Windows Server 2025, the latest iteration of Microsoft's flagship server operating system, introducing new features, enhanced performance, and improved security capabilities. However, with these updates come new potential vulnerabilities, bringing with it the need for robust security configurations to protect against evolving threats. This is where benchmarks and hardening practices come into play.

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls are a prioritized set of Safeguards to mitigate the most common cyber-attacks against systems and networks. The SANS 20 Critical Security Controls, formerly known as the SANS Top 20, is now called the CIS Controls and has been reduced from 20 to 18 Controls since version 8.

IP forwarding in Linux is a feature that allows a system to route packets between network interfaces, effectively functioning as a router. While this capability is essential for specific network setups, it poses security risks if enabled unnecessarily. Disabling IP forwarding is a critical step in server hardening, particularly for systems not intended to perform routing tasks.

In an era where data breaches make headlines almost weekly and cybercrime costs businesses billions annually, states across the U.S. are taking decisive action to protect their residents’ sensitive information. From California’s groundbreaking privacy laws to New York’s rigorous cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions, state-level regulations are rapidly evolving to address the complex challenges of digital data protection.

X Display Manager Control Protocol (XDMCP) is a remote desktop protocol using X11 environments for managing remote graphical login sessions in Linux and Unix systems. Specifically, it allows X display managers to interface with X terminals or other X server-based systems, by facilitating the remote display management process. It operates by sending a query packet from a client to a server, signaling the request to start a session.

Banks and Insurance companies in New York are grappling with the complexities of 23 NYCRR Part 500, a challenging cybersecurity regulation that demands comprehensive and nuanced security measures. The primary hurdle for these organizations is translating the regulatory language into actionable, practical steps that meaningfully enhance their cybersecurity posture.

A core dump is a snapshot capturing the state of a program at the moment it crashes. This memory dump includes the processors state and the program's memory, including variables, program data, and processor registers. The data stored in core dump files, also records the contents of the system memory and CPU registers. Backtraces are generated during a program crash. They show the sequence of function calls leading to the crash called the call stack.

Hardened UNC Path is a Group Policy Object present at: This policy can be applied to the systems that are joined via the domain and it is not applicable for standalone systems. To get secure access to the UNC paths this policy must be configured. The recommended state for this policy is: Enabled, there are some pre-requisites.

A newly discovered zero-day vulnerability in Windows potentially exposes users across multiple Windows versions to credential theft. Discovered by 0patch researchers, this critical security flaw allows attackers to steal NTLM credentials through a deceptively simple method. The vulnerability affects a wide range of Windows systems, including: Technical details of the vulnerability are withheld to minimize exploitation risk until Microsoft issues a fix to minimize any further risk of exploitation.

Cryptographic mechanisms protect the integrity of audit tools by ensuring that the data they collect is trustworthy. Most systems constantly run audit tools in the background, system activity such as user logins, file changes and network activity is monitored and recorded. These records are vital to system administrators for compliance, forensic analysis and security monitoring. Using cryptographic mechanisms is vital to the integrity of this data.