Security and compliance guidelines

Purpose

Establish the Whole-of-Government (WOG) operating system compliance baseline.

Overview

The Standard Build Image (SBI) automates system hardening to align with IM8 policies and CIS benchmark controls, ensuring all government systems start from a secure, standardised baseline. SBI acts as the foundation, but agencies must integrate it into their broader cybersecurity strategy.

Key elements

• Pre-hardened operating system images aligned with IM8 and CIS.
• Standardised configurations for accounts, policies, firewall, and auditing.
• Pre-installed agents for vulnerability scanning, endpoint protection, and logging.
• Clear documentation of applied controls.

Outcome

SBI reduces variation, strengthens compliance, and enables faster security assessments across agencies.