularly evident in the adoption of projects like Falco, Tetragon, and Tracee in Linux environments.

Windows Task Scheduler, previously known as Scheduled Tasks, is a powerful job scheduler built into Microsoft Windows. Its primary function is to launch computer programs or scripts at specific times or intervals predetermined by the user. Introduced as System Agent in Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95, Task Scheduler Windows has evolved into a core component of the Windows operating system.

Best practices for mitigating various attack vectors are changing depending on the environment and server functionality. CIS baselines cover most of the relevant scenarios by addressing the first stage of your Windows server hardening project. Microsoft has been doing some work related to default security configuration, but there is still a big gap between security best practices (i.e. common benchmarks) and the default Windows configuration.

To most people, the process of logging into a Microsoft Windows machine is a simple process of entering a username and a password. However, for a cybersecurity professional, the process is a carefully orchestrated mechanism. Unfortunately, throughout the history of the various Windows operating system versions, criminals have also sought ways to disrupt this process in order to breach a network. The primary target of these attacks is the Security Account Manager (SAM).

Windows PowerShell is a powerful scripting language and a command-line executor developed by Microsoft to provide a better interface for system administrators to simplify managing and automating administrative tasks. PowerShell was launched in 2006 and has been a standard feature of the Windows operating system (OS) since Windows 7, enabling system administrators to simplify and automate administrative tasks while following essential security best practices.