Solution_Accelerators Security Blog

Now Available: Security Baselines for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8!

2009-11-02T15:21:00Z

Download the newly updated Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series! We are very pleased to announce the release of new security baselines for Windows® 7 and Windows® Internet Explorer® 8. These new baselines are now included with the Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series . Over the past few months, we collaborated with Microsoft security experts, multiple government agencies worldwide, and a large community of IT security professionals to develop and test these new security baselines....(read more)

Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of the System Center Configuration Manager Extensions for SCAP.

2009-07-28T01:17:00Z

To download these extensions, click here . The System Center Configuration Manager Extensions for SCAP are designed for organizations to use with the desired configuration management (DCM) feature in Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to scan the computers in your environment and then document their level of compliance with the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) mandate. The extensions enable Configuration Manager 2007 to consume Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP)...(read more)

Just Released: New Beta Security Baselines for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8!

2009-07-16T19:44:00Z

Join now, download the security baselines, and provide your feedback. We are pleased to announce this Security Baselines Beta release. The best-practice guidance and security settings provided by the new Security Baselines Beta will help you plan and deploy your security baselines with ease and confidence. These baselines provide you with prescribed settings documentation and Group Policy objects for Windows® 7, BitLocker™ Drive Encryption, and Windows Internet Explorer® 8. The preconfigured settings...(read more)

Releasing Soon: System Center Configuration Manager Extensions for SCAP

2009-07-13T21:05:00Z

We will be releasing the System Center Configuration Manager Extensions for SCAP later this week. These extensions are the next version of earlier released “SCAP conversion tool for DCM”. This new release expands functionality to both convert SCAP content for use by DCM and DCM reports into SCAP reporting format. If your organization works closely with U.S. government agencies, the ability to demonstrate compliance with the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) mandate using Security Content...(read more)

IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide

2009-06-22T23:06:00Z

The IT Infrastructure Threat Modeling Guide is now available. Organizations today face an increasing number of threats to their computing environments. You need a proactive approach to assist you in your efforts to protect your organization's assets and sensitive information. This guide provides an easy-to-understand method that enables you to develop threat models for your IT environment and prioritize your investments in IT infrastructure security. This Solution Accelerator includes a Microsoft...(read more)

Now available: System Center Configuration Manager Extensions for SCAP Beta

2009-06-01T22:40:00Z

If your organization is affected by the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) mandate, and the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), then this new Beta program will be of interest to you. The FDCC mandate from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires federal agencies and organizations to configure their computers running Windows Vista ® and Windows ® XP according to a specific list of settings published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The FDCC mandate...(read more)

We just released the Hyper-V™ Security Guide!

2009-04-01T03:31:00Z

The new Hyper-V Security Guide has been released. It provides methods and best practices to strengthen the security of computers running the Hyper-V role on Windows Server® 2008. The guide covers the following three topics: Hardening Hyper-V We provide you with prescriptive guidance for hardening the Hyper-V role and discuss several best practices for installing and configuring Hyper-V on a Windows Server 2008 server with a focus on security. Our best practices include measures for reducing the attack...(read more)

Just Released: the Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series

2009-02-27T02:20:00Z

Launch the Download Now We have just released the Security Compliance Management Toolkit series to help you secure and monitor Windows ® operating systems and 2007 Microsoft ® Office. This series marks the next generation of Microsoft security guides by automating the security baselines for them. This release includes updated security guides, predefined Group Policy, the GPOAccelerator tool, and Configuration Packs to help you plan, deploy, and monitor your Windows and 2007 Office security baselines....(read more)

The Hyper-V Security Guide

2009-02-12T07:40:00Z

The benefits of virtualization are more evident than ever. Microsoft Hyper-V™ technology allows consolidation of workloads that are currently spread across multiple underutilized servers onto a smaller number of servers. This capability provides you with a way to reduce costs through lower hardware, energy, and management overhead while creating a more dynamic IT infrastructure. The Hyper-V Security Guide can help you elevate the security of virtualized Windows Server® environments to meet your business-critical...(read more)

Solution Acclerator Health check!

2009-01-29T00:45:00Z

We would like to ask you to take a few minutes of your day and fill out a quick survey. Tell us how we're doing, and what we can do better. We want to hear what you think about Solution Accelerators —if you’ve used a Solution Accelerator within your organization, help us by completing this short survey ....(read more)

Security in Compliance

2009-01-22T01:26:00Z

Our sister team, would like to invite you to a set of live meetings focused on IT compliance such as PCI. If you or your manager struggles with the complexities of compliance take the time to listen in on a Live meeting. ----- ‘Reduce the cost and effort of configuring and validating Microsoft products to address customer IT GRC requirements.’ - Project Tribeca Team Does your IT team struggle to cope with the ever-changing demands of domestic and international governance, risk, and compliance (GRC)...(read more)

Next version of Security Guidance: Project codename Sundance – Beta Available now !

2008-12-17T04:34:00Z

This Solution Accelerator essentially builds on our previous releases to provide you with expanded best practices and additional automation tools to help you configure and deploy security settings for the following operating systems and applications: · Windows Vista® Service Pack 1 (SP1), · Windows XP® Professional SP3, · Windows Server® 2008, · Windows Server® 2003 SP2, · 2007 Microsoft Office SP1. After deploying the security settings, you can now verify the accuracy of the setting policies and...(read more)

IT Compliance Management guide

2008-11-01T23:46:00Z

I wanted to take an opertunity to introduce the latest Solution Acclerator. If your intrested in Compliance you should take a look at this guidance. Download it NOW! Shift efforts of Governance Risk and Compliance to technology, using the IT Compliance Management guide! You already own Microsoft the products that can help you manage compliance issues. Use the IT Microsoft Compliance Management guide to better understand how to configure controls, save money, and realize compliance regulations, do...(read more)

Update for Solution Accelerators Navigation.

2008-09-21T00:08:00Z

Solution Accelerators Security site has a new face, you should check it out. The Solution Accelerators Techcenter for Security was published recently to help better navigate the security Solutions Accelerators. The library contains a vast array of Accelerators addressing issues in response management with The Malware Removal Starter Kit , or hardening guides such as the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide . What's really cool is that the site is organized in a simple to navigate manner addressing...(read more)

Microsoft Compliance Management

2008-09-11T01:42:00Z

The Solution Accelerators - Security and Compliance team has released a beta version of its first set of guides in the Compliance Management Series. This effort expands on the work done in the Regulatory Compliance Planning Guide published in 2006. Here is a bit of detail on the new Solution Accelerator: Managing compliance issues imposed by regulations and statutory requirements can be difficult to reconcile with regulations and standards such as PCI DSS, ISO 27002, AICPA GAPP, and COBIT. An additional...(read more)