Microsoft Security Assessment ToolThe Microsoft Security Assessment Tool (MSAT) is a free tool designed to help organizations like yours assess weaknesses in your current IT security environment, reveal a prioritized list of issues, and help provide specific guidance to minimize those risks. MSAT is an easy, cost-effective way to begin strengthening the security of your computing environment and your business. Begin the process by taking a snapshot of your current security state, and then use MSAT to continuously monitor your infrastructure’s ability to respond to security threats. At Microsoft, the security of our customers' networks, business servers, end-user computers, mobile devices, and data assets are a top priority. We are committed to providing security tools like MSAT to help you improve the security state of your business. Understanding Your RisksMSAT is designed to help you identify and address security risks in your IT environment. The tool employs a holistic approach to measuring your security posture and covers topics including people, process, and technology. MSAT provides:
Visit the Trustworthy Computing site to find out more about the Microsoft commitment to trustworthy computing. Read the most current Microsoft Security Intelligence Report. For further information, visit the Malware Protection Center. The MSAT ProcessMSAT consists of over 200 questions covering infrastructure, applications, operations, and people. The questions, associated answers, and recommendations are derived from commonly accepted best practices, standards such as ISO 17799 and NIST-800.x, as well as recommendations and prescriptive guidance from the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Group and other external security sources. The assessment is designed to identify the business risk of your organization and the security measures deployed to mitigate risk. Focusing on common issues, the questions have been developed to provide a high-level security risk assessment of the technology, processes, and people that supports your business. Beginning with a series of questions about your company's business model, the tool builds a Business Risk Profile (BRP), measuring your company’s risk of doing business due to the industry and business model defined by BRP. A second series of questions are posed to compile a listing of the security measures your company has deployed over time. Together, these security measures form layers of defense, providing greater protection against security risk and specific vulnerabilities. Each layer contributes to a combined strategy for defense-in-depth. This sum is referred to as the Defense-in-Depth Index (DiDI). The BRP and DiDI are then compared to measure risk distribution across the areas of analysis (AoAs)—infrastructure, applications, operations, and people. In addition to measuring the alignment of security risk and defenses, this tool also measures the security maturity of your organization. Security maturity refers to the evolution of strong security and maintainable practices. At the low end, few security defenses are employed and actions are reactive. At the high end, established and proven processes allow a company to be more proactive, and respond more efficiently and consistently when needed. Risk management recommendations are suggested for your environment by taking into consideration existing technology deployment, current security posture, and defense-in-depth strategies. Suggestions are designed to move you along a path toward recognized best practices. This assessment—including the questions, measures, and recommendations—is designed for midsize organizations that have between 50 and 1,500 desktops in their environment. It is meant to broadly cover areas of potential risk across your environment, rather than provide an in-depth analysis of a particular technologies or processes. As a result, the tool cannot measure the effectiveness of the security measures employed. This report should be used as a preliminary guide to help you develop a baseline to focus on specific areas that require more rigorous attention. From the guidance provided by MSAT and security activities implemented, you can run the tool as often as you would like to gain further knowledge on your progress against an established baseline MSAT report. Assessment Tool OverviewThis Microsoft Security Assessment Tool is designed to assist you with identifying and addressing security risks in your computing environment. The tool employs a holistic approach to measuring your security posture by covering topics across people, process, and technology. Findings are coupled with prescriptive guidance and recommended mitigation efforts, including links to more information for additional industry guidance as needed. These resources may assist you in learning more about the specific tools and methods that can help you change the security posture of your IT environment. The assessment is made up of over 200 questions, broken down into four categories:
The questions that make up the survey portion of the tool and the associated answers are derived from commonly accepted best practices around security, both general and specific. The questions and the recommendations that the tool offers are based on standards such as ISO 17799 and NIST-800.x, as well as recommendations and prescriptive guidance from Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group but also other external security sources. The following table lists the areas that are included in the security risk assessment.
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