Organizations face the challenge of maintaining visibility and control over their IT infrastructure. A forgotten user account, an outdated software package, an unauthorized service, or a malicious browser extension can expose vulnerabilities that threat actors are eager to exploit.
Addressing these risks requires a systematic approach to maintaining the security and integrity, and overall health of every system within the organization. This is where IT hygiene becomes essential.
IT hygiene is the systematic practice of maintaining consistent, secure configurations across all endpoints in an organization's infrastructure. It encompasses continuous monitoring of hardware, software, user accounts, running processes, and network configurations to ensure alignment with security policies and compliance requirements.
Poor IT hygiene creates security gaps that can lead to data breaches, system compromises, and significant financial and reputational damage.
Wazuh is a free, open source security platform that provides multiple capabilities, including a dedicated IT hygiene capability, file integrity monitoring, configuration assessment, vulnerability detection, and active response.
This post explores how organizations can leverage Wazuh to maintain enterprise IT hygiene, examines practical use cases, and demonstrates its effectiveness in improving their security posture.
IT hygiene overview
IT hygiene encompasses the preventive measures organizations implement to maintain the health and security of their IT infrastructure. It reduces the risk of security incidents by ensuring systems remain properly configured, up to date, and monitored.
Key aspects include:
Asset visibility: Maintaining a comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of all hardware and software assets across your infrastructure.
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