Security Configuration is important for security because it determines what will be allowed and disallowed on a computer. It applies to all aspects of the computer.
What are the Benefits of Applying Security Configuration?
The benefits apply to two main areas. First, it allows the end-user to know what is happening with their computer, and second, it can help increase security. Knowing what is happening on your computer can help you diagnose problems easier, and knowing what is not allowed can help prevent problems.
If you know what is not allowed on your computer, you will be able to see if something is changing that security setting without your permission. This can be used to monitor for malware or other issues on the computer.
When Should Security Configuration be Applied?
You should apply security configuration as soon as possible after deployment of the base operating system. Ideally, this would be during the setup of the operating system, but most organizations do not do this because it requires more time than just configuring the operating system manually.
The next option would be to use security templates during the installation of the base operating system. The final option would be to use security templates after the installation of the base operating system. If you choose to use security templates after the installation of the base operating system, they should be applied as soon as possible.
What are Security Templates?
Security templates are files that contain a set of specific configurations that are used to define the security settings on a computer.
These files are then used by an administrator or software tool to apply those settings on computers in their organization. Security templates are commonly found in Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM), which is an application provided by Microsoft that helps automate creating security templates. Many third-party tools can help you create security templates.
Security templates are often what they refer as baselines. Perhaps because they define a baseline configuration for computers in your organization. Baseline creation are either through SCM or a third-party tool and then applied using Group Policy Objects (GPOs); or other methods depending on your environment’s setup and needs. They also have different names basing on how they are used. Such as Security Baseline for GPO applications or Customized Security Configuration for SCM applications.
What are GPOs?
Group Policy Objects are collections of settings that are grouped and assigned to a specific location in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). They allow administrators to apply common settings across multiple computers at once and ensure consistency across them all by using Group Policy-based management techniques like inheritance and links between GPOs and sites, domains, or organizational units (OUs).
What are the Benefits of Using GPOs?
The benefits of using GPOs to apply security configuration are that they can apply to multiple computers at once. They also allow for centralized management of security configurations across an entire organization.
This makes it easier to control and troubleshoot security settings across an organization. The other benefit is that GPOs allow you to apply security settings hierarchically. This allows you to have different levels of granularity when applying security settings to computers in your organization.
