Baselines and Benchmarking - CompTIA Security +
Hola,
there this is an old note I took about about Baselines I wrote it when I came with a test question on Benchmarking. I use the study resource of Dion Trainning Course in Coursera. I also used different AI to extract, structure and validate the information.
The term benchmarking is mentioned as a recommended practice when adding new security controls. It involves comparing an organization’s security processes and metrics with industry best practices. This process helps identify gaps between the current and desired security posture.
Benchmarks is one of the tools related to security alerts and monitoring.
Closely related to the concept of benchmarks is the idea of baselines. Baselining is the process of measuring changes in the network, hardware, or software environment. It helps establish what is considered “normal” for the organization and identifies deviations or abnormalities for further investigation.
A secure baseline is a standard set of configurations and security controls applied to systems, networks, or applications to ensure a minimum level of security. Establishing a secure baseline helps organizations maintain consistent security practices and reduce common vulnerabilities. The process begins with a thorough assessment of the system, network, or application, identifying data types, data workflows, and evaluating potential vulnerabilities and threats. Industry best practices, standards, and compliance requirements are used as a starting point.
To set up a secure baseline, the operating system is installed, updated, configured, and secured on a reference device. This device is checked against baseline configuration guides and scanned for known vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. Required applications are also installed and scanned. Then, an image of this reference device is created as the “known good and secure baseline.”
Applying secure baseline configurations minimizes vulnerabilities and the risk of security breaches. Using standardized infrastructure configurations also helps ensure consistent setup across systems. Continuous monitoring tools help detect deviations from the baseline and trigger alerts. It’s important to regularly review and update the secure baseline to adapt to changes and emerging threats. Training employees is also essential so they understand and comply with secure baseline configurations.
Baseline metrics can include CPU usage, memory usage, disk activity, and network traffic. Deviations from the baseline can signal potential problems, supporting proactive issue resolution and system maintenance.
The importance of applying baselines when automating and orchestrating secure operations is explained as follows:
Consistency and Standardization Automation consistently applies security and compliance baselines. This means defining standardized configurations and policies to ensure that systems meet a minimum level of security.
Alignment with Standards and Regulations It ensures that systems align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements. SCAP benchmarks, for example, provide configuration rule sets to establish security baselines for specific products.
Risk Reduction By applying standardised and secure configurations, vulnerabilities and the risk of security breaches are minimised.
The Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), developed by NIST, is a set of open standards that improves the automation of vulnerability management, policy compliance measurement, and evaluation. SCAP includes SCAP Benchmarks, which are security configuration rule sets for specific products used to establish security baselines. These benchmarks provide detailed checklists that can be used to secure systems according to a specific baseline. They are written in XCCDF format and are used for compliance testing. There are many SCAP Benchmarks available for different systems and applications, helping ensure proper system configuration and vulnerability identification. Examples include the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Benchmark and the CIS Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise Benchmark for Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise.
