New Federal Desktop Security Standards

A new desktop security mandate has set in at the Federal level. The Federal Desktop Core Configuration standard (the FDCC) will require government agencies to apply and maintain standard security settings on all desktops and laptops.

The FDCC standard will limit the user ability to change the configuration of their desktop. The standard was created to return control to administrators and to keep systems more secure. All desktop computers will need to support standard secure configurations for Windows XP and Vista.

All agencies were to have this plan in place by February 1, with desktops (and laptops) configured by the end of the month. Agencies will need to monitor the endpoint configurations and report on them regularly.

In order to facilitate the new FDCC standard, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed a Security Content Automated Protocol (SCAP) that vendors can use in their products.

You can read more about the FDCC here – the FAQ section is particularly useful. And you can read more about the SCAP here.

Via network world Tags: fdcc, scap, standards, security standards, government security, it security, security vendors