Question

Difficulty: MediumWorkstation Hardening and Best Practices

A cybersecurity technician is establishing baseline operational policies for workstation security across an enterprise network. Match each workstation hardening control on the left with the primary security risk it directly mitigates on the right.

  • Disabling unneeded operating system servicesReduces attack surface by closing unnecessary network listening ports
  • Configuring account lockout threshold rulesMitigates online brute-force and dictionary password attacks
  • Enforcing password-protected screen saver timeoutsPrevents unauthorized physical access to unattended terminals
  • Disabling AutoRun and AutoPlay policiesBlocks automatic execution of untrusted scripts from plugged-in storage drives

Answer

Matching pairs: Disabling unneeded OS services matches reducing attack surface by closing network listening ports; Account lockout thresholds match mitigating online brute-force password attacks; Password-protected screen saver timeouts match preventing unauthorized physical access to unattended terminals; Disabling AutoRun and AutoPlay policies matches blocking automatic script execution from plugged-in storage drives.
Each security control targets a specific vulnerability vector: disabling unnecessary services minimizes open ports and attack surface; account lockout policies defend against automated brute-force login attempts; enforcing screen saver password locks guards against local unauthorized access to unattended desktops; and turning off AutoRun/AutoPlay stops rogue USB drives from auto-launching malicious software.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze service disabling hardening principles
Disabling unnecessary services stops background listeners and unused system daemons.
Eliminating running processes directly shrinks the workstation's attack surface and closes listening ports.
2
Evaluate account security policies
Account lockout thresholds limit consecutive incorrect password attempts.
Locking out accounts after repeated failures thwarts automated password-guessing and brute-force tools.
3
Assess physical display access controls
Screen saver timeout locking requires credentials to resume session access.
Secures active sessions from walk-up physical access when users leave their desk.
4
Examine removable storage media policies
Disabling AutoRun/AutoPlay blocks automatic launcher script execution upon media connection.
Stops malicious payloads stored on USB flash drives from executing automatically without user interaction.

Key Concept

Workstation Hardening Controls and Risk Mitigation Mapping
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