What Are CIS Benchmarks?
CIS Benchmarks are free, consensus-built hardening guides for operating systems, cloud platforms, applications, and devices, published by the Center for Internet Security. They are the go-to answer to “how exactly should I configure this securely?” — an expert-reviewed, prioritized set of settings that turns hardening from guesswork into a checklist.
What do they cover, and how are they structured?#
Benchmarks exist for a huge range of technologies — Windows, Linux distributions, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, databases, browsers, and more. Each is organized as specific recommendations, usually in levels:
| Level | Intent |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Essential settings, minimal impact on functionality |
| Level 2 | Stricter, for high-security needs; may affect usability |
This lets you apply Level 1 broadly as a safe baseline, and Level 2 selectively where the extra hardening justifies the operational trade-offs. Each recommendation states the rationale and how to implement and audit it.
How do you apply them?#
- As a baseline — the starting configuration for every new system.
- With automation — tools apply and audit CIS settings at scale, so hardening is reproducible.
- For compliance — many frameworks reference CIS, so meeting a benchmark supports audits.
CIS Benchmarks are ready-made security baselines. More at the Defense & Hardening hub.
Frequently asked questions#
What are CIS Benchmarks?
CIS Benchmarks are freely available, consensus-developed configuration baselines from the Center for Internet Security. They give specific, prioritized settings to securely configure operating systems, cloud platforms, applications, and network devices — turning "harden this system" into a concrete, expert-reviewed checklist you can apply and audit against.
What are CIS Benchmark levels and profiles?
Benchmarks typically define Level 1 (essential settings with minimal impact on functionality) and Level 2 (stricter settings for high-security environments that may affect usability). This lets organizations choose the profile matching their risk tolerance, applying Level 1 broadly and Level 2 where the extra hardening is worth the trade-offs.