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Updates Deploy updates to domain controllers within seven days of release. 
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Remove users as local administrators Monitor and remove users from local administrators if 
they don’t need this access. Use Active Directory to control membership centrally, if required. 
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Baseline security policies Deploy policies that will maintain a standard configuration for the 
organization. Exceptions will exist, of course, based on applications and certain requirements, but 
these should be challenged on a repeated basis to ensure that the system is as compliant as 
possible. 
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Antimalware programs Maintain regular updating and regular scans of the environment. Clean 
and remove threats as quickly as possible. 
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Log and analysis Capture security information, perform regular reviews, and identify anomalies 
within the log set. Perform follow-up action on each detected item to ensure that it is an 
identified source and safe “risk.” 
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Software inventory and deployment Controlling the software installed in an environment is 
paramount to ensure that end users don’t install malware into the environment. In the same 
manner, it is important to know what software is out there and maintain an inventory so that you 
are aware if the state of a system has changed. 
With these basics covered, we can move into more details about the strategy that underpins securing 
privileged access. Be aware that you will not achieve this strategy overnight, and this should be built 
as a progressive implementation so that the organization’s practices can change and adapt to these 
new principles. 
As with most strategies, you need to establish short-, medium-, and long-term goals. The following 
table describes the goals and the time frames you should use as well as the areas of focus for each 
goal. 
Goal