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Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Foundational

CIS Benchmarks

Consensus-based secure configuration guides for operating systems, cloud platforms, applications, and devices.

Definition

CIS Benchmarks provide prescriptive settings with Level 1 (practical, minimal impact) and Level 2 (defense in depth) profiles. They are widely used for hardening and compliance scanning. CIS also offers hardened images built to these benchmarks.

Example

An administrator applies the CIS Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Level 1 benchmark to domain controllers.

Exam tip

Benchmarks are configuration baselines, distinct from the CIS Controls framework.

Related terms