Networking / Beginners

Myth 6: "High Security" Is an End Goal for All Environments

High security, in the sense of the most restrictive security possible, is not for everyone. As we have said many times by now, security will break things. In some environments, you are willing to break things in the name of protection that you are not willing to break in others. Had someone told you on September 10, 2001 that you needed to arrive three hours ahead of your flight at the airport to basically be strip-searched and have your knitting needles confiscated, you would have told them they are insane. High security (to the extent that airport security is truly any security at all and not just security theater) is not for everyone.

The same holds true of information security. Some systems are subjected to incredibly serious threats. If they get compromised, people will die, nations and large firms will go bankrupt, and society as we know it will collapse. Other systems are protecting my credit card numbers, for which I am liable up to $50 if they get compromised. The protective measures that are used on the former are entirely inappropriate for the latter; however, we keep hearing that "high security" is some sort of end goal toward which all environments should strive. These types of statements are an oversimplification that contributes to the general distrust and disarray in the field of information security today.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Protecting Hosts
  2. Security Configuration Myths
  3. Myth 1: Security Guides Make Your System Secure
  4. Myth 2: If We Hide It, they Not Find It
  5. Myth 3: The More Tweaks, the Better
  6. Myth 4: Tweaks Are Necessary
  7. Myth 5: All Environments Should At Least Use <Insert Favorite Guide Here>
  8. Myth 6: "High Security" Is an End Goal for All Environments
  9. Myth 7: Start Securing Your Environment by Applying a Security Guide
  10. Myth 8: Security Tweaks Can Fix Physical Security Problems
  11. Myth 9: Security Tweaks Will Stop Worms/Viruses
  12. Myth 10: An Expert Recommended This Tweak as Defense in Depth
  13. Server Security Tweaks
  14. Software Restriction Policies
  15. Do Not Store LAN Manager Hash Value
  16. Anonymous Restrictions
  17. Security Identifiers (SIDs)
  18. Password Policies
  19. SMB Message Signing
  20. Networking LAN Manager Authentication Level
  21. TCP Hardening
  22. Restricted Groups
  23. Audit Settings
  24. Client Security Tweaks
  25. Firewalls
  26. IPsec Filters
  27. SafeDllSearchMode
  28. Local Administrator Account Control
  29. Limit Local Account Use of Blank Passwords to Console Logon Only
  30. Logon Events
  31. Allowed to Format and Eject Removable Media
  32. The Caution ListChanges You Should Not Make
  33. Crash on Audit Failure
  34. Clear Virtual Memory Page File
  35. Security Configuration Tools