Lock down IOS in 10 steps

It's difficult to overestimate the importance of securing Cisco routers since they provide the communications backbone for so many organizations throughout the globe.

Various industry sources such as SANS (see IOS makes it to SANS top-20) and Symantec (see Hacking to change tack in 2006) have warned that IOS devices are prime attack targets moving forward. We have also discussed the importance of securing your Cisco IOS in various postings you can access from the CiscoGate landing page .

However, as we have identified on previous posts, simply patching your IOS is a non-trivial affair, and the next best strategy while you are grappling with the IOS patching issues is to at least harden or "lock down" these devices. We covered some very detailed and comprehensive tools to do this near the end of the IOS exploit and auditing tools post, however, if you are in a "rush" to do something quickly, I found two great resources on TechRepublic. You will require quick free registration to download the documents.

Cisco IOS Router : Lock it down in 10 steps

Cisco PIX firewall : Lock it down in 10 steps

CATEGORIES: 1vulnerabilities, 1ios, 1ciscogate, 1best practices, 1advice