Group Policy or SELinux? — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

Both Group Policy and SELinux enforce security configuration, but on different operating systems, and the lesson pairs them as the Windows and Linux answers to the same problem. Group Policy is the Windows tool. From an Active Directory domain controller you set the policies you want, password complexity, screen-lock and idle timeouts, password history, and push them so every Windows client conforms. It is how you enforce one consistent security configuration across all your Windows machines. SELinux, security-enhanced Linux, hardens Linux by adding mandatory access control (a central authority sets policy) on top of Linux's own discretionary permissions. It runs in one of three modes: disabled, enforcing (block disallowed access) or permissive (log it but allow it). To sort a card, ask whether the job is enforcing configuration on Windows (Group Policy) or applying access policy on Linux (SELinux).

What you'll learn

Choose the right operating-system hardening tool for the platform: Group Policy to enforce configuration across Windows, SELinux to add mandatory access control on Linux

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

4.5 Given a scenario, modify enterprise capabilities to enhance security.

Key terms

Group Policy: A Windows feature that allows administrators to centrally define and enforce security configurations — such as password complexity rules, screen lock timeouts, and software restrictions — across all machines in an Active Directory domain.
Security-enhanced Linux: Security-enhanced Linux is an implementation of Mandatory Access Control in the Linux kernel that enforces policy-driven access rules on processes and files, limiting damage from compromised applications.
Mandatory Access Control: An access control model in which the users of a resource cannot change its permissions themselves — anyone who needs access must obtain it from a designated authority, such as IT or whoever is put in charge of that resource. It is the opposite end of the spectrum from discretionary access control, where the resource's own users grant access at their discretion.
Group Policy Object: A collection of settings in Windows Active Directory environments that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts, applied to sites, domains, or organizational units. GPOs are used to enforce security settings, software deployment, and desktop configurations across a network.

Topics

Interactive Streak Sort

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