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If your organization uses AIX or VIOS, you can be faced with the challenge of securing your systems. This AIX Security Assessment, which requires only a few hours of your time, provides a comprehensive security analysis of a single AIX or VIOS instance. This offering is designed to identify security safeguards that can be implemented to mitigate security risk on your AIX or VIOS systems.
The assessment consists of 2 components:
1. Policy Assessment (optional)
2. Host Assessment
The assessment consists of 2 components:
1. Policy Assessment (optional)
2. Host Assessment
Policy Assessment Details
- Based on the subset of CIS v8 safeguards directly related to AIX.
- Over 50 CIS v8 safeguards assessed are security policies that can be implemented to mitigate security risk in AIX infrastructures. For example: Does your organization require multi-factor authentication for all AIX administrative access? Does your organization encrypt sensitive data at rest, accessible from your AIX systems? Do you disable dormant AIX accounts after a period of 45 days of inactivity?
- Consultant provides a 53-question policy questionnaire to client
- Client completes and returns questionnaire to consultant
- Consultant incorporates results into final report
- Time requirement: at least 15 minutes
Policy Assessment Use Cases
- AIX manager wanting to verify the organization is implementing globally accepted security best practices for managing AIX environments
- AIX manager wanting to identify more security tooling to mitigate security risk
Host Assessment Details
- Based on CIS IBM AIX 7.2 Benchmark v1.0.0 – 09-30-2022
- Over 300 CIS AIX Benchmark settings assessed are security hardening settings to be implemented on your AIX instance. For example, verify local AIX configuration uses the SHA-512 password-hashing algorithm for the storing of local passwords
- One or more AIX or VIOS hosts can be assessed, depending on consulting agreement terms
- Any supported level of AIX or VIOS can be assessed
- Data collection script executed on assessment host
- Time requirement: 2.5 hours
Host Assessment Use Cases
- An AIX Build team that would like to analyze their baseline NIM image to identify more security hardening settings to add to their NIM build
- An organization that would like to verify a specific AIX instance running critical business applications is secure
- An organization that would like to compare how security settings might differ between virtual machines built in different environments, for example, comparing a PROD host versus a QA or DEV host
Engagement Process
- Consultant arranges prep call to discuss data collection process and to schedule Webex to review assessment results
- Client uploads tar file to BOX
- Consultant analyzes data and creates deliverables
- Consultant reviews results with client on Webex
Deliverables
- AIX Policy Heat Map – this spreadsheet provides a one-page view of the results of the Policy Assessment
- AIX Security Policy Assessment – this PDF details the results of the Policy Questionnaire completed by the client. Over 50 assessment results are detailed in this document. The document provides a hyperlinked Table of Contents to quickly access any of the more than 50 security measures assessed.
- AIX Host Heat Map - this spreadsheet provides a one-page view of the results of the Host Assessment
- AIX Security Host Assessment - this PDF details the results of the Host Assessment. Over 300 assessment results are detailed in this document. The document provides a hyperlinked Table of Contents to quickly access any of the more than 300 security measures assessed.
- Executive Summary – OPTIONAL – a short summary of the results of the assessment designed to be presented to executive management
For questions, please contact AIX/Linux Security consultant, Stephen Dominguez, at email
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Document Information
Modified date:
10 July 2024
UID
ibm16589587