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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Foundational

Secure by Default

Principle that systems ship with the most secure settings enabled out of the box.

Definition

Secure by default means the default configuration minimizes risk without requiring the user to take action. Examples include unnecessary services disabled, strong authentication required, and logging enabled. Insecure defaults such as default credentials are a common source of breaches.

Example

A new router forces the administrator to set a unique password and disables Telnet by default.

Exam tip

Default credentials and open default ports are classic exam examples of insecure defaults.

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