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Mastering Windows Security and Hardening

You're reading from   Mastering Windows Security and Hardening Secure and protect your Windows environment from cyber threats using zero-trust security principles

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Product type Paperback
Published in Aug 2022
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781803236544
Length 816 pages
Edition 2nd Edition
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Authors (2):
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Matt Tumbarello Matt Tumbarello
Author Profile Icon Matt Tumbarello
Matt Tumbarello
Mark Dunkerley Mark Dunkerley
Author Profile Icon Mark Dunkerley
Mark Dunkerley
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Table of Contents (21) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Part 1: Getting Started and Fundamentals
2. Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Windows Security FREE CHAPTER 3. Chapter 2: Building a Baseline 4. Chapter 3: Hardware and Virtualization 5. Chapter 4: Networking Fundamentals for Hardening Windows 6. Chapter 5: Identity and Access Management 7. Part 2: Applying Security and Hardening
8. Chapter 6: Administration and Policy Management 9. Chapter 7: Deploying Windows Securely 10. Chapter 8: Keeping Your Windows Client Secure 11. Chapter 9: Advanced Hardening for Windows Clients 12. Chapter 10: Mitigating Common Attack Vectors 13. Chapter 11: Server Infrastructure Management 14. Chapter 12: Keeping Your Windows Server Secure 15. Part 3: Protecting, Detecting, and Responding for Windows Environments
16. Chapter 13: Security Monitoring and Reporting 17. Chapter 14: Security Operations 18. Chapter 15: Testing and Auditing 19. Chapter 16: Top 10 Recommendations and the Future 20. Other Books You May Enjoy

The firmware interface, TPM, and Secure Boot

A firmware interface is typically low-level software that acts as the medium between the OS and hardware to provide a basic UI for configuring device features and providing instructions for the boot procedure. BIOS and UEFI are the standard firmware interfaces used in these operations. Just as with the OS, firmware is also at risk to vulnerabilities and will need to be updated to remain secure. Next, we will review the different interfaces and some of their security features.

Protecting the BIOS

The BIOS is loaded directly onto a PC motherboard. Its purpose is to initialize the physical hardware, go through a series of processes, and eventually boot into Windows. Just as with the OS or PC software, the BIOS in your systems can become outdated and vulnerable to unauthorized modification. Furthermore, the BIOS initializes privileged hardware processes with greater rights than the OS itself. As a result, malware developers not only target...

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