An organization is creating a secure baseline for its Windows servers. The baseline must include the minimum necessary settings to reduce the attack surface while maintaining functionality. Which approach best defines an effective baseline?

Start with a recognized industry standard (e.g., CIS Benchmarks), customize it to the organization's needs, and document any deviations.

Use the default vendor configuration because it is tested and supported.

Disable all unnecessary services and features, even if they are required by applications.

Create a baseline that includes every possible security setting, regardless of impact.

During the verification phase of the patch management process, what is the primary goal?

To obtain approval from the change advisory board

To identify new patches released by vendors

To assign a risk score to each unpatched system

To confirm that patches were installed successfully and systems remain functional

A company has 500 Windows servers and 200 Linux servers. They need to enforce a secure baseline that includes registry settings, file permissions, and service configurations. The team wants to automate enforcement and generate compliance reports. Which approach is most effective?

Use only Ansible for both Windows and Linux.

Use only Group Policy for both Windows and Linux.

Create manual checklists for each server type.

Use Group Policy for Windows and Ansible for Linux, with a central reporting tool.

A legacy system cannot be patched because the vendor no longer provides updates. The system is required for business operations. What is the most appropriate way to manage this exception?

Disconnect the system from the network to eliminate the risk.

Replace the system immediately with a modern alternative.

Document the exception, implement compensating controls, and monitor the system closely.

Ignore the system because it is legacy and not a priority.

An organization wants to reduce the time between patch release and deployment across thousands of endpoints. They have a testing environment that mirrors production. What is the best approach?

Deploy patches to all endpoints immediately upon release.

Continue manual patch deployment to ensure accuracy.

Automate patch deployment to a pilot group, then to production after validation.

Only patch systems that have a known exploit.

GIAC Continuous Monitoring Certification

Domain 4Objective 3

Patching & Secure Baseline Configurations GMON Practice Questions (Page 4)

Part of the Configuration and Vulnerability Management domain, which makes up ~21% of our current practice bank. GIAC (SANS) does not publish an official question count, but from its 180-minute exam (~70–120 total, ~15–25 in this domain), expect 5–8 from this objective — we provide 54 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

54questions here

11free pages

10concepts

Questions 16–20

16application · medium
An organization is creating a secure baseline for its Windows servers. The baseline must include the minimum necessary settings to reduce the attack surface while maintaining functionality. Which approach best defines an effective baseline?
Select an answer first
17foundation · easy
During the verification phase of the patch management process, what is the primary goal?
Select an answer first
18expert · hard
A company has 500 Windows servers and 200 Linux servers. They need to enforce a secure baseline that includes registry settings, file permissions, and service configurations. The team wants to automate enforcement and generate compliance reports. Which approach is most effective?
Select an answer first
19application · medium
A legacy system cannot be patched because the vendor no longer provides updates. The system is required for business operations. What is the most appropriate way to manage this exception?
Select an answer first
20application · medium
An organization wants to reduce the time between patch release and deployment across thousands of endpoints. They have a testing environment that mirrors production. What is the best approach?
Select an answer first

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