As a security administrator for Always Fresh, you have been instructed to ensure that Windows authentication, networking, and data access are hardened. This will help to provide a high level of security. The following are issues to be addressed through hardening techniques: Previous attempts to protect user accounts have resulted in users writing long passwords down and placing them near their workstations. Users should not write down passwords or create passwords that attackers could easily guess, such as words founds in the dictionary. Every user, regardless of role, must have at least one unique user account. A user who operates in multiple roles may have multiple unique user accounts. Users should use the account for its intended role only. Anonymous users of the web server applications should only be able to access servers located in the demilitarized zone (DMZ). No anonymous web application users should be able to access any protected resources in the Always Fresh IT infrastructure. To protect servers from attack, each server should authenticate connections based on the source computer and user. Tasks Create a summary report to management that describes a hardening technique that addresses each issue listed above. Provide rationale for each selection.

Cyber security tools are available to organizations requiring integration of its problem management, configuration management, and incident management processes. The CEO and CIO need you and your team to create an IRP and change management plan. These plans will help the organization choose the appropriate cyber security tool. Part I: Incident Response Plan Incident response is a disciplined methodology for managing the aftermath of a security breach, cyberattack, or some other security incident. An IRP provides an organization procedures that effectively limit the impact on the data, system, and business and reduces recovery time and overall cost.  Create a 1- to 2-page IRP Microsoft Word for the organization you chose in Week 1. In your plan, ensure you: Discuss roles and responsibilities. Discuss the critical activities for each of the 5 phases in the incident response process. List at least 3 cyber security tools that work together to monitor the organization’s network for malicious and abnormal activity. Part II: Change Management Plan Change management plans define the process for identifying, approving, implementing, and evaluating necessary changes due to new requirements, risks, patches, maintenance, and errors in the organization’s networked environment. Create a 1- to 2-page Change Management Plan in Microsoft Word for your chosen organization. In your plan, ensure you discuss: Roles and responsibilities The use of swim lanes and callouts Who should be involved in developing, testing, and planning Who reviews and signs off on the change management requests Briefly describe how a change management plan reduces the organization’s risk from known threats. Part III: Cyber Security Tool Comparison Create a 1- to 2-page table that compares two of the industry standard tools that integrate incident management and change management. Recommend the best tool for the organization to the CEO and CIO. Explain how it maintains compliance with the organization’s regulatory requirements. Format your citations according to APA guidelines. Submit your assignment.

The network restrictions surrounding the web authentication service is one layer of defense. As was noted, this component is too valuable to trust to a single defense. Furthermore, authentication requests are tendered by the least-trusted component in the architecture. That component, HTTP termination, resides on the least-trusted network. What additional steps can be taken?