8.9 Configuration Management

Configurations, including security configurations, of hardware, software, services and networks should be established, documented, implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Configuration management in information security refers to the process of controlling and managing the changes to the hardware, software, and network configurations of an organisation's IT systems. It is the practice of identifying, documenting, and managing the configuration items (CIs) of an organisation's IT systems, such as servers, network devices, applications, and databases.

The goal of configuration management is to ensure that IT systems are secure, compliant, and performing optimally by maintaining an accurate inventory of all configuration items, controlling and monitoring changes to them, and restoring systems to a known, secure state in case of a security incident.The process of Configuration management typically includes the following steps:

• Identifying and documenting the configuration items: This includes creating an inventory of all hardware, software, and network devices, and their configurations.
• Establishing a process for controlling changes: This includes creating a process for requesting, approving, and implementing changes to the configuration items, and for documenting and tracking those changes.
• Implementing change management process: This includes implementing a process for testing, approving, and implementing changes to the configuration items.
• Monitoring and reporting: This includes monitoring the configuration items for compliance and security issues and reporting any issues that are found.
• Backup and restore: This includes creating and maintaining backups of the configuration items and having a process in place to restore systems to a known, secure state in case of a security incident.
It is important to have a configuration management plan in place and to regularly review and update it to ensure it remains effective in addressing new and emerging vulnerabilities. Additionally, it is important to have an incident response plan in place to address any security incident, which includes restoring systems to a known, secure state.