Cisco Router Hardening Step-by-Step

There are three main categories of routers in use at companies today. Not brands such as Cisco, Nortel and Juniper, but three types that include Internet Gateway routers, Corporate Internal routers and B2B routers. These three categories of routers should all be given consideration from a security perspective, because they each pose unique security problems that should be addressed.

For all the reasons, a set of standard practices for hardening a router becomes a necessity. Certain variations will always need to be addressed based on the topology of the network, the protocols used and the business needs. Those variations should be exceptions to the written security policy and should be noted because they could expose the company to certain risks.