Control 3.4.1

★What This Means in Plain English

You must define and document a standard secure configuration for every type of system you use, and maintain an accurate inventory of all hardware and software. These baselines are your reference point for detecting unauthorized changes.

✓How Petronella Implements This Control

Petronella Technology Group implements this control through:

• Standard system images for Windows workstations and servers maintained as gold baselines in deployment tools
• Microsoft Entra device inventory tracking all hardware assets with configuration state
• Group Policy Objects (GPOs) enforcing baseline security configurations across all domain-joined systems
• ComplianceArmor maintaining the Configuration Management Plan with approved baselines
• Cisco Meraki Systems Manager providing real-time hardware and software inventory
• Quarterly baseline review and update process documented in change management procedures

🔎Assessment Guidance

Assessors will review documented baseline configurations, verify that an up-to-date system inventory exists, compare live system configurations against documented baselines, and check that baselines are reviewed and updated regularly.

⚠Common Implementation Gaps

• No documented baseline configuration for systems
• Hardware and software inventory incomplete or outdated
• Systems deployed with default configurations not aligned to a security baseline
• Baselines created once and never updated
• No process for comparing live systems against the baseline

⇄Cross-Framework Mapping