Chapter 9. Security Administration

THE FOLLOWING COMPTIA SECURITY+ EXAM OBJECTIVES ARE COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER:

• 1.2 Explain the security risks pertaining to system hardware and peripherals.

  • BIOS

  • USB devices

  • Cell phones

• 3.3 Organize users and computers into appropriate security groups and roles while distinguishing between appropriate rights and privileges.

• 3.4 Apply appropriate security controls to file and print resources.

• 3.5 Compare and implement logical access control methods.

  • ACL

  • Group policies

  • Password policy

  • Domain password policy

  • User names and passwords

  • Time of day restrictions

  • Account expiration

  • Logical tokens

The title of administrator implies management—management of resources, computers, users, and so on. Most important, from your perspective, is the management of security. While you must oversee it, security management is the responsibility of everyone. The job requires the cooperation of every department and every individual in an organization. However, many people don't understand or know how to improve security. Your job is to help educate those people in your organization, to assist in policy development, to act as a consultant, and to be part of the security process. This means that you must become knowledgeable about best practices, computer privacy and security laws, and incident response. In short, you have to be knowledgeable in many different areas and constantly (as well as cautiously) keep on top of new developments.

This chapter discusses the key elements of implementing, supporting, and maintaining security efforts in an organization. You're faced with the task of keeping current in an environment that is changing constantly. Not only are the technologies shifting rapidly, but the laws that govern how we must protect our stakeholders are also constantly changing.