System Hardening and Secure Configuration Questions

Covers host and operating system level security hardening, establishing and maintaining repeatable configuration baselines, and implementing secure endpoint configuration as part of a layered defense strategy. Candidates should understand reducing attack surface by disabling unnecessary services and features, configuring host based firewall rules, enforcing least privilege for file and directory permissions, and applying secure account and user management practices such as removing or disabling unnecessary user accounts and enforcing strong authentication and password policies. Include secure remote access practices such as key based Secure Shell authentication and secure transport protocols, certificate and key management, and encryption for data at rest and in transit. Cover platform specific controls including Security Enhanced Linux and AppArmor for Linux and Windows security baseline configurations and hardening guidance. Candidates should be familiar with using published security benchmarks such as Center for Internet Security benchmarks and vendor guidance, performing regular vulnerability scanning and remediation, patch and update management, audit logging and monitoring, and configuration management and automation. Also expect knowledge of policy as code and infrastructure as code for automated hardening and drift detection, documenting secure configuration and rollback procedures, continuous compliance reporting, and balancing operational needs with security to mitigate realistic threat scenarios.