Windows Server 2012 Hardening (Part II)

Using the Security and Configuration Analysis

Microsoft provides security templates for Windows Server and client operating systems, containing security configuration designed for different scenarios and server roles. There are some security templates that are part of the operating system and get applied during different operations, such as when promoting a server to a domain controller.

In Windows Server 2008 and later versions, security templates are located in %systemroot%inf and are more limited than in Windows Server 2003. Templates include:

• Defltbase.inf (baseline)
• Defltsv.inf (web/file/print servers)
• DCfirst.inf (for the first domain controller in a domain)
• Defltdc.inf (other domain controllers)

Basically, you should repeat the procedures already explained for Windows 7 with two different tools, but instead of loading the .inf from the STIG now you load one of the security templates shipped with Windows Server 2012.

Analyze the baseline template with the Policy Analyzer

Add the baseline template

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Windows Server 2012 Hardening (Part I)

Servers are the penultimate layer of security between potential threats and your organization’s data. Therefore, applying proper security policies specifically for each server profile is both important and necessary.

Common sense recommendations are to "stop all unnecessary services" or "turn off unused features". Fortunately, every new version of Windows Server is built to be more secure by default. That said, it is common to have several of different roles assigned to a single server as well as multiple sets of file servers, web servers, database servers, etc.  So, how can we guarantee that each of these servers, with their different characteristics, is configured in compliance with the best security practices?

Using the Security Compliance Manager

Using SCM in Windows Server is basically the same as using it on a workstation. The major difference is related to what you can do with your GPOs once you are done.

You cannot install SCM 4 on a Windows Server 2012 just like that, you’ll probably get a warning from the Program Compatibility Assistant. This is a known issue when installing SQL Server 2008 Express, even on supported OSes.

Besides, Windows Server is not on the list of SCM 4 supported OSes…

To overcome this, install a newer version of SQL Server, like SQL Server 2014 Express, before installing SCM and everything will go smoothly.

The procedure will be exactly the same as what we did for Windows 10, but now we are going to do same extra steps.

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GPEdit vs SecPol

Many users have questions regarding the difference between Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and the Local Security Policy (secpol.msc) but there is not nothing mysterious about these two tools.

Both are used for administering system and security policies on your computer. The difference between the two is most visible on the scope of policies which those tools can edit.

To start explaining the difference, we can say that the secpol.msc is a subcategory of gpedit.msc.

• Gpedit.msc is a file name for the Group Policy Editor console, mostly a graphical user interface for editing registry entries. This is not very easy because they are located at many places throughout computer registry but this tool makes the administration of registry easier.
• Secpol.msc is another Windows module that is also used for administration of system settings. The Local Security Policy is a smaller brother to the Group Policy Editor, used to administer a subgroup of what you can administer using the gpedit.msc.

While group policies apply to your computer and users in your domain universally and are often set by your domain administrator from a central location, local security policies, as the name suggests, are relevant to your particular local machine only.

You can see that when opening the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc), you get to see more than when opening the Local Security Policy Editor (secpol.msc), and that is the major difference.

• The gpedit.msc is broader.
• The secpol.msc is narrower and focuses more on security related registry entries.

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