What is Baseline Security? What is its Standard Framework?


There are a few distinct interpretations of what constitutes baseline security. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines a Security Control Baseline" as a set of fundamental security measures recommended for a low-impact, moderate-impact, or highimpact information system. It is a collection of information security controls developed through information security strategic planning efforts to handle one or more specific security categorizations.

Microsoft, on the other hand, defines Security Baselines as criteria that particular businesses create and to which apps and devices must adhere. Microsoft's own security baselines are collections of suggested configuration settings for varying levels of effect, based on input from multiple stakeholders.

  • To cut through the jargon, think of Baseline Security as the very minimum a business needs to protect itself from vulnerabilities and threats while staying productive and efficient.

  • Baseline Security establishes a set of fundamental security goals that must be satisfied by every particular service or system.

  • The objectives have been set to be realistic and comprehensive, with no technical requirements. As a result, specifics on how a given service/system achieves these security goals must be defined in a separate "Security Implementation Document." These elements are dependent on the operating context in which a service/system is deployed, and as a result, any suitable security measure may be used creatively.

  • Deviations from the baseline are possible and anticipated, but they must be clearly indicated.

Standard security procedures for common IT systems are referred to as Baseline Security. It has a variety of meanings and is used in a variety of circumstances. For example,

  • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a software program that analyses the security of Microsoft's operating system and services.

  • Cisco security baseline − Security controls for networks and network devices are the subject of vendor recommendations.

  • Nortel's security baseline − With an emphasis on network operators, a set of standards and best practices has been developed.

  • ISO/IEC 13335-3 establishes a standard for risk management. Although ISO/IEC 27005 has superseded this standard, the baseline method has not yet been adopted by the 2700x series.

  • Organizations have a variety of internal baseline security policies. The German BSI offers a comprehensive baseline security standard that is consistent with the ISO/IEC 27000 series.

From the possibility of cyberattacks to complying with government-regulated compliance requirements to password management, every firm should have at least basic security protections: a minimum level of policies and processes for keeping its operations safe.

Baseline Security Check

A Baseline Security Check is an organizational tool that provides a fast assessment of the current state of IT security.

  • The current state of an existing IT network (as predicted by IT baseline protection) is studied through interviews in relation to the number of security measures deployed from the IT Baseline Protection Catalogs.

  • The outcome is a catalog in which each relevant measure's implementation status is listed as "dispensable," "yes," "partially," or "no."

  • Improvement alternatives for the security of the information technology in issue are emphasized by identifying measures that have not yet been deployed or are only partially applied.

The baseline security check provides details on safeguards that are currently lacking. What remains to be done to attain baseline security through security is derived from this.

  • Not all of the recommendations made by this baseline check must be adopted. It is necessary to consider peculiarities!

  • It's possible that a server is hosting a number of less critical apps with lower security requirements. However, these apps will be given a greater level of security in their entirety. This is referred to as the Cumulation Effect.

The security requirements of a server are determined by the apps that operate on it. An IT system may execute a variety of applications. When this happens, the IT system's protection category is determined by the application that requires the most protection.

On the other hand, it's possible that an IT application with high-security requirements doesn't immediately transmit this to the IT system. This might be due to the IT system's redundant configuration or the fact that just a minor component is operating on it. This is referred to as the Distribution Effect. This is the case with clusters, for example.

The baseline security check identifies the security procedures that should be in place. This degree of protection is adequate for mild-to-medium protection requirements. According to BSI estimates, this accounts for around 80% of all IT systems. Risk analysis-based information security concepts, such as ISO/IEC 27000-series standards, are often utilized for systems with high-to-extremely-high protection demands.

Updated on: 09-Jun-2022

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