New CIS Hardened Images for Windows STIG, SUSE, and Ubuntu

CIS continues to bring security to the cloud with virtual machine images pre-configured to the recommendations of the CIS Benchmarks. There are more than 30 CIS Hardened Images available in public cloud service provider (CSP) marketplaces. The latest offerings include new operating system versions and a new STIG-compliant option for Windows. A brand new CIS Hardened Image is available to help the public sector: CIS Hardened Image for Microsoft Windows Server 2016 STIG. This is the first CIS STIG Hardened Image available on all four marketplaces: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle Cloud Marketplaces. Additional CIS Hardened Images for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 and Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS Benchmark are available on AWS, Azure, and GCP Marketplaces and Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS Benchmark is also available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace.

 

View all CIS Hardened Images

VMs Pre-configured to the CIS Benchmarks

 

A hardened virtual image is more secure than a standard image. CIS Hardened Images offer security to protect against malware, insuffi­cient authorization, and remote intrusion. Using the CIS Hardened Images, IT professionals can:

• Deploy pre-configured images across networks – Administrators can feel confident knowing that the images conform to the CIS Benchmarks.
• Eliminate upfront investments – Avoid hardware purchasing, software licensing, secure configuration, and maintenance by working securely in the cloud.
• Purchase them from major cloud marketplaces – CIS Hardened Images are available on AWS, Azure, GCP, and Oracle Cloud Marketplaces.

Every CIS Hardened Image includes a CIS-CAT Pro report showing conformance to the CIS Benchmark, as well as an exception report showing configurations that cannot be applied in the cloud. The report is accompanied by a README text file that includes any exceptions necessary for that CIS Hardened Image to run in the cloud.

New CIS Hardened Images for Microsoft and Linux

CIS Hardened Images are an affordable option to secure virtual machines at $0.02 per compute hour. Since 2016, users have consumed more than 887.8 million compute hours of CIS Hardened Images.

CIS updates Windows Images each month in alignment with the Microsoft patch schedule as well as Linux Images incorporating applicable operating system and software patches. New versions of CIS Hardened Images (regardless of their OS) are developed and made available any time there is a major or minor update to the corresponding CIS Benchmark .

Learn more about CIS Hardened Images

CIS STIG Hardened Images Benefit the Public Sector

Staying secure can be especially challenging for those working in a regulated environment. CIS Benchmarks are recognized as an acceptable standard to meet a portion of PCI DSS, NIST, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and DoD Cloud Computing SRG compliance.

CIS STIG Hardened Images are a new option for configuring systems according to CIS and the STIGs in the cloud. Built to the recommendations of the CIS STIG Benchmarks, these Images contain:

• The existing consensus-based CIS Benchmark Level 1 and Level 2 profiles mapped to applicable STIG recommendations.
• A new Level 3 profile that includes additional requirements from the STIG that were not covered in the Level 1 and Level 2 profiles.

Using CIS Hardened Images built to CIS Benchmark recommendations can help IT professionals to not only secure their enterprise cloud environments, but also to provide evidence of compliance towards common frameworks.